First trimester blues

[spoilyourself]

How does everyone else feel during the first 12 weeks?

I'm 9 weeks and feeling decidedly blue a lot of the time. I'm loathed to use the word depressed but I feel far more down than up. I can feel it's my hormones bottoming out a bit - I've always had a propensity for depression but haven't had a big bout of it in 15 years. I manage myself through diet and exercise and generally it's really worked well.

But since I've been pregnant, especially this past week, I felt quite low. I've been lucky that I've not had sickness every day but when i feel low I start to get anxious about the birth, or upcoming tests, or problems after the baby's here and so it goes on.

Is this normal and will it pass at 12 weeks?

Thanks all

Marie

Hi Marie - if you look at the thread above about feeling rubbish in the first 12 weeks you will see some of our experiences.

I myself am 12 weeks and feel awful 85% of the time. However, when I was 5-10 weeks I felt awful 99% of the time.

I have been so low that I was beginning to worry about depression too. I suggest you speak to your doctor or midwife about this as they will want to know if you have had problems with depression in the past. My midwife asked me about this when I went to my booking appointment.

Everyone says you will feel better gradually so I just have to believe I will, but like you, I almost feel like I am suffering from pre-natal depression.

If you are worried, read around the subject and ask for help, either on here or from a professional. I think it is totally normal to feel anxious and worried and low. We are not all Doris Day and can't all be baking cakes and feeling deliriously happy. Just take it day by day and try not to put any pressure on yourself

xxx

Hi Daisystone

Thanks for the reply and for directing me to the other thread. I hadn't seen it.

It sounds really miserable for you and I hope that you're having an okay day today.

It's just such an odd experience - physically so yuk (well, now at least) and emotionally complex (well, that's how it seems, all these hormones. I do try to do exercise still - I was fit before and although I don't do nearly as much as I did, I do find it helps. Onwards and upwards and thanks again.

xx

I just wanted to jump in and let you know that I was increadibly depressed my first time around. It was horrible. I would just come home from work every day and curl up in bed and cry. I feel like it was worse bc everyone around me was so excited and we'd been TTC for a few months so I couldn't understand why I wasn't happy about it too. it didn't magically disappear at week 12 - I remember a very odd first scan where my mother came over from the US and she and my DH were so happy and I felt so detached from everything. I didn't want to share the news with my friends or extended family and I had never heard about any one being depressed as part of pregnancy.

Anyway, the good news was that it did pass, though not until about week 15-16, but it was quite a sudden process for me, it all changed in about a week. And actually, truth be told, I was probably manic for a week or two before settling into my usual self.

I was very nervous that I was going to have ppd, but just took steps like talking to DH and midwife about it and was sort of like, it's your job to keep my mental health in check, so I didn't worry about it and as it happened, didn't have anything to worry about.

I'm sorry your having trouble. If you can, try to remind yourself that hormones are clouding your reality a bit, and that it is totally fine to lay low for a while. It's a shame that more people don't talk about it because that's another thing that got me - I felt like a bad mum already. This is totally rubbish, and once I had my confidence back again I did talk about it and turns out it's not that uncommon at all.

Anyway, I hope it passes for both of you soon...

Spoilyourself, just wanted to let you know I am thinking of you. I feel pretty much the same, I think in my case it is the nausea that makes me feel so miserable. But, like others have suggested it is probably worth speaking to your midwife. There is evidence to show that antenatal depression is more common than postnatal depression so you are certainly not alone.

I think no matter how much wanted your baby is if you are feeling rubbish it is hard to enjoy what should be such an amazing event. Take care of yourself, I found the thing that makes the most difference is getting plenty of sleep.

OP, this is a bit off the wall, but I'm a nutrition nutcase and I know that nutrition can have a massive effect on your chemical balance. Do you eat fish often? Especially oily fish like salmon or mackerel?
There is a lot of evidence that links a lack of Omega 3 acids during pregnancy and breastfeeding with ante-natal and post-natal depression.
Along with getting lots of vitamin B and magnesium through green veges (which you are probably doing), getting lots of Omega-3 can really help the way you feel. If you don't regularly eat fish, then I would suggest fish oil capsules. Get the non-reflux kind because otherwise you can have a fishy-taste revisit you a few hours after taking the tablets.

Be careful with fish oil suppliments, isn`t there a vitamin A issue ?? Too much bad during pregnancy ? Sanatogen do a pregnancy one called " Before conception and during pregnancy - high purity OMEGA 3"

www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/nutrition/foodsafety/fishoilexpert/

Hi all, I'm so glad I found this thread. I'm only in my 6th week and I'm feeling absolutely terrible!

It seems to have happened in the last few days and I've been paranoid, depressed and have this overwhelming feeling of doom! I'm not really prone to depression. Ironically I'm usually quite good at handling sad and stressful situations so it's really bazaar that I'm feeling so bad during such a happy time! We've been TTC for such a long time so we're over the moon to be pregnant.

I know it's just my hormones and I keep trying to rationalise it all in my head but my brain keep going over and over bad thoughts. I obsess that my friends hate me and that I've upset them and that this will ruin my entire pregnancy for me! Which I know is ridiculous but I just can't shake it!

My DH is fantastic and very understanding but I made the mistake of telling him exactly what was going through my head last night and I think he found it really difficult to understand how I could be obsessing over such an insignificant thing. I won't even try to explain what it was that was bothering me because it will only set me off again and I know it's a symptom of the problem not the cause.

The diet tips sound really interesting thinker and I'll do anything to try to balance me out again! Is it safe to take the Sanatogen 'high purity OMEGA 3' then? Also where is this other thread that you mentioned daisystone? I couldn't see any title for it on your post, or am I being blind?

I didn't actually put a link before - it was just somewhere above on the list of topics but may have moved now. here is a link anyway.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pregnancy/960779-Anyone-else-fed-up-with-the-early-weeks

Hey, I can certainly relate - I am 6 weeks preg and crying all the time, feel lethargic and unmotivated. And my OCD worrying traits have been triggered big time by the pregnancy - second guessing everything I did before I knew I was pregnant and feeling guilty about it. Have now become ambivalent towards having the child whereas the day I found out I was over the moon as it was my first pregnancy at 40! When I realised it's first trimester antenatal depression (ie raging hormones), I felt better about it but am aware that part of me wouldn't even mind that much if I miscarried (yes that's how bad it is, thinking going through a whole pregnancy is not worth the anxiety!). Although that's probably preparation for the fact that I think I may well actually miscarry (due to my age and the fact that I haven't felt the embryo tuggings in the last day or so so wonder if it stopped growing).

When I'm down or tired, I tend to worry more about things (like how the pregnancy is going and why I'm not getting bad morning sickness etc). I get bad PMS and was a terrible psycho on the pill so I guess I am very sensitive to fluctuating hormones.