Postpartum Depression

[hadfield531]

You can get it ANYTIME within the 1st year!! PM me if you want to talk...I've been through it 3 times!

[SillyEllie]

Originally Posted by hadfield531 You can get it ANYTIME within the 1st year!! PM me if you want to talk...I've been through it 3 times!

awww thanks so much for the offer talking DOES help! I actually just spilled everything to my hubby and I talk to him alot about how I'm feeling. Which I've felt 110% better since I got my feelings out there!

[Lisi Leg Warmers]

Get a hobby (a cheap one), walk in the sun, take small you breaks away from baby, take prenatal vitamins, have friends with kids & go to the park or mall, do something everday you can look forward to, eat healthy & drink water. You will make it & it'll get easier - if you believe in God pray & talk to him.

[carolyn]

Originally Posted by jhf It's absolutely possible, especially if you were exclusively breastfeeding and introduced solids at six months. The hormonal shift that goes with the shift in milk production can absolutely kick you over the edge. That's why it can happen when you wean too. And even if you're not breastfeeding it can just plain happen that late. While you're working in getting some help with meds, there are some things you can do to try to lessen the symptoms. This page is a good resource: http://www.kellymom.com/ppd/ppd.html Good on you for being self-aware enough to realize you need help. It's a hard thing to do. When I went through it I had to have my friends and husband intervene - I wasn't able to recognize for myself how bad of a state I was in.

I know this thread is several months old, but I went searching for something that would describe what I'm going through now, and this is it! Weaning definitely triggered postpartum anxiety/depression for me. DD self-weaned at 10mos. back in June, almost overnight--just decided she wanted to nurse only at bedtime and in the morning, after nursing on demand since birth. Within a week, I had AF back for the first time, and just started feeling "off." I'd have weeks that were better and think things were fine, but then have a string of days that were awful, especially in the mornings. I finally made an appointment with my doctor and started a low dose of Zoloft on Tuesday, and am looking forward to feeling like myself again, hopefully soon!!

There isn't even the beginnings of enough information out there about PPD/anxiety that's triggered by weaning! I was in denial about it for a while, I think, because it had been 10 months since DD's birth, so why would it start now? After talking with my doctor, I know it's not so very uncommon, and makes total sense given the huge hormonal shift that happens with weaning. And it's something we don't have control over!

You couldn't find a happier new mom than I was before all this came about, which is part of what made it so difficult to admit something was wrong. I have a happy marriage, a beautiful, healthy daughter, a wonderfully supportive family...and yet, I have postpartum anxiety and depression. Now that I've realized that's OK and am getting help, I'm looking forward to getting back to myself. The hardest thing about all this has been feeling like I may never actually feel like myself again--but I have to trust that soon enough, I will. A blog I came across recently put it pretty well (postpartumprogress.typepad.com): "There is no set timetable for recovering from perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. And there is no law of nature that states that you're a better person if you can get over it all by yourself. No one can get through life on their own without help, regardless of whether they're ill or not. We all need support at some point. It just happens to be your turn."



By the way, I think we should have a sub-forum for PPD support!!