Has Anyone Experienced Post-partum Depression?

Hi A.,
This may seem like a bizarre question, but have you started any birth control? This is the reason I'm asking. I have 5 children and after every one I would go through a little emotional time from just having a baby and being tired but after a few weeks I was back on track. My last 4 are very close in age so after my last one I decided to have depo shot in the hospital because I didn't want to get pregnant for at least a year after her. When I went home with her I just couldn't seem to get it together. A few weeks went by where I'd usually be back to normal and I just wasn't. I could still function and take care of my children but I was irritable, crying all the time, couldn't shake the feeling of sadness. It came time at 3 months to get the shot again and because of my schedule with 5 kids I was 2 weeks late on my appt. ALL OF A SUDDEN, it was like my reset button had been pushed I was back to normal. I decided to wait to have the shot to see if I continued to feel ok and I did. I believe my hormones were being messed with and my body just didn't reset like it normally did. This may not have anything to do with what you're going through but I thought I would share this just in case it does. Good luck, I hope you feel better soon.

what did the doctors say?
in the ned it should be them making a decision about medication. mine said go talk to a shrink i guess, i went once and almost fell asleep in her office.
i felt the same as you're describing. i went from full speed to staying up all night and day. i was tired, irritable with my hubby and just a grumpo to be around. but i had all the will and energy to take care of my baby girls. a year later mine turned out to be thyroid problem, more exactly, grave's disease. i don't know when it actually started, i know i didn't have it during pregnancy so must have been the added stress after birth that started it
but i felt tired, lonely, depressed, i didn't see things changing for the better until the diagnoses. i personally do not like medicine period even if tylenol or motrin. medication makes me gag that's why i didn't consider taking anything for my depression. well lookie now, i have to take one pill a day for the rest of my life for my sickness FUN! NOT
good luck
vlora

Hi A.,
Im not sure if I am going to be of any help but I thought I would give it a try. I had a son in July and had pp depression pretty bad. Connor is my first and even though I new what I was going through I didn't want to say anything. Here is what happened with me. I had my son at Lourdes and was never told that my husband could get a cot so for both his sanity and sleep and mine we sent Connor to the nursery and Mike went home. Shortly after they both left me for the evening I would begin to cry and of course fall asleep. Around 6am they brought Connor back to me and Mike came back shortly after. The alone time I had with Connor was wonderful to just stare at him but it made me hurt. I can't explain the hurt but it hurt. After we got home I was an emotional wreck. I have a huge family and all the support I could ever ask for from Mike alone. My depression was so bad that all I did all day long was cry. Thank god Mike worked on the same farm that we lived on because he was home with me the majority of the time. Finally after a week of non-stop crying my mom and Mike came to the conclusion that it was time to call the doctor. I went back to see Dr.Chapman. Dr. Chapman, Mike, and I agreed that I should stop breasting and allow Mike to be able to help me even more. Dr. Chapman also put me on an anti-depressant. After taking the medicine and having Mike able to help feed Connor my life changed. I was feeling like I was all alone, that my life was no longer my life, and that I was no longer going to have just the alone time with my husband but after the medicine and Mikes help I quickly changed. I began to bond with Connor and WE ALL began to bond as a family. I didn't have the headaches but I still feel like I have placenta brain. I am constently forgetting things (very scary). Sorry to give you such a drawn out story but I wanted you to know what I went through and if you feel it is depression you are not alone not matter how alone you feel!!! Please write more if you need someone. Here is my email address also: ____@____.com

Hi A.:
My little girl is 5 months and I went through most of what you did! She is my first and she didnt sleep well for the first 12 weeks. She would sleep 45 mins - 1 hr then get up at night so I was a zombie after a few weeks! My husband made a career change 2 weeks after she was born so there was a lot going on! I felt mixed feelings. I was happy to have my little girl but it was rough! I felt very anxious all the time, sad some times and that I just needed soemthing to take the edge off. Never did I feel like I would harm my baby or me. I went to the Dr. about 3 months in and he gave me Lexapro to take. Its an anti depressant/anxiety medication. I didnt take it at first thinking maybe I would snap out of it but I didnt. I did get better but I still felt out of sorts. At times I felt like my life was out of control. It was hard since before the baby, I was ALWAYS on the go and it was hard, and still is, not being able to do that. 2 years before the baby I had lost 50 lbs and was at the weight I wanted to be. I gained over 50 lbs with her and not being able to eat right and exercise also played with me mentally and to be honest, still does. I was still wanting to do everything I used to do but just could not!
Personally, I feel that the lexapro is helping me. I have been on it for about 3 weeks now. I definitely feel like I can manage things better now and I don't feel so on edge or anxious. My sister had her first baby 8 weeks after me and she is on the same medication and feels it helps her too. Maybe talk to your dr about it if this is something you think you might want to try. Best of luck to you!
K.

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Warmly,

T. L.

Hi Carol,

I can give you advice as to what happened with me. I'm not sure if I had pp, but I know I didnt' sleep well from 7 mos prego, and she is now 4. The nights I do get at least 6 hrs of straight sleep, I feel like myself, but since birth, I was a miserable wreck, once I started sleeping thru the night (my husband helped with her thru the night so I could sleep after 7 mos) I finally started feeling like my old self. Don't dismiss your feelings too soon, but somehow, if you can , try to get decent sleep for a few nights and see how you feel. It could very well be exhaustion, which can wreak havoc on your whole system, emotions and all.

Take care and God bless.

L.

Hi A.. I go to a free PPD mom's support group on Wednesdays at 1:00 at Christiana Hospital, it was a life-saver. I was a first time mom at 34 years old and had horrible temper and sleep problems, it helps just to talk with the other moms and you can bring your kids - my daughter is 15 months - they just play, kids there range from weeks old to a couple years...you can get a better idea of where you are and it is run by a great woman Janet who is a psychiatric nurse who specializes in PPD - this group let me know I was not alone and my feelings were not horrible and i met some great mom's there too!

A., I was in post-partum after the birth of my second child for about a year. Same feelings as you are having and it almost ended my marriage. Please speak to your family doctor or obgyn. There is a mild anti-depressant that you can take (non-addictive) for a time. Good luck!