Thread: Introductions****:) Everyone Please Put Your Intros Here!

Introduce yourself here. Tell us as much as you feel comfortable telling. How did you know that you had PPD? Do you have a support system (friends and family) to rely on? What methods did you take or are you taking to recover? Anything else you'd like to share?

I'll go first!

I'm Margaret. I have a son, Michael who's 8.5 and a daughter, Anna who's 19.5 months. I knew that I had PPD when I was still crying all of the time at 6 weeks PP. I couldn't sleep and had incredible anxiety.

Do you have a support system (friends and family) to rely on?
I had quit my teaching job, moved away from friends and family & had a baby all in a few months. I only had my MIL and FIL to rely on (besides my DH...who really didn't have a clue about PPD.)

What methods did you take or are you taking to recover?

I started on 20 mg Prozac. I had really bad anxiety attacks from that (I think it was a side effect.) I switched to 20 mg. Paxil. Once again, I had major anxiety attacks. I stayed on Paxil and took .25mg Xanax as needed.

I slowly weaned off of the Paxil after 6 months of being on it. I currently take Xanax a few times a month to help me get to sleep.

Anything else you'd like to share?
PPD can be very isolating. I hope that you feel comfortable coming to this board to share your story and find some comfort in knowing that you are not alone.

Hi,
Im Jennifer, 28 and a first time mom. Ive been married for 6 years now, we just celebrated our anniversary on the 18th.

I did somewhat have a support team but now with my husband working, im mostly on my own.

Amylia is my little girl, 3 1/2 weeks old now. There was meuconium in the amniotic fluid when she was born, so I didnt get to see her or hold for over an hour and a half. When she was born, i asked if it was a boy or a girl and the doctor didnt even check. They were worried about her, because her heart rate had been fluctuating so much. They finally told me I had a little girl. It was nothing like I expected. I know they say you forget the pain of labor but I didnt. I had nothing to replace the memory of the pain with. I felt overwhelmed, scared and confused. I spent hours crying for no reason. Thankfully, they diagnosed me early. The 2nd night in the hospital I had an emotional breakdown. They had to take Amylia to the nursery because I was unable to care for her. I felt like an unfit mother. Im doing better now, with medication and support from other first time moms. Im glad to know Im not the only one, that this does happen to other people. I dont talk about it to my mom, because she believes its just a lack of sleep.

Hi there!

I'm Carolyn, wife to Chad and mom to three boys ranging from 7 1/2 yrs down to 2 1/2 years.

I knew pretty much within a month of having my last son that I had PPD. Looking back, I was probably suffering from depression before that, but I'm great at hiding my feelings.

I started on Prozac, but switched to Celexa - and I was much happier with that one.

My dh is great about helping out, but we still have lots of other stress issues that make things flare up again.

Hi, I'm Kim-21, I'm a SAHM to Caleb- 5 months and wife to Bob-25. I just saw a dr. for the first time yesterday about dealing with my PPD.

I've been through a lot of stresses in the past year and I didnt' realize how many until my appointment yesterday. In the past 14 months I got married, got pregnant, moved to washington state, had Ges Diabetes, had a premature baby and moved back to Utah.

My dr. just started me on Zoloft and I'm really optimistic about it. I also had a blood draw yesterday and they're testing my thyroid levels, before I was pg I had hypothyroidism and my mom has it too. I haven't been able to lose any of my baby weight (I weigh the same today as I did when I had my son) so hopefully that will help with it.

so thats me in a nutshell!

Welcome to the board, Kim! Congrats on your little boy! He's adorable! Thanks for posting!

My name is Sara and I had a boy back in Feb. I'm not sure when my PPD started. All I know is that tonight was pretty bad. Since our little one is three months old we just started tonight on a routine for bedtime. He wants to feed all the time, which is fine but I get nothing done around the house. My husband is very supportive but I have a hard time voicing what I need, mostly because I just don't know. I went in for my postpartum check-up last week. I saw a PA and I tried to talk to him about depression but he just up and prescribed Zoloft at 50mg. He didn't really talk to me about anything. It was hard enough for me to bring it all up but then he just brushed it aside. I don't know. Sometimes I'm fine. But tonight I was so tired and my husband wanted to cuddle which is great but I couldn't fall asleep so I kept changing positions. The crib is in our bedroom. The baby woke up and was hungry, by this time it's after midnight and my husband hands him over. He was so fidgety which normally isn't a problem at all. I usually just take it in stride but I was so irritated before and I was already crying and then he woke up... Needless to say, I tried to say something to my husband but I finally just got out of bed. The baby started fussing more and my husband asked what was wrong. I walked out into our living room. He couldn't get the baby to settle down. I figured baby he wasn't really that hungry when I walked out but obviously he was. I had laid down on the couch with one of his receiving blankets and tried not to cry. My hubby came out to get some formula. I tried to take the baby back but he wouldn't let me. So, I just got even more upset and I went and put some pants on and took the keys off the rack and went outside. I thought about driving but I think there was some divine intervention there. I managed to grab the keys to the minivan which was blocked in the driveway by the car. I keep feeling like my husband thinks I'm a bad mother. He's never said anything to me remotely like that though. I don't want to take the medication. The PA didn't even want to do thyroid tests but I made him. I still don't have the results. I keep meaning to call, but I've been forgetting that until it's after 4 and then it's too late. I hope that someone replies to this because it's much easier for me to write than to speak about this stuff.....

Hi Sara,

Welcome to the board! Congratulations on your February baby. I'm so sorry you're feeling this way. I'm glad you found us, though. There are a lot of great women on this board & we're all going thru this yucky PPD thing together. You're not alone anymore!!

First, I'm giving you a link to the MILLS DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY SYMPTOM-FEELING CHECKLIST
http://www.pndsa.co.za/ms-fc.htm
Go thru the checklist & print off your results. The next time you go to your doctor (and I hope you get to see your doctor next time & not that PA!), take the print out with you. Sometimes (like I think you mentioned) it's just too hard to speak, so you could either read it or just hand it over to your doctor. They can take things from there. I'd recommend doing this for your DH, too. It can help him understand what you're feeling/going thru & open up the lines of communication between the two of you. I had a very hard time talking to my DH, too. He always thought I was pouting about something & he even told me to "Grow up and snap out of it!" Eventually he realized that you can't "snap out of it" but it took awhile.

It sounds like you may be bfing? Not sure because you mentioned DH going to get a bottle of formula. How are things going? Your baby is a smart little one and can pick up on your uneasiness, so if he was fidgety when he was suppose to be nursing that time, that could be why. We have a great bfing board here, too, if you'd like to check it out:
http://www.pregnancy.org/phpBB2/view...0ab5d75b6fb05d

And there's a February 2006 Birth Board that you might find helpful too
http://www.pregnancy.org/phpBB2/view...0ab5d75b6fb05d
I've found that sharing info w/ other mom's that have babies the exact same age has been so helpful!

Finally, I can't stress enough how important it is for you to make that call to your doctor. If you don't feel up to it, maybe you have a friend or a relative that could? (My sister made the calls for me.) It'd be good to find out your thyroid test results and then go from there. Antidepressants aren't for everyone and there's a mom on this board who has fought PPD using natural remedies (Erika.) However, meds can really be helpful in kick starting your brain/body to get back to some kind of normalcy. If Zoloft isn't the right one, there are a lot of other ones out there. I'm not an expert but I wonder about that 50mg dose.... it seems a little high for a starting dose, but I could be wrong. When I started Paxil or Prozac I was at 20 mg. Maybe some of the other gals that are on Zoloft can chime in here & help me out!

Meanwhile, come here and let us know how you're doing....or PM or email me anytime. I'm here for you and am more than happy to help you thru this. You WILL get thru this. I promise!

Hi Ladies,
My name is Vicki - 27 and I'm married to Garth - 35. Together we have two beautiful girls, Sasha - 1yo and Zoe - 3.5yo.
I suffered from PPD with Zoe and couldn't admit it for the longest time. Things got really bad -I lost a load of weight because I couldn't be bothered to eat, I isolated myself from people and my marriage fell apart.
I eventually started meds (I think Luvox) and I never felt 'better'. I came off meds to TTc and felt much more normal when I was pg. When I felt weird after the birth I immediately went to the Dr and was prescribed Lexapro.
I started on 5mg and quickly went to 20mg. After a trip to the Drs in which I admitted I thought I might hurt one of my children, I went to 30mg - that was my lowest moment.
I recently have started coming off the meds, I'm currently at 20mg and am hoping to go down to 10mg next week. I feel great! I am happy, very level-headed and feel calm. I never felt this good after I had Zoe and it's been a long time coming!!

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Try a different med if the one you're on isn't making you feel any better. Keep at it for long enough (It's been almost a year on meds for me) and give your body time to heal. Make changes in your life to make your life easier (occasional care for your little one/time off/dinner with DH).
It does get better!!

My name is Carmen. I have a son who is 16 months old and another son who is 3 weeks old. I got ppd with my 1st son, but put off going on medication for several weeks, thinking it was only the baby blues. It got worse and worse every day. I finally decided to go get help after 4 weeks. They put me on luvox, and it worked after a week or so. I worried this whole 2nd pregnancy about it coming back. I felt great for the first day after delivery, then the 2nd day it hit me HARD. I was crying uncontrollably all day, felt like somebody else had taken over my mind, felt extremely paranoid about everything, and very guilty for putting my family through this again. I also felt guilty for bringing this new baby home and making my 16 month old sad. I decided about 4 days into it to get back on the luvox. The doctor doubled my dose from the last time, so that it would kick in faster. 2 weeks later I feel alot better, but I still have my really bad days, where something will trigger me, and the whole day turns into a nightmare! Last time I was able to come off my medication at 4 months so hopefully this time will be the same. I hate what this does to us.It would be nice to be able to enjoy our newborns, without this scary thing we have to deal with. It's nice to be able to come here and find other people who are dealing with the same thing, I don't feel quite as alone.