Forum home Babies Postnatal depression

Some advice please

I have a 2 and 1/2 year son and I suffered from PND almost straight away - but did not take any medication for a couple of months.



I stopped Citalopram in March 2010 and fell pregnant in July. Since then I have been feeling the familiar anxiety and feelings - I have dealt with it till now but after a fairly difficult time over Christmas - I finally plucked up the courage to tell my husband and my GP how I was feeling. My GP wants to put me back on a very low dose of Citalopram 10mg but I am not sure whether to take it. I have read so many things and I know that some of the drug will reach the baby and it will need to be weaned off it tin heory which I hate the idea of. But this baby is not due till April and the thought of suffering till then is filling me with dread.



Does anybody have any experience of taking anti-depressants while pregnant? Or how it effected your baby?



Any advice would be a great help.



Thanks Lianne

Replies

  • Hi, sorry I didnt take anti depressents myself during my pregnancy but had depression from about 12wks (the bit when everyone tells you " you should be soo happy") At the time my son was 16 months. I was lucky that we have a counsellor in work and even though I was off work because of it,I was able to ring her whenever I was really bad, it did help to talk everything through with her.



    Did u ever have any counselling when you had the PND? Is it something you would consider. maybe that would be an initial option for you before you start taking the meds?



    I hope you get through this, I know how hard this is



    Rach x
  • Hello, I am also having to make a similar decision. I am 5 months pregnant and my gp wants to put me back on anti-depressants as my depressions has been getting worse since i found out i was pregnant and stopped taking them.



    I dont want to risk anything with the baby so i a still adimant not to take them, im half way through now and im going to try and stay off them. depression however is an illness and cannot be ignored but my gp has refered me to some counselling and a psychiatrist. I hate feeling as though i need that support but if it can keep me going until the baby is born i will take it.



    maybe try some of those alternatives and if they dont help consider the medcation again.



    I hope this helps x
  • Thanks Ladies - I did go to a post natal group when I had my son which really helped me but unfortunately I work 4 days a week and cannot attend until I go maternity leave in March.



    I think I have resolved not to take the tablets for now - and see how I get on. Since I told my husband how I was feeling again he has been much more sensitive and helpful and I hope I can manage until this baby is born.



    Hopefully I can avoid the medication.



    Thanks for your advice ladies.



    Lianne
  • Hi Lianne,



    You may have seen my thread in the forum about cognitive behavioural therapy? When I saw the doctor, she gave me a flyer about it as it's a self referral service. Basically I have to call/text/email them and then they arrange a 30min phone conversation to assess what would be the best kind of therapy for me. This can be groups, one to one, telephone, or even computer based programmes. So they should be able to arrange something accessible to you while you're still working.



    The organisation that I've been given details of is Talking Therapies. I've no idea if all NHS trusts work with them? But it might be something to consider asking your doctor about as an alternative to medication?



    I actually made the decision after a bad day yesterday to go for this and emailed them last night. I had a message back this morning telling me how to arrange the initial contact. In all honesty I'm feeling nervous about it and dreading it. But I want to feel better asap so am prepared to try it and see if it helps.



    I really hope you feel better soon hun whatever you decide. Best of luck to you other ladies too.

    xxx
Sign In or Register to comment.

Featured Discussions