Post Natal Depression

For the last month or so I have been feeling really crap. No energy, can't be bothered leaving the house, and have even ended up in tears for no reason a few times. I know I am struggling with being home alone during the day (well Alex is here ofcourse!), and feeling a bit lonely. But I am wondering if it is more than that. Can PND affect you 7 months after having a baby. I have always thought it was something that you would struggle with when you first had a baby, not so long after. Some days I feel ok, and then others I feel really bad. Anyone have any thoughts of this? Could it be PND? Any ideas on how to feel better (without going to a doc and getting medicated?)

As jax says it can hit you anytime, even months after bubs birth. Which makes it hard to recognise sometimes. Doing something about it now could be a good plan, don't wait til it gets worse.

Rescue remedy is good for times of stress or when you need to calm down, if your feeling depressed a health food store might be able to make you a flower remedy just for your symptoms. Evening primrose oil is good for hormonal imbalance, teary moments etc. Other than that i would recommend seeing a doc, even if you are not keen on taking any medication, they can refer you to specialists who can help!

Other than that the only thing I could suggest is forcing yourself to get out of the house. Even if it is just to go to the shop for milk, sometimes it helps just to get out. I have been in some horrid spaces sometimes and it really helps me to MAKE myself go out, even if it all seems too hard.

I hope you feel better soon, good on you for seeking some answers! There are plenty of people here who will help to support you if you need!!

Nicola, I have postnatal depression. I've bumped a thread called "I'm feeling a bit down today" if you want to have a look at it, where I talk a little about what I'm going through.

I'm not currently on any meds, as I'm 18 weeks pregnant. Instead, I'm seeing a councellor and I have someone coming into my home for two hours a week to help me clean and sort it. There is a team composed of the home help, councellor, two psych nurses, and a psychiatrist who are all keeping an eye on me. I don't need to see the psychiatrist very often (I've only had one meeting with him in the 6 weeks since my PND was diagnosed) but it's nice to know he's overseeing my case.

The psych nurse and the councellor both think that I probably had PND after having my daughter 5 years ago but it didn't really emerge properly until this year. It's been tough, but now that I'm getting help life is a little better. If my worst days were any more frequent, then meds would be a viable option... at this stage I don't need them, but I'm not against taking them if that's going to be what I need to function - and my children need me to function!

Not a problem at all Nicola-Ann, that's what we're all here for, to support eachother

Hi Nicola-Ann, As the other ladies here have said, it can affect you anywhere in the first year or more after giving birth.   It started with Paris for me, and it took my older sister to say to me "you've got PND" for me to realise, all my sisters have had it, and i was so petrified of gettingit, i was oblivious to all the signs sitting right in front of my face screaming "get some help, talk to someone!"

I used to get panic attack feelings when i went out sometimes, starting with paris having feeding probs and usually screaming all the way through town, but even after that was sorted i would still get the same thing for ages afterwards. I would get crippling pains that medical people couldn't explain.. and alot of it came down, i think to imbalanced hormones and a whole lot of stress. It took me 3 months to realise i had a problem, which became very very worse after that, i felt like i was looking though one of those windows with the snow can stuff sprayed around the edges, but in black.. everything was just surreal and hazy, i felt physically impossible to smile, sometimes i didn't even feel like there were any emotions there, i remember going to the supermarket one night with mike, pushing the trolley round the isles just awayin a dream world, and him telling me to "snap out of it" at the time i tried to smile but found i couldn't, i wanted to cry but couldn't do that either. That is why i took 6 extra months off my studies from when paris was 6 mths to a year old - so that i could spend some time bonding with her, i never did after she was born, i cringe to think i went through all those months, just doing what i had to, and yes being loving and caring, but not feeling much at all. it felt even worse when i had Ayja and there it all was, all those instant feelings of elation and love and bonding thati had missed out on, i was happy to have them this time, but so sad that i really missed them all with paris.

After having Ayja the PND didn't come really, but if i am down, or stressed, or life just feels like it is all going too fast (which is all of the time at the mo) I get grumpy, i get snappy, i cry at stupid little insignificant things, I have no patience for the kids... and all those familiar feelings of sinking in quicksand come back (just when i DON'T need them) the best way to deal with it is to teach yourself strategies to deal with days like that. people say you should just get over it, well, you CAN'T. but what you can do, is yes, go for a walk, be around others, join mummies groups even if you are as shy as shy can be, and chances are you will eventually begin to recognise your signs that tell you today isn't gonna be great so you can get out there and do something to take your mind of things.

Herbal supplements like st johns wort are apparently great as Toni has said, however, be wary - they ARE NOT able to be used when pregnant, or if you are breastfeeding... so if you are breastfeeding, ensure you TELL the person at the health shop that so that you are given something that is safe for baby.

go well and rest assured that it does get better and there are many of us in the same boat and we are all here to suport you

Edited by mum2paris