PPD & estrogen patch?

[puffingirl]

Anyone use, or hear about, this? I have a history of depression and anxiety and my MW was telling me about how low-dose estrogen patches are being used postpartum to help mitigate the effects of PPD for women who may be at high risk for it, due to a history of PPD with other children or from pre-pregnancy depression. I had never heard of this before. She says it's supposed to be fine for BFing too. Anyone have any info or experience about this? TIA!

[Metasequoia]

I wouldn't do it without having your hormone levels tested, *properly.* Chances are, you're low in progesterone, like me. If your progesterone is low, you have the effect of estrogen without progesterone to balance it - THAT'S what causes PMS, PPD (some say) & a whole slew of problems. If that's the case & you add *more* estrogen, it could be a real disaster.

[puffingirl]

Hadn't thought of that.... Thanks! It's all new to me and I'm trying to get as much info ahead of time so I don't get blindsided later.

[123]

I had the estrogen patch with my last child and it really did work great. I was kind of concerned about using hormones, but it was only four patches. Each to be used for a week. At the end of the first week I could really feel it wearing off and that scared me into continuing with it. I didn't feel the 2nd one start to wear off until the end of the 2nd week. With the 3rd one it was more than a week (I left it on until I could feel the symptoms in the background). With the last one I left it on for an extra week because I didn't want to be abruptly stopping it. By then I really didn't have any symptoms, though I was scared that they'd come back when I didn't have the patches anymore. But they didn't.

It didn't have any effect on breastfeeding that I could tell. Ds2 nursed just as well as Ds1 and is still nursing at over 2 years old. My milk did come in faster and I wasn't as engorged, but I think that's just because he was the second and my body knew what it was doing better.

I would like to do the patch again with this child (due in Aug.), but my midwife is a CPM this time so I'll have to get the back-up to prescribe it.