[anabean]

i've been dealing with depression for years and after my dd was born it got way worse.
i have no motivation to do anything, no interest or pleasure in doing anything, poor concentration, hopelessness, all of it.

i've been in psychotherapy for the past 5 months and finally my therapist agreed that i should probably give meds a try. i made an appt. with a psychiatrist and am scared witless of starting to take antidepressants. on the other hand it's like a little ray of hope, that maybe one of these days i won't feel dreadful.

i just always had such a bad feeling about antidepressants, like they're way overprescribed. a really bad stigma, you know?

*sigh*
i just want to hear that it might *just* be my brain the one that's imbalanced, not just my soul.

thanks for reading.

 

[magemom]

I took Zoloft while nursing my 3rd. I am now taking it again with my 5th pregnancy. It is so hard to admit you may need help. Good for you for seeing a therapist FIRST.
Yes I think htey are over prescribed. But this isn't a case of you telling your primary doc that you feel a little blue and she hands you 4 differnt kinds of samples.
Check out talk amongst ourselves- there is a poll about who is taking them now or has in the past. i think there is a stigma and it really isn't talked about. It took years for my own DH to admit it might be helpful.
Good for you for doing something for yourself. You can't be a good mama when you hurt.

 

[sleeping queen]

My dh suffers from depression. It is okay to take meds. My dh dr made what I thought was a great statement about this. He said if you were diabetic you wouldn't be reluctant to take meds to treat it and you shouldn't be reluctant to treat depression.

There is no need to suffer if you don't have to.

 

[ChasingPeace]

I've been taking Zoloft for about 6 weeks and am feeling so much better that I'm considering weaning off of them. I've suffered no side effects and it doesn't seem to affect ds except in a good way, meaning that I feel better so I have the energy to play with him, sing to him, and interact with him more. I, too, was worried about taking meds, but am so glad I did. I was having anxiety attacks worrying about him while I was at work before the meds. I agree that they're overprescribed, but in my case, they were a godsend.

to you!

 

[weetzie]

It is ok to take meds. I have taken them for a while and will be weaning off soon. There is no shame in needing meds and like a PP said, good for you for going to therapy first! And again, like she said, you are not walking into your primary care physicians office where s/he will hand you a ton of samples and you will be on your way. You are treating your illness in a controlled environment. There is nothing wrong with that.

 

[anabean]

thanks for your replies.

i went in today. i really liked the psychiatrist. we talked and talked and she said she was surprised i haven't taken antidepressants before. i have a years-long history with depression.

anyway, she gave me a Rx for prozac, 10mg. she said we'll start low, with half the regular dosis, and see how i do. i like this approach.

thanks again. i just feel weird having a Rx for anti-depressants in my purse. i should go fill it, though. i think i will.

 

[EllasMama]

anabean, I am glad you got the prescription for antidepressants. I was totally anti Western medicine for over a year while suffering from PPD. I tried to battle it on my own, with St. John's Wort, with therapy...but it just wasn't working. Then I finally gave in and started on Lexapro. Within about a week I recognized my "old self" re-emerging. I had NO IDEA how far down in the quicksand of depression I had gone until then. The way the SSRI worked for me proved that it truly was a problem in my brain, and not a character flaw or weakness. It was a disease, and I fought tooth and toenail against the very remedy that could help me. In retrospect I was just WAY too anti-meds. I'm doing so much better now because of Lexapro. Yes, I don't like being on a drug, but wow did I miss a lot of joy fighting against the idea of drugs!

Peace,
Carol

 

[SpiralChrissy]

Good for you for being open to meds! I know it's hard to take them, believe me! I suffered thru at least 10years of on again, off again depression. I'm wasn't going to take anything though. I was going to do it myself. Well, I covered a lot of ground in therapy on my own but I didn't really find healing until I admitted that I need to find a med that worked for me. I started talking meds when I was 8.5months pregnant with my DS. I think it saved my life, seriously. Without the meds I had no motivation for ANYTHING. In the end, I decided that I needed to try the meds and see if it did anything. It helped a lot and I hope you get some healing too.
Remember that just cause you're taking meds now, it doesn't mean you'll be on them forever. Sometimes you just need your hormones balanced out a bit and then you're a-o.k. And the meds can help lift the symptoms that you're feeling so you can start taking steps in your life to feel better. It can be hard to find the right med for your body but keep with it. You'll find it and you can feel better!

 

[abbylotus]

It was very difficult for me to start taking meds for PPD, too. I was horrified to talk to my medical doctor at first...now I am so thankful I did. I have been taking a low dose of prozac for the last month and I all ready feel so much better. Good luck to you!

 

[mealymama]

I refused them when I struggled with PPD after my daughter was born. I was BFing and didn't want them to hurt the baby. Now I am 7 months preg and I'll be starting Zoloft in a few weeks as a perventative measure... no meds are worse for a baby than a detached, guilty, unmotivated, miserable mommy.

 

[Jish]

Quote:

I've been taking Zoloft for about 6 weeks and am feeling so much better that I'm considering weaning off of them.

Please, don't go off of them! This is a common thing that happens. People start to feel better and think they don't need them anymore because they feel good. However, it takes the medication anywhere from six months to a year to readjust the brain chemistry. If you go off now you will likely crash because it is the medication that is helping you to feel normal at this point. Give the medication a chance to work and correct your brain chemistry. Wait six months and then try weaning off.

 

[wysmom]

Wow, I didn't know this website nor this forum existed until tonight. Lucky me couldn't sleep. I've take antidepressants for a few years. I was on Paxil during my pregnancy but am switching over to Prozac due to Paxil side effects. It has a very short half life and causes strange symptoms as soon as it's out of my system. I'm liking prozac a lot. I've tried going off of them, but paxil has vicious withdrawl effect. My dr. hopes the prozac which has a much longer half life will allow the me to wean off with less problems. I'm unapolegetic about taking meds. I think a happy mom is much healthier for a baby and fetus then a depressed one. Prozac in low doses has shown no negative side effects to the baby. My son turned out fine and is very happy as am I. It's great to know there's a lot of other moms like me out there.

 

[Jish]

Welcome!!! I'm glad you found us.

 

[bethwl]

I would like to second the advice of not weaning off zoloft after only six weeks. This is not enough time on it for it be effective in the long-term. And please, when you do want to go off it, discuss it with the prescribing doctor and get a plan for tapering off. I went off zoloft cold-turkey once and it didn't feel good, I got extremely tired but jittery at the same time. Then I went back on and tapered off at 100 mg for a week, 75 for a week, 50, 25 and nothing. I did this to become pregnant (although I know that intellectually it is ok to be on zoloft while pregnant). But I had been on it for four years and thought "I feel ok." I was off it for about six months (and was six months pregnant--the impetus for wanting to stop in the first place) and started to feel like crap again. My compromise with myself was to go back on them at 6 weeks prior to my due date to stave off ppd. My pysch. gave me scientific studies that have been done on zoloft and breastfeeding and what convinced me was a study in which the infants' blood was drawn and zoloft levels measured; in all the infants, zoloft was barely detectable in the bloodstream.

Anyway, six weeks is not enough time to get the full benefit of this medication!

Beth