Question: Moms who had PPD, what did you do to cope?

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Answer #1:

There are many natural ways to attempt to battle PPD - omega 3's, vitamin B, exercise, getting out by yourself sometimes, having a support system. But personally, the only thing that worked for me was medication. After my first baby I was on Paxil and after my second was on zoloft - I'm still on it, my baby is 13 months.

FYI - allergies to breastmilk are almost unheard of. Who diagnosed it? Did you see a lactation consultant?

EDIT - sometimes meds are necessary. Antidepressants are not meant to be a long-term solution, just to get your over a hump. The should be used in conjunction with counseling.
Projectile vomiting can be symptoms of multiple things, and is normal for some babies. Since human milk has no lactose in it, it is not allergenic.

EDIT #2 - LOL, I had PPD after my first baby in 2007 and severe PPD after my second in 2009. I was prescribed paxil the first time and zoloft the second time.
I'm not clear how breast milk allergies related to MY Post pardum depression issues....????

Answer #2:

I personally don't believe in taking medications for every thing. And anti-depressants are WAY too over prescribed. The best way to get over any kind of depression is to get out and exercise and have a good support system, being open with your feelings and (what worked best for me) stop being a perfectionist. I had a breastfeeding "failure" too, and I just beat myself up all the time for that. You need to come to grips with the realities of life and get emotional help, not take a pill. Drugs will only take away the symptoms of depression, not help you deal with the causes of depression.

Answer #3:

Well, first of all let me say I'm sorry you have to go through this. I only had the baby blues for a couple weeks after my daughter was born but even then i was worried it might get worse. Shes now 3 month. I think my problem was just i had so much going on i kinda got lost in it all. Two days before i went into labor we moved into our first home, then i had my daughter, then 6 days later my husband had to go out of town on business...So I think i just got overwhelmed with it all. But mine was weird because it got worse when i nursed my daughter. So I'm assuming it was just all the hormones between my PP bleeding and nursing and all that. But i would suggest just try taking the medication. And see if it helps, and if for one second you feel somethings not right or its not helping tell your doc. Its not worth taking the chance of not taking the medication and you getting significantly worse.

Good luck hun and i hope you start to feel better soon :)

Answer #4:

You could try home remedies & exercise, positive thinking, and everything else, and they may eventually be enough to help you get over it, BUT is it worth the risk if you may hurt yourself or your child while trying to deal with it. I would recommend doing everything including taking the zoloft. It is a scary place to be, and in moments where you feel out of control you may do something you regret, I would rather be safe than sorry. I hope that everything turns out well for you & your family & I wish you the best of luck!

Answer #5:

Personally I have used Zoloft before I was pregnant. I have really bad anxiety, I probably did have PPD but I never wanted to go in and be checked. I felt like a HORRIBLE person because my baby wouldn't latch, everything irritated me, even my hubby annoyed me... But wat I did was I Willed myself to not, but I have had plenty of experience practicing dealing with my emotions and anxiety.There are plenty of ways to "Cope" with your feelings and to learn to work with them... taking Zoloft is not a bad thing, sometimes it just what you need to give you the extra help to deal with everything to help you learn how to handle it on your own. You can take it to help ease everything and then be weaned off. Zoloft is not a pill that you HAVE to be on the rest of your life its one of the easiest to get off of.

Answer #6:

I think you are right about delaying or deciding not to take antidepressants. There benefit is minimal, at best. Several studies came out in 2008 that showed the affects were almost equivalent to a placebo! I will post a link after I submit this...

I think that you should find a counselor or therapist to talk it out. Seriously. It will be very hard to make that appointment and actually follow through. You may feel ridiculous and embarrassed but rest assured that the counselor KNOWS this and will try to make you comfortable. They are trained to help you understand and cope with feelings. The mid wife was right in that they won't just go away. If you leave this untreated, the symptoms may go away leaving you feeling as if you are fine but something will trigger it in the future and you'll be back into a deeper depression. Also, if you meet the counselor and feel like they just don't get you/ your not on the same page or that they were just plain unhelpful, you should make an appointment with another counselor until you have the right fit. No counselor can bring out the full potential in every one.

Answer #7:

I had PPD with my first child. They were the darkest months of my life. I felt like a terrible mother, I felt so *bad* for my son he had to be with me, I lost out on time bonding with him because I didn't want to be around him --- not because of him, but because I was so upset for him I was his mother. I was always tired, I just felt horrible.


I kept denying to myself I had PPD because I just so desperately wanted not to have it. I tried everything to feel OK --- I would exercise, try and go about my day is if nothing was wrong, eat well etc etc and nothing helped --- I actually started feeling worse. I did end up taking medication for it when my son was 4 months and it was the best thing I did ... I also did counseling which helped a lot as well. I did stop taking medication when he was 8 months and continued on with exercise and counseling and did have any issues after that.

I encourage you to take your medication and seek help from a psychiatrist or psychologist as well.



I also took Zoloft to help prevent PPD after I had my second son. I'm not sure if it helped, but I didn't get PPD and my experience with the first few months of motherhood was WAY better.





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