Post Natal Depression

[intexasatthe moment]

littlebelka I think I understand your posts and I didn't get the impression that you were criticising other people if they went down the medication route .

And I share your distrust of drug companies , their desire for profits and the effect that has on our treatment .

If it's any help I use Forest Hill Rd surgery and they discussed with me a range a treatments that were available .

I chose CRT which is group therapy focussing on relaxation and compassion ( towards oneself ) .

There was a few months waiting to start and I wasn't particularly optimistic but found it a huge help .Though like all these things I suspect much depends on the practicioner.

So if offered CRT I would say consider it ,though obviously different treatments for different states . Might not be appropriate for all and possibly not for PND ,but mentioning it to spread the word .

[littlebelka]

Saffron, I have described my own experiences and how I was treated and to what conclusions I came to.

I do not condemn people who took medication and do not classify them as the reckless parents and burden to the tax payer. To some people medication helped, to some not. I have considered that for me the pills would not be of much use and I stated the reason why I do think so.

P.S. What style of yoga do you do?

intexasatthe moment, thanks a lot for understanding.

I am as well registered at Forest Hill Rd and I do agree that lots of things depend on practitioner.

[Mae]

For those waiting for CBT through the GP it's worth knowing that the guidelines for accessing state that women with PND should be fast tracked- might be worth reminding the GP/psychology service of this....

[Saffron]

What does "fast-tracked" mean? I was told by an NHS GP that I would have to wait 14 wks to see a therapist.

[Saffron]

littlebelka Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Saffron, I have described my own experiences and

> how I was treated and to what conclusions I came

> to.

> I do not condemn people who took medication and do

> not classify them as the reckless parents and

> burden to the tax payer. To some people medication

> helped, to some not. I have considered that for me

> the pills would not be of much use and I stated

> the reason why I do think so.

>

> P.S. What style of yoga do you do?

>

> intexasatthe moment, thanks a lot for

> understanding.

> I am as well registered at Forest Hill Rd and I do

> agree that lots of things depend on practitioner.

Well, thanks for coming back to clarify, but it still doesn't explain why you stated...

> Even if someone gets these pills for

> free, taxpayer still pays for this.

The taxpayer pays for ANY treatment that someone gets on the NHS for postpartum depression, regardless of whether it's drugs or therapy. It's totally irrelevant.

Are you saying that the NHS should not offer drug treatments for depression because the money goes to drug companies? Really that's muddying the water on the issue of treatment options, and it should not be an individual's over-riding concern when trying to chose a suitable treatment, particularly because the same paradigm applies to therapists.

I also think the statement is out of place on a thread where the OP is asking for help on postpartum depression and has chosen medication as a treatment option. But, feel free to disagree. I'm just expressing my opinion.

[Ellie78]

midivydale - yes, I see that the meds might well help with the sleep - and getting back to sleep - it was an issue I was in a real fix about, but I erred on the side of caution - my good days outbalanced my bad generally (though not during specific weeks where things were particularly tough with illness etc).

I guess I'm also just a cautious, and rather pessimistic person (hence the desire for CBT) - when they said that you *may* get anxiety for a fortnight - month, and you *may* experience weight gain...and those symptoms may stay about for a bit..I was out of there! I was sure both of those things *would* have happened to me, which would have tipped me over the edge! Stupid really. I'm sure it wouldn't have been bad - that's how risk averse I am.

I'm glad - OP - that you are trying them - how is it going?

Anyhow, I would have liked Saffron's GP quite a bit a few months ago.

Saffron - I was told they fast tracked PND for CBT treatment too..not happened in my case.

I feel absolutely fine when I've slept more than 5 hours during a night for a couple of nights - oh, I wish it was cheaper for the NHS to occasionally come round and babysit.

[Saffron]

Ellie78, interesting that you say you desired CBT as you describe your decision based on being cautious/pessimistic about drug treatment options. I can actually say that I felt the exact opposite!

I felt cautious/pessimistic about therapy because past experience had shown me that this option could make me worse before I felt better, and could take longer than medication to produce any improvement.

Are these good decisions? Well, if we feel better, then I guess they are! :) The main thing about treating postpartum depression (or any mental illness), is to keep an open mind not only for others but for ourselves too.

I have to ask myself, if medication hadn't worked, would I have tried therapy? I like to think I would have tried just about anything, not only for my own sake but for my family! Therea are so many different ways to treat depression, everyone's sure to find something to help if only they keep an open mind. xx

[Ellie78]

Yeah... I think that I was concerned about the short term 'cons' of a possible peak in anxiety and a little bit of weight gain (god, so what, my thought should have been) perhaps demonstrates that I wasn't in too deep. Equally perhaps that attitude came from the illness itself.

You're right- whatever works really- it's the end result that matters.

[littlebelka]

Saffron Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Well, thanks for coming back to clarify, but it

> still doesn't explain why you stated...

>

> > Even if someone gets these pills for

> > free, taxpayer still pays for this.

>

> The taxpayer pays for ANY treatment that someone

> gets on the NHS for postpartum depression,

> regardless of whether it's drugs or therapy. It's

> totally irrelevant.

>

> Are you saying that the NHS should not offer drug

> treatments for depression because the money goes

> to drug companies? Really that's muddying the

> water on the issue of treatment options, and it

> should not be an individual's over-riding concern

> when trying to chose a suitable treatment,

> particularly because the same paradigm applies to

> therapists.

>

I know that taxpayer pays for all treatments, whether it is drugs or therapy.

There is one matter when people including you have tried several things and only when they have tried tablets there were positive results or I have met several people who came with the depressions to their GPs and just were offered antidepressants and that's it. Nothing else was offered.

If you think this statement is "out of place on a thread where the OP is asking for help on postpartum depression and has chosen medication as a treatment option." this is you opinion, you are entitled to it, but there is no need to be this aggressive if someone else is offering different methods. Someone asked what to do with the depression, I described my experience and how I fixed it, what to do next is up to someone.

[Saffron]

No intended aggression, just being assertive: When I read something questionable, I'm naturally going to question it.

For example, the statement that the taypayer pays for pills, when indeed all NHS care is provided by the taxpayer, and postpartum women are fully entitled to the full range of care that the NHS offers, without prejudice, and free of charge at the point of access.

Is it really one matter when drug treatment has a positive outcome for some individuals, but another matter when only drugs are offered and nothing else [on the NHS] to another individual? Actually, no. Rereading my previous posts, it's apparent that these actually are two sides of the same argument. Indeed my recent experience was that therapy was offered, and nothing else! It's not two different matters, it's all part of the same matter.

Despite its remit to provide mental health care, the NHS does often struggle to do so effectively and efficiently. I believe this is independent of the source of funding (ie, the taxpayer), and instead due to poor quality of education for GPs on the subject of mental health treatments combined with biases towards treatment types, whether medication or counselling. It may help some women to actively pursue their treatment(s) of choice if they're aware of this, imho.

[esme]

I felt very down off and on throughout the first year - found my son a very demanding baby (he had colic, which meant he had wind/pain and didn't find a good cure for a very long time) plus I think the general adjusting to parenthood really tests a relationship and you forget about yourself so much you run yourself into the ground with tiredness. My advice is if you feel down try and have a rest and a treat, be nice to yourself, that worked for me :) and if you feel permanently rotten and unable to lift yourself out of the blues I would seek help from GP who can recommend counselling and general advice on sleeping better, baby routines and so on. Hope you feel supported from this thread - I think most mums feel depressed at some point, not always in the first few months by any means - nobody can prepare you for motherhood esp not the sleep deprivation! xx