This Isn't What I Expected

Thanks, Karen. I had some issues with this after the birth of my first child. With medication, it cleared up in about 3-6 weeks. I had a history of PMDD and was sort of on the lookout for post partum. I didn't realize that many women with pmdd do fine during pregnancy and until their first period returns. Unfortunately, I didn't have any doctors etc. lined up and when it did hit, it took me weeks to get in anywhere. I'd recommend that anyone with past hormone issues, anxiety or depression to just assume that between the stress and sleep deprivation, it will come back during your post-partum period at some point. Decide ahead of time what you're going to do about nursing, medication, line up a doctor even fill a prescription if it will make you feel better to have it on hand--preferably an ssri and something that acts immediately like klonapin etc. There are medications you can take while nursing, zoloft and one or two others, though if they haven't worked in the past they likely won't work now so you may need to go with something that you know works for you and stop nursing. This also allows the husband or other family members to help as much as is needed. This seems far preferable to a long-term depression. In any case, I wanted to point out that it is not always a long term situation as the stories of pp depression dragging on for months and years terrified me when I first got it.

Thanks for your thoughtful comment. You are so right to point out that with the right intervention, women can expect relief within a few weeks. You raise some other helpful points, too. Thanks for sharing your experience and suggestions.