Former Puerperal Psychosis Sufferer

[suesophieb]

Hi everybody My name is Sue and I am 25 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child who i have found out is a boy

My previous pregnancy, birth and postpartum period were what could be described as a nightmare :S I had complications during pregnancy ( Placenta Previa and Severe Hyperemisis)
These conditions resulted in my daughter being born prematurely by emergency at 31 weeks and spending a fair few months in the SCBU. She did however recover from her early arrival and is now a very healthy...and bossy 8 year old

I will try to keep the introduction short as lots to say but don't really know where to start. For my C- section i was knocked out so wasn't awake for the birth. When I did wake up the Puerperal Psychosis kicked in immediately. I was suffering delusions (false beliefs) i was convinced I was dying, Having hallucination and also hearing things which weren't there....oh and one of the strangest of the symptoms ....smelling things that weren't there. I had absolutely no interest in my newborn and was completely convinced that I was losing my mind.

Unfortunately for me the caregivers who I came into contact with didn't recognize that I was suffering from psychos is for the 1st 4 months of the illness. My state was put down to ' tiredness and shock'. Eventually it was my GP that recognized what it was wrong with me ...apparently he said he has only known of two reported cases in my area of the postpartum psychosis and that i think is the reason it was failed to be picked up sooner :S Anyway I was eventually put on the correct medication Anti depressants and anti psychotic drugs and slowly made my recovery.

I am now pregnant and again...have been taking Fluoxetine throughout the course of my pregnancy as advised by my doctor.I am obviously worried of this occurring again after this pregnancy However I am certainly going to be ready for it if does and I will know what is happening to me this time.

One of the main reasons I have joined site is to help others. I feel that if I had got the right support then I would have recovered a lot quicker. I'm happy to share any info about my past illness and answer any questions any fellow sufferers may have. I think that knowing someone else has gone through the same thing and come through the other side is a massive comfort

If I could get through the horrible illness then anyone can xx

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[monica]

Hello and welcome!

So sorry you've not had a reply sooner - life can get busy for th eladies here especially as its summer.

Congrats on your pregnancy - forewarned is forearmed - if you look at the pregnancy section and some of the threads in this one you will see that there are other ladies who have suffered from PP and gone on to have more children without this illness reoccuring. One of the mods on here took meds during pregnancy and came through this symtoms free.

I'm so sorry for what you've been through - it must have been such a dificult experience especially as you were not diagnosed for so long. Your offer to share your experiences are a huge help - PP and PNI are dreadful illnesses and so isolating and frightening - knowing someone who can trully empathise andsupport you is invaluable.

How many weeks are you into your pregnancy? Has it gone ok this time round?

Monica

[Bookwormprincess]

Hi Sue,

Firstly apologies for not replying sooner. I have had a month of throat infections and viruses in this house so not been around on the forum. So good to have you here. Your help and advice will be invaluable for others.

I would love to share with you how I prevented PP second time round, and the key was indeed taking anti psychotics preventatively. I took them at week 33 of my second pregnancy, not an easy decision, but came off anti depressants as they can induce mania in the postpartum period if you have had a PP. I also had other support in place, like being given priority for a private side room where my husband could stay also on the postnatal ward for example.

I know other women who had second children, one lady did not take mediation in pregnancy or postnatally but did not develop PP again, another lady did not take preventative medication but did develop PP again so took medication once the symptoms had set in. Another lady saw early warning signs postnatally so took medication about day 5 and was able to prevent it. So it seems there is no one set pattern and every case needs to be considered individually.

My PP was very sudden with onset, within hours of the birth I was not myself so that is why I made the difficult decision to take anti psychotics at week 33. But it proved the right decision as I did get insomnia and racing thoughts after the birth which was similar to my first time. So we just upped the meds and I remained well despite the highly stressful events of my son being rushed to London for life saving surgery at 2 days old. He was in NICU for 3 weeks and had a stoma for nearly 4 months, so we have lots of experiences in common it seems.

I truly hope your second experience of motherhood is the one you always dreamed of before you even knew about PP. It takes a lot of courage to try again. Do keep us posted.

There is a PP Survivors group on facebook if you are on there.

Also, APP is a fantastic organisation to get in touch with.

Take care, N x

[Bookwormprincess]

Oh and another common experience, I also had hyperemesis but after week 12 it was controlled with antiemetics so that even though I was still sick each day I could actually eat and drink. With my second pregnancy I had sickness all the way through but only once or twice a day so nowhere near as bad. How's the sickness been with your second?

[Bookwormprincess]

Hi Sue,

How are you getting on?

Hope things are progressing well.

N x

[abbidarren77]

Hi
Wonder if you can help .. I've just been diagnosed with PP, my baby is 6 months now nearly & I was misdiagnosed with PND & have been on 40mg fluoxetine & diazepam. i have been through hell but have been having more good days than bad most recently but wanted a second opinion. I went to a private psychiatrist yesterday who believes I was misdiagnosed as the onset was day 2 which involved me being highly anxious/agitated & having terrible intrusive thoughts. Felt very suicidal & awful depression. I didn't have any over active or excitable behaviour & have remained very conscious of my thoughts & feelings haven't heard voices or seen anything to suggest dissolution yet the psychiatrist still believes it was PP rather than PND. I'm really confused .... I've been trying to get my head around PND & now feel I've got a more severe illness to deal with & I've practically gone through the early stages cold turkey! I've now been prescribed an anti psychotic mood stabiliser but I'm so scared of the side effects & my symptoms worsening I'm just so confused having 2 different diagnoses. Does anyone know if these drugs will be ok for me whether I'm suffering PND or PP? I also suffer GAD. Any help & advice would be so much appreciated as I'm really scared..
Thanks x

[juppster]

Hey sweetie, I'm sorry you haven't had a reply sooner. Unfortunately a lot of the ladies who've suffered pp dont very often come back on the site. Hopefully someone will be along to offer you some advice from personal experience soon x

[abbidarren77]

Thank you babe xx

[monica]

Hi

Just had a thought. I could ask a lady who sed to come on here. I believe she s part of a PP group. Let me know if u would like me to do this. How r u testing on?

Monica

[Weeble]

Hi don't worry about the diagnosis or the drugs please. I take antipsychotics and they help big style.

Kat