Post by Penny on Apr 25, 2003 12:15:23 GMT
I am now trying to cope with pnd after having my 5th child 9 weeks ago.
I have no family near except my husband, and very few friends.
At 33 weeks of pregnancy my husband had to move away from home to work, only coming back every three weeks. We have a very close relationship and I missed him desperately. From the moment he left I began to feel anxious, lonely and suffered from palpatations. One week after the baby arrived he had to go away to work again. After 5 days I wasn't sleeping at night, was exhausted and terrified. I thought I was going mad. I couldn't understand what was happening to me and the palpitations scared me. A few days later I phoned him at 6.30 am asking him to leave the job and come home because I was absolutely desperate. He did, luckily the same employer was able to find him work closer to home so from then on he has been home every evening. One morning the palpitations went on for what seemed a long time and I finally went to the doctor he told me it was depression and prescribed anti-depressants, I was breastfeeding the entire time and was concerned they would affect her so I struggled on for another 3 weeks until I became to bad to deal with it on my own and began the treatment. I have now been on the tablets for 1 month and only had palpitations twice in that time. I have also been given something to help me sleep which makes a tremendous difference and I have continued to breastfeed throughout. The nightmares have lessened a lot too.
As I have no-one close by for day-to-day support except for my husband who works sometimes until 8 or 9 pm, I have a carer who comes two hours a day to take the two younger children out so I can sleep or just rest. I think that my energy levels are slowly increasing and I am starting to eat much better. I feel guilty at the burden I am placing on people, especially as I have always been a very capable and independant person who never asked for help until now. I also feel guilty that I am unable to spend as much time doing things with my children as I did before.
Sometimes I feel angry with myself for not recovering quicker and frustrated by my tiredness and lack of energy. I cannot concentrate enough to read books and even typing this is causing difficulty, I keep spelling things wrong and have to read back what I have typed to correct them.
I am forgetting things all the time and have to write them down. On bad days I have trouble listening to people and speaking in complete sentences.
I know now that I will get better but feel very sad at the time I have lost in this fog.
I have no family near except my husband, and very few friends.
At 33 weeks of pregnancy my husband had to move away from home to work, only coming back every three weeks. We have a very close relationship and I missed him desperately. From the moment he left I began to feel anxious, lonely and suffered from palpatations. One week after the baby arrived he had to go away to work again. After 5 days I wasn't sleeping at night, was exhausted and terrified. I thought I was going mad. I couldn't understand what was happening to me and the palpitations scared me. A few days later I phoned him at 6.30 am asking him to leave the job and come home because I was absolutely desperate. He did, luckily the same employer was able to find him work closer to home so from then on he has been home every evening. One morning the palpitations went on for what seemed a long time and I finally went to the doctor he told me it was depression and prescribed anti-depressants, I was breastfeeding the entire time and was concerned they would affect her so I struggled on for another 3 weeks until I became to bad to deal with it on my own and began the treatment. I have now been on the tablets for 1 month and only had palpitations twice in that time. I have also been given something to help me sleep which makes a tremendous difference and I have continued to breastfeed throughout. The nightmares have lessened a lot too.
As I have no-one close by for day-to-day support except for my husband who works sometimes until 8 or 9 pm, I have a carer who comes two hours a day to take the two younger children out so I can sleep or just rest. I think that my energy levels are slowly increasing and I am starting to eat much better. I feel guilty at the burden I am placing on people, especially as I have always been a very capable and independant person who never asked for help until now. I also feel guilty that I am unable to spend as much time doing things with my children as I did before.
Sometimes I feel angry with myself for not recovering quicker and frustrated by my tiredness and lack of energy. I cannot concentrate enough to read books and even typing this is causing difficulty, I keep spelling things wrong and have to read back what I have typed to correct them.
I am forgetting things all the time and have to write them down. On bad days I have trouble listening to people and speaking in complete sentences.
I know now that I will get better but feel very sad at the time I have lost in this fog.
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