Post by Bookwormprincess on Aug 10, 2009 13:20:31 GMT
Hi everyone,
Well some of you may know that I had an appointment with Dr Ian Jones at Cardiff University last week, so I thought I'd let you know how it went.
He was very helpful and easy to talk to, and it was a relief to talk to an expert on the subject for the first time. We went through in detail what happened to me and he agreed with the diagnosis of PP, which he also calls a Mood Disorder leading to Pyschosis. He was very supportive of our decision to have another baby and he said that since an episode can reoccur at any time in the future, not just after childbirth, a lot of women think they might as well have another baby and take that risk.
Since my episode was quite severe he estimated that the risk for a reoccurance after a subsequent delivery was 50-60% and therefore recommends taking anti-psychotics immediately after delivery for 2-4months, as this may prevent me getting ill. If it doesn't prevent PP returning he said that second episodes are usually less severe.
I liked that he confirmed that PP is biological and not down to your personality or something like that, although your previous history of mental health problems may put you at a higher risk of developing it.
I also agreed to take part in their research into PP and Bi-Polar Disorder (the two are very similar) and so I have a questionnaire to fill in and a blood sample to give.
Dr Jones said he would be happy to be involved in my care if/when I become pregnant again and he would write a letter to my midwife and GP indicating that I was at serious risk of PP recocurring and that I would need extra care. I was reassured by this.
I was really pleased to have met him, although I would rather have still been under the impression that my risk was 20% but it is better to be well informed.
Interestingly he doesn't think progesterone treatment holds any weight in preventing PNI as there is no evidence to support it. He said that woment who take it and then attribute it to warding off a second episode of PNI may never have gone on to have a reoccurance anyway.
Also, he said that the emotional numbness I felt on anti-psyhcotics may have been the illness itself rather than the medication and that I may have been recovering from the illness at the same time as I came off the meds, so I cannot attribute feeling better to coming off them. This means I may not feel numb if I go on them again as a preventative measure.
We are still planning on having another baby but taking a month out to rethink when we should try again and consider if I need longer feeling well again before I become pregnant. My husband is inclined to wait a bit longer where as I would like it to happen sooner rather than later, although I am very scared of getting ill again. But at least now I feel I have more support after this consultation.
Well some of you may know that I had an appointment with Dr Ian Jones at Cardiff University last week, so I thought I'd let you know how it went.
He was very helpful and easy to talk to, and it was a relief to talk to an expert on the subject for the first time. We went through in detail what happened to me and he agreed with the diagnosis of PP, which he also calls a Mood Disorder leading to Pyschosis. He was very supportive of our decision to have another baby and he said that since an episode can reoccur at any time in the future, not just after childbirth, a lot of women think they might as well have another baby and take that risk.
Since my episode was quite severe he estimated that the risk for a reoccurance after a subsequent delivery was 50-60% and therefore recommends taking anti-psychotics immediately after delivery for 2-4months, as this may prevent me getting ill. If it doesn't prevent PP returning he said that second episodes are usually less severe.
I liked that he confirmed that PP is biological and not down to your personality or something like that, although your previous history of mental health problems may put you at a higher risk of developing it.
I also agreed to take part in their research into PP and Bi-Polar Disorder (the two are very similar) and so I have a questionnaire to fill in and a blood sample to give.
Dr Jones said he would be happy to be involved in my care if/when I become pregnant again and he would write a letter to my midwife and GP indicating that I was at serious risk of PP recocurring and that I would need extra care. I was reassured by this.
I was really pleased to have met him, although I would rather have still been under the impression that my risk was 20% but it is better to be well informed.
Interestingly he doesn't think progesterone treatment holds any weight in preventing PNI as there is no evidence to support it. He said that woment who take it and then attribute it to warding off a second episode of PNI may never have gone on to have a reoccurance anyway.
Also, he said that the emotional numbness I felt on anti-psyhcotics may have been the illness itself rather than the medication and that I may have been recovering from the illness at the same time as I came off the meds, so I cannot attribute feeling better to coming off them. This means I may not feel numb if I go on them again as a preventative measure.
We are still planning on having another baby but taking a month out to rethink when we should try again and consider if I need longer feeling well again before I become pregnant. My husband is inclined to wait a bit longer where as I would like it to happen sooner rather than later, although I am very scared of getting ill again. But at least now I feel I have more support after this consultation.