How did you get past PPD?

[Anonymous]

One day at a time - one hour at a time. I got a prescription for Zoloft from my OB but never filled it. (I should have but I was afraid of weight gain.) It got better around 8/9 months then fully lifted around 15 months when we moved from a condo to a bigger house. But it was a dark time and I still feel like I have ptsd from it.

[Anonymous]

Sleep training and I think babies start being cuter 6 months in too. Zoloft helps too, don’t be afraid to use it to get over this phase.

[Anonymous]

As someone who breastfed (babies starved themselves otherwise), I think sleep has more of an impact on ppd than breastfeeding. I sleep trained very quickly. I think by week 4 we were up to one night waking and then by 12 weeks all my babies were sttn. And if they woke after 12 weeks- dh was responsible for rocking. There was no breastmilk forthcoming at night (they were chubby and didn’t need it).

The breastfeeding hormonal crashes are real (my hair fell out in clumps and I lost 15lbs) but with sleep I could deal much much better.

[Anonymous]

I am so happy for the fortunate, wealthy, privileged poster upthread, and also extremely envious. Her experience is rare, not common in our country, and likely not something OP can relate to, either. So I’m not sure it’s helpful, or if her sharing her good fortune is just going to make the rest of us feel like crap, since most of us weren’t massaged daily by a masseuse and cooked and cared for while family members cared for the baby and hired help tended to our households, cleaning laundry, grocery shopping, and meal prep. Yeesh.

OP do you have a formal diagnosis of PPD? Because there are a lot of perinatal mental
health issues, and PPD is just one of them. I would not white knuckle anything. You need an official diagnosis from a perinatal psychiatrist, therapy, and maybe medication, among other interventions. Start by seeing a psychiatrist - GW and Georgetown both have specific groups for Womens mental health.

Maybe if US women got one fraction of the nurturing and care the PP did, and longer and better paid family leave, we wouldn’t have the skyrocketing rates of postpartum mental health issues we have. But our country sucks, and capitalism sucks, so here we are. I’m sorry, OP.

[Anonymous]

You need to talk to your doctor and don't skip your PPD meds.

[Anonymous]

My OB wrote a Zoloft prescription based on a phone call. They are on the lookout for this and want to help you.

[Anonymous]

Zoloft saved my life. I went from crying for hours a day and thinking I should never have become a mom to seeing the positive in everything and cherishing every moment. Hugs, OP. PPD is incredibly hard and isolating.

[Anonymous]

Zoloft - it worked very well and kicked in within a week. After my 2nd birth, I went back on it right away and didn't get PPD/PPA.

[Anonymous]

I found nutrition was such a critical piece. We’re so deeply depleted postpartum. Sleeping getting really good food + HYDRATION and not expecting too much of yourself. Prenatal vitamins, fish oil, keeping body warm. It’s a very hard time. Also, don’t be afraid to check in with your doc - sometimes our chemistry is off. We can be nutrient deficient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I found nutrition was such a critical piece. We’re so deeply depleted postpartum. Sleeping getting really good food + HYDRATION and not expecting too much of yourself. Prenatal vitamins, fish oil, keeping body warm. It’s a very hard time. Also, don’t be afraid to check in with your doc - sometimes our chemistry is off. We can be nutrient deficient.

Oops. Plus meds if needed. It takes about 2 years for your body to restore hormones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Title says it all.

I have been having a hard time. We have an objectively good situation - supportive partner, healthy baby, comfortable life.

Baby is a few months old now, and I am still struggling with being irritable, crying or outbursts several times a week, having trouble keeping a rational and calm outlook on things, etc.

How did you recover from PPD? How did you manage until then?

Just about every church has free counseling and you do not need to belong to that church or even beca member of that religion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Title says it all.

I have been having a hard time. We have an objectively good situation - supportive partner, healthy baby, comfortable life.

Baby is a few months old now, and I am still struggling with being irritable, crying or outbursts several times a week, having trouble keeping a rational and calm outlook on things, etc.

How did you recover from PPD? How did you manage until then?

Just about every church has free counseling and you do not need to belong to that church or even beca member of that religion.

Yeah but that takes research to be sure the church won’t just want you to “pray it away” or “submit harder to your husband” - and this isn’t a good time to be giving OP homework.

Sleep helps, OP. Whether that means weaning or not is your call, but you need five consecutive hours of sleep a night and you have to do whatever it takes to make that happen. Credit card debt to pay for a nanny, DH takes a week off work to handle nights, call a relative/friend, whatever it takes.

[Anonymous]

On top of whatever medication your doctor recommends I’d look for a hormone balancing diet like nuts and seeds (especially pumpkin) and soy foods like tofu and lots of whole grains like oatmeal that help your body dump excess hormones quickly. Pumpkin and sunflower seeds really seem to help me with hormone swings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Zoloft - it worked very well and kicked in within a week. After my 2nd birth, I went back on it right away and didn't get PPD/PPA.

Same. My two postpartum experiences couldn't have been more different. Zoloft was a game changer in a truly amaing way.

[Anonymous]

Zoloft is not a panacea. Glad it worked for some but didn’t work for me and I gained 20
Lbs on it. SSRIs only work on about 1/2 of all people and there is a significant placebo effect.