Made appt, nervous

cottonlily84

I finally made an appt to see my OB about the way I've been struggling lately.  I can deal with the emotional stuff well enough to get by, but I have gotten to the point where I'm barely functioning otherwise, especially at work.  I forget things, miss things, make mistakes, have people asking me if I'm mad at them.  Some of that forgetfulness has spilled over into homelife too and I haven't slept well in months.  I'm nervous because for one I'm not the type to be spilling my feelings like this and because I've already fibbed a bit to my dr about being ok with PPD issues when he brought it up before.  And I just had an appt yesterday for something else and was too overwhelmed with that to bring this up so he's really going to think I'm nuts coming twice in one week.  But I just had to schedule the appt today before I changed my mind again.  I don't even know how to start the conversation.  I've never thought about how to tell someone I think I have a mental disorder, and I hate even typing that   

grbnik

That is awesome that you made the appt!!!  I bet you will feel a great amount of relief after you discuss it with a professional- they see this often.  Know that you aren't the only one feeling like this.  And, just for the record, you may not have a 'mental disorder' sometimes these things are situational, and you will slowly start to feel back to yourself after your hormones are regulated.  My hormones didn't regulate until a year after my son was born, and then I got preggo again.  So, it does take time.  And, if you do need counseling/meds, etc- know that lots of people do.  It really doesn't have the same stigma it did years ago (thanks Marie Osmond... I guess).  Hehe.  Find things every day to laugh at.  Have you ever heard of laughing yoga?  I work in brain injury, and many of my clients, who were not diagnosed with mental impairments prior to their injuries, have situational anxiety/depression/etc.  A lot are looking to laughing yoga for improvement.  Just something to think about.

Good luck with your appt and keep us posted!
 

pcrock92

I was very nervous as well because I thought my doctor would judge or think I'm stupid for not being able to deal with my emotions, but when I told her she was extremely helpful and concerned. She put me on zoloft and referred me to a psychiatrist and told me to call any time that I'm feeling really down. She said she'd get me through this no matter what it takes. It really made me feel better and it was such a relief to finally tell some one. The zoloft has been helping already even after only 2 weeks. I'm obviously not 100% yet because it's been such a short time, but I'm improving slowly. TB is a great place to share your feelings because all of us are going through the same things! You'll get through it.

cottonlily84

So I made it through the appointment and of course my dr was great about it.  I felt dumb since I'd just seen him 2 days earlier but he didn't mention it.  Told him I was really failing at work and couldn't sleep, he asked about anxiety and I admitted I have problems with that too.  I really didn't get into the emotional stuff but I made the appt specifically for PPD so I guess we were on the same page from the get go.  He said your serotonin levels drop greatly after birth and could stay low for 2 years.  I told him I'd tried all the natural stuff like getting out, exercising, sunlight and he just grinned and nodded.  Gave me a rx for fluoxetine which I've never heard of.  I don't even know if that's a generic or brand name.  He said it was the most studied med and said I'd be fine taking it BFing.  And if it didn't get better or got worse in the next 2 weeks to come back in.  I'm glad I don't have to depend on something forever but he said I should take this for 6 months before thinking about stopping it.  Seems like a long time to be taking something like this, and I really don't like taking meds at all, but I'll try anything to be able to enjoy my daughter more now. 

Useonfire

cottonlily84:

So I made it through the appointment and of course my dr was great about it.  I felt dumb since I'd just seen him 2 days earlier but he didn't mention it.  Told him I was really failing at work and couldn't sleep, he asked about anxiety and I admitted I have problems with that too.  I really didn't get into the emotional stuff but I made the appt specifically for PPD so I guess we were on the same page from the get go.  He said your serotonin levels drop greatly after birth and could stay low for 2 years.  I told him I'd tried all the natural stuff like getting out, exercising, sunlight and he just grinned and nodded.  Gave me a rx for fluoxetine which I've never heard of.  I don't even know if that's a generic or brand name.  He said it was the most studied med and said I'd be fine taking it BFing.  And if it didn't get better or got worse in the next 2 weeks to come back in.  I'm glad I don't have to depend on something forever but he said I should take this for 6 months before thinking about stopping it.  Seems like a long time to be taking something like this, and I really don't like taking meds at all, but I'll try anything to be able to enjoy my daughter more now. 

It's Prozac. You are fine with Prozac and BF.  Zoloft is more commonly prescribed though.