Posted by Waterlily on December 25, 2003, at 15:14:55
In reply to Re: When are meds justified? emotional flatness, posted by fogmama on December 23, 2003, at 22:52:20
Fogmama - I'm struck by the fact that you're a new mother yet you said that you can't seem to get your stuff together. Guess what? That HAPPENS when you have a baby. All you have time for is the baby. Forget about getting it all together because it ain't gonna happen. You might be able to put on a good act,but in reality mothering a new baby is the hardest job on the face of the earth. My daughters are 9 and 11 and I woudn't go back to having an infant for anything.
Regarding your reluctance to going on an antidepressant, I woudn't be. You're missing out on all of the joys of your baby's infancy. I experienced severe depression after my second daughter was born. It took me three months to get help and start on Zoloft. I feel like I missed out on all of the joys of the first three months of her life because I was so depressed. She was a wonderful baby and once I was on antidepressants I was able to thoroughly enjoy her. I nursed her until she was almost two years old. My nurse-midwife first suggested Zoloft when I saw her for my 6 week checkup. When I saw the psychiatrist for the first time, he called my daughter's pediatrician to get permission to prescribe Zoloft for me. All is well and my daughter is a happy, well-adjusted child.
Please, don't be afraid to try antidepressants. At the worst, you'll end up going off them and back to where you are now.
> Hi sip, Donna Louise, brussel --
>
> I am new here. I'm not on any meds; I have only taken over the counter amino acids & herbs for depression in the past.
>
> I was struck by the fact that the three of you are writers ... as am I. Currently jobless, other than being a new mother ... and yet I can't seem to get my s*** together to write, nor to do anything else for that matter. This is severely affecting my family economics, and it's time to make a change.
>
> Not sure whether meds are the right option, especially as I'm nursing for the next 6+ months ... but I related so much to sip's description of how she felt without them in the past - that whole sad vortex of suffering, feeling worthless, self-negation that we sink into. I'm ready to stop it, but scared of losing the impetus to create ... and yet I recognize that depression is also keeping me from making anything of my art.
>
> I once read an essay by a writer I respect, who had gone onto Prozac. She said she felt like the same person, except that she could get done the things that she had not been able to get done. That's exactly what I want! But I am still afraid of flipping some switch that will turn me into someone entirely different. An acceptable wife and mother, perhaps, maybe even a productive and fully employed citizen ... but maybe not me. Maybe that would be OK. I don't know.
>
> Well that's all. Thank you all for including the detail that you're writers. I feel less alone.
>
> fogmama
poster:Waterlily
thread:289528
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031225/msgs/293370.html