Corine:  Thank you so much for sharing your explicit thoughts experiences
during PPD.  It is so relevant for anyone dealing with bf moms.  My husband
and many others I know, don't "believe" in PPD as a "real" problem.  Even my
mother, a life-long bi-polar manic depressive, has bought into the "pull
yourself up by your own boot-straps" concept (quoting Dr. Laura in the
process).  They believe that women are using this as an excuse for erractic
behavior, or behavior from which they are trying to escape responsibility.
I say this not as a psychiatrist, but as a PPD victim.   During times that I
have not been on SSRIs, I have experienced depressive bouts.  After a series
of miscarrages, I was "taken off" Prozac.  I then became pregnant again and
miscarried in my second trimester;  following this, I had severe PPD.  I was
suicidal and did some things that I am not now very proud of (not directly
hurting anyone, but I actually lost my best friend and co-LLLL because of my
actions).  I subsequently went back on SSRIs (Effexor) and conceived again
with last child.  I tell you this because there are many out there who could
reach out and don't; then there are those who openly ridicule and contribute
to the problem.

Whether problems are "real" or perceived, the human body can create chemical
imbalances that SSRIs, and other pharmaceuticals, can help to rebalance.
For many people, it helps THEM put their lives back together--it does not do
it for them though.  However, it cannot undo the damage done to
relationships during the "bad" times.  I would be happy to discuss this
privately with anyone wanting more detail or specific insights on what one
can go through in this ordeal.

I'm very uncertain about posting this, so please no rotten cyber-fruit.

-- Chris Hafner-Eaton, PhD, MPH, CHES, IBCLC    [log in to unmask]

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