A rush of pure fury

[rivka]

First read this post.

I used to just be sad in the morning, and after 11am I was okay. But in the last two weeks that okay period has been pushed back to 2pm and then to 5pm and now I am not ever okay. My nights are just as bad as my mornings. There isn’t a moment in the day that I look forward to. I don’t see an end to this cycle of stress, and I find myself asking much too often, “Why go on?”

Yesterday I saw a psychiatrist who prescribed me a combination of drugs. I wish that there were other ways that I could go about getting better, but you have to believe me when I say that this is way beyond herbal remedies or dietary changes. I exercise all the time and I have a very healthy diet (except for the pop tarts, but people, a woman needs her pop tarts). This situation is life-threatening. I am afraid of hurting myself. [...]

But there is one terrible drawback to this step I am taking toward sanity. The doctor told me that I have to wean Leta if I want to work up to therapeutic levels of these drugs. I have to stop breastfeeding in the next month.

Then read this response.

Comments

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

The mommy mafia just infuriate me. Including the people at La Leche who told my husband it was vital not to supplement with my first.

As someone who was undermedicated following my childbirths, which in resulted severe depression (including edging over to psychosis with my first -- those hallucinations can sure be convincing, can't they?) with two hospitalizations, I can categorically state that it is far more important for the mother to be safe, sane, and healthy -- no matter how powerful the drugs she needs to do that -- than for her baby to breastfeed. And I was not too keen with the commenter who insisted that it was possible for the mother to both breastfeed and take the meds, either. (Prozac is safe, but I was on Prozac and a fat lot of good it did me. Some of the other drugs -- especially some of the bi-polar or antipsychotics -- may not be.)

When will people take postpartum depression SERIOUSLY? I look at cases like Andrea Yates and shudder -- because that could have been me.


GRRRRRR.

[lysana.livejournal.com]

"Vital not to supplement with your first," meaning don't give the firstborn formula alongside breast milk? Or did they mean something else?

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

By not supplementing, they meant no formula. In fact, the lactation Nazi my husband talked to said we shouldn't give anything by bottle (including pumped breast milk) because she said once the baby had a bottle they would not want to nurse. From personal experience, that's hogwash.

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

Actually, the way I wrote that sentence was misleading. I am sure they would have given us the same advice for subsequent children, except we didn't call them.