Re: dealing with the guilt

Re: dealing with the guilt ----- From: Josie - Date: 07 Nov 1997

Hi Betty. I have been away for a couple of weeks and I am glad to have come back and realise that you are at least takin some antidepressents. I think it is wise of you to carry on taking them and you WILL get better but they will usually take two to three weeks to have some effect on you and with me it took six weeks to feel the full effect. (although I did start to feel somewhat better after about ten days or so). Like I have said before because you have had a baby recently it is considered postpartum depression and it is sometimes treated in a different way to other types of depression, even if there are additional circumstances that add to your case. PROGESTERONE treatment is being used in Britain by some specialists in post natal depression because there is very often a sudden lack of progesterone after the delivery of the placenta and so many women suffering from depression after the birth were found to be defficient in this hormone. A friend of mine who is also a midwife was very baddly affected with her first child and was absolutely dreading coming new baby because of the nightmare that the whole family went through with her depression. She had progesterone injections after the second baby and she has not suffered at all this time and absolutely swears by this treatment. Once depression is there however you should really take anti depressents as you are now doing, and usually the choice is trifluoperazine (Stelazine), fluoxetine (Prozac) or bupropion (Wellbutrin) as well as the Progesterone (you might need to find an up to date Obstetrician) for this as well as support from groups and /or individual therapy with a counsellor, who ideally will involve the whole family. I can see that you are still obsessed with this Herpes thing and you really must try and put it out of your mind. You and the kids have had numerous visits to the doctors and kids do have all sorts of rashes particularly under stress. (But you must be sick of me repeating the same thing to you over and over again). You are in the right track Betty and you have so much to live for!! Just take one day at a time and it will happen. But do keep on taking the medication the doctor has prescribed for you. I have not heard of it before but I am not familiar with all the drugs on prescription in the States. Lots of love to you and your family. Josie.