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prawny
28-07-04, 11:12
hello everyone!
im dawn im 25 with two children. since having my daughter in april 2003 i have been suffering with anxiety. i have had a few bouts which i have come through ok but it has all come to head in the past two months. two weeks before my holiday in june 04 i began suffering with worry and panick it got so bad i took myself to A&E. i then took diazepam to calm me down. holiday went fine. i had a session with the mental health team and felt really positive about trying alternative therapies (really against taking anti-deppressants) therefore i was discharged. i visited the doctor on monday and explained how id been feeling for the past 2 weeks but refused medication. then last night i got myself in a state and decided i need medication so have been to gp this am and have been prescribed venlafaxine. i have just taken a diazepam to calm me down and feeling a bit better.

i also find it hard to tell other people how i feel and tend to keep it all in. i finally told my partner last night how i really feel and what i worry about (i think im seriouslyill etc). Does anyone else feel like this?

am i wrong for choosing the easy option?
will i ever stop feeling like this?
has anyone suffered as a result of having a baby?

dawn x

kate
28-07-04, 11:30
Hiya Dawn,

Welcome to the forum.

I suffer from anxiety and depression which does escalate after having children as you worry about the slightest thing regarding their health their safety etc etc!

I also had PND after having my second child and I took anti d's for this which got me back on an even keel after a few months.

Taking med's is not "the easy option", it is sometimes necessary to overcome the worst of your problems, to stabilise you enough to start to piece your life together again.

There is no shame in taking med's, you have not failed in any way whatsoever!

You are just taking the steps necessary to be more able to address your problems.

If you had diabetes or any other physical problem, you would take the med's without question. So why not with anxiety based problems?

Most of us find it hard to tell anyone about our suffering. There still seems to be a stigma attached to any type of mental illness. So, well done to you for opening up to your partner![^]

I used to keep it all inside myself as well. But, as the years have gone by, I do tell people a little of my problems and it feels a lot better than bottling it all up.:D

Are the mental health team monitoring you through councelling at all?

Look forward to hearing from you again!

Love Kate x

prawny
28-07-04, 11:54
thanks kate,
on my first referral to mental health team i nearly didnt go due to the "stigma" and also i am a first year student training to be a mental health nurse. i have had doubts about being successful on my course and persueing a career as a rmn due to my anxiety. but i have passed all exams etc and start second year in oct and keep telling myself i will make a good rmn as i will be able to ralate to people better through my own experiences (if this is true i dont no)

they did discharge me on last visit but my gp has referred me back this week.

it all began with pnd and havent felt depressed for along time until weekend and havent stopped crying for the passed three days.

so maybe the meds are gonna help in more ways than one. i just want to feel normal again and enjoy my life.

thanks for your words of support,
dawn x

Meg
28-07-04, 14:27
Hey Dawn,

Meds are brilliant to give you a break and show you what you are experiencing can be overcome but they only mask the symptoms. Unless you deal with the issues and where your thought processes are going astray then when you come off them the symptoms are more likely to reoccur so get yourself off to some CBT and then you'll be helping yourself much more .

I agree that you will be a better RMN for the experience. I did 8 weeks of psychy in my RGN training and came out with not much more of a clue than when I went in.. I've learnt huge amounts these last few years and can recall a few pts I wish I'd known then what I know now..


Yes you will feel better
Yes post partum depression is well recognised , but anxiety is also common .





Meg

Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind.
If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.
Robert Albert Bloch

nomorepanic
28-07-04, 15:28
Hiya Dawn

Welcome aboard the forum.

Don't feel a failure for taking meds. I last took Prozac 6 years ago and stopped them because I didn't think they were helping atall with the panic. I think they may have helped the depression so at least something came out of it.

Now, I refuse to take meds cos I am stubborn and wanted to cure myself - lol. It isn't easy and takes a lot of time and hard work.

Taking the meds may give you the strength to fight back like I did but if you are happy on the meds then that is fine too. No one person is the same.

I believe we have a few posts on PND - try the search facililty at the top of the page.

Hope to hear more from you soon and hope you get some answers on here.

Nicola

Mell1988
28-07-04, 16:02
Hi Dawn,

I know exactly how you feel. Since my son was born (2001) I suffered from PND and anxiety mainly centred around his health and I have got myself into a terrible state more than once and ended up on anti-d's. I think the mistake I've made in the past is to take the pills, feel better and then think everything is OK, come off them and find that the old thoughts and anxieties just return.

This time round I'm determined to try and handle it better and am taking anti-d's again but also seeing a counsellor and trying to be more open. I, like yourself, would never really talk to anyone about how I was feeling and bottled it up until it got so exaggerated that it would just explode and I'd end up in tears and unable to enjoy anything or even function normally.

I felt exactly like you and couldn't work out why I didn't feel normal and enjoy life, it was almost like I was missing out on the best times with my son because even though he was cared for and we had quality time, it was like I was only half there because the other half was worrying if he was ill and had I missed something, and was any symptom he had more serious than it would appear etc. etc.

I always bottled things up as a child too, in fact one thing that remains in my head from being young was how I would never tell my parents what was upsetting me, they would almost have to guess what it was before I would open up about anything (sometimes resulting in lengthy conversations where I would barely say anything which made them get impatient and made me more introverted).

So I would certainly recommend anti-d's just to get things in perspective and take the edge off how you're feeling (I know that's what they do for me) and then perhaps some sort of counselling or even just a hobby or distraction to help you feel more "normal".

HTH.

seh1980
28-07-04, 19:47
Hi Dawn,
Welcome to the site!! I'm sure you'll find tons of suppot here and meet losds of nice people. No, don't think that you have taken the easy option by taking meds - it's not nice to have to admit that you need help but it is necessary in a situation like this. I've been on meds since Nov and I feel much better for it and am very glad I decided to take something. Hope all works out for you.
Sarah (seh1980):D

sal
28-07-04, 23:32
Hi Dawn

What you are feeling is very common. You made a big step forward accepting that you need medication, a lot of people years on cant admit they need it.

Even if you have side affects with the tablets, which can be common in the first few weeks stick at it. I used diazepam but only when i need it. Some weeks none and others take a couple, but knowing you have that as a safety net helps. I really believe if i had none i would panic even more.

I am on meds and the first time i took them i gave up within a week, that was 2 years ago. Now on same meds and wish i had stuck with them as helped me more than i ever thought. Ive tried loads of meds but gave up as soon as side effects kicked in. But this time on this tablet i really thought i had no other option but to perservere and luckily it helped.

Hope you have the same results and they help you.

Take care.

Love Sal xxxx