Hi
I had an ectopic in September last year. It’s been a rocky road since but I am now ready to try again. I’very been to my Dr to talk through a few things and he has suggested that I go on anti depressants for both my emotional state and because I have trouble sleeping.
I’m not keen on the idea as I don’t want to do anything that might risk a potential pregnancy, but I know I need to do something about my low mood. I have had a course of counselling and that did help.
I don’t know what to do? All I want is a healthy baby, but should I risk my mental health to have one?
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.
Thank you
I was on anti depressants last year for anxiety and found they didn’t help me. What does help is mindfulness meditation using a fantastic app called headspace. You have to pay for it but the first ten days are free so you can try it. It’s great for racing thoughts and trouble sleeping. no idea if it will work for you but it’s worth a try rather than taking antidepressants
Hi, my doc suggested this too but I realised my grief was being confused with depression and actually I needed to work through the grief not necessarily take medication. I totally agree with the previous suggestion of mindfulness and the headspace app - that has really helped me as well as continuing counselling, writing down how I feel, talking, walking, lots of sleep, no alcohol etc - generally looking after myself. I think anti depressants can help some people to stabilise how they feel so they are at to address what’s wrong and get help , so if you want to try to avoid them (which I did for the same reasons), there are other things you can try. Good luck. Cliche but time really does help - you just wish it would bl**dy hurry up xxx
Hi mokey76,
I took antidepressants for a total period of around three years, during a time when I was incapacitated with stress and anxiety. I spent a brief period trying to come off them when I started ttc, but my anxiety became unmanageable again. I explained to my gp that whilst I wanted to be able to work and lead a normal, happy life, I was worried about the effects the medication might have on any baby I might have. He was understanding and changed the type of antidepressant I was taking to one which was easier to withdraw from quickly if I did become pregnant. The tablets, at the time, were a lifeline for me; I needed them, and felt no shame in taking them.
However, I did also combine them with the approaches of counselling and mindfullness cbt, as the other ladies have suggested. This takes time to master and incorporate into your everyday life, and the medication might help in the short-term, but I have found a long-term solution I believe, particularly in mindfullness.
Please have an open and honest conversation with your gp about the many options you have, including different types of medication, counselling or therapies. Health services are getting better at taking mental health issues seriously these days.
I wish you the best of luck and good health xxx