Off the meds and back to work

[happymommy]

Hello ladies,

Good news! As of today, I'm off the meds! I also got back to work on May 4th. I'm still coping with it, and I find it very difficult to leave my little girl every day. I'm usually back home at 6 p.m. and she goes to bed around 8.30, so that leaves us less than three hours. So, I live for the weekends (I guess that's just the way life is for most of us).

Anyway, I feel really well and I am proud of myself. One thing spoiled my mood a little, though. My psychiatrist told me today that I should really think twice before planning another pregnancy. She is aware of how bad my situation was (I dread to remember now), and seeing that schizophrenia runs in my family (both my aunt and my uncle suffering from it), she is afraid that I might develop a more severe and permanent mental disorder following subsequent pregnancies. Does anyone else have a similar problem?

However, there will be time to think about another pregnancy, right now I want to enjoy the fact that I can have an occasional cold beer with my friends. I hope you are all better and off the meds soon. Enjoy your time with the little ones.

Cheers!

[Lilybeth Volunteer]

Hello happymommy

How proud you must be of yourself to be free of medications and back at work!! Such great achievements .... Some days at work can seem endless when we want to be at home and I think, as you say, we all live for the weekends, for family time.

I suppose the psychiatrist was just being cautious, mentioning subsequent pregnancies. I did read your previous post and you had an awful time so I suppose it's better to be aware. As I replied in your earlier post, I had PP twice many years ago. Thankfully, although my recoveries took a long time, I haven't experienced any ongoing mental illness.

You're so right to enjoy the moment now and how far you have come. Enjoy celebrating with friends and having the occasional cold beer!!

Good to hear from you ..... take care.

[jessieh APP]

Hi happymommy,

Super news that you are feeling better. Congratulations on going back to work! I went back to work when my son was 11 months old and also live for the evenings and weekends to spend time with him. One of the things I did enjoy about going back to work was being able to have a cup of tea without my boy distracting me and it going cold!! It also made coming back home to him even more special.

That must be really hard that your psychiatrist said that. It would certainly be worth talking to her about it again, to be counseled through the options.

For now though, as you say, do celebrate where you've got to, that you're recovered, and enjoy that glass of beer. Cheers!

x

[Hannah_at_APP Administrator]

Hi happymommy

This is a great update to hear that you are off meds and feeling better, congratulations! I too found it to be a significant milestone in my recovery journey.

You are certainly not alone in living for the weekends and family time, I too find that work can get in the way of life (although of course it pays the bills!) I hope you are finding some balance, and time for yourself too - hot cups of tea are definitely an upside to work I found too.

Sorry to hear that you found the recent discussion with your psychiatrist difficult. Are you under a perinatal or general team? I found that perinatal knowledge was at times very limited from my general psychiatrist. Perinatal teams can also offer preconception planning advice if you are able to access that. Alternatively, APP offers a 2nd opinion service which you might find useful: app-network.org/what-is-pp/...

Of course it's a very personal choice whether to have more children after pp and there are many things to consider. I know I was advised to allow time to recover, be off meds etc. But I have no other diagnosis or family history that i know of and everyone is different in this. APP also has a High Risk Pregnancy guide which might give you more information: app-network.org/what-is-pp/...

For now, as others have said, enjoy those beers! You have much to celebrate. Take care, xx

[new-baby]

I'm interested in how you came off your meds and went back to work. Did you have to come off the meds in order to return to work? Thanks for your inspiring story and I wish you luck with everything!!