Pychosis during pregnancy

[Bindy7]

Also just curious did anyone experience pychosis during pregnancy? I became very unwell towards the end of my pregnancy. What was depression became severe agitation and I even told my doctors that I wanted to end the pregnancy (I was like 36 weeks or something) so clearly out of my mind. I think I wanted to go back to my mentally well non pregnant state and that's what I wanted to convey. But I was clearly in pychosis (I think) not sleeping, not eating, and just a mess. Was not able to take meds, because I was sick. I think. Just curious...if anyone else experienced this?

[Bindy7]

By not take meds I mean I was so out of it, that I wasn't taking the meds regularly and seemed to be terrified of taking them

[Lilybeth Volunteer in reply to Bindy7]

Hello Bindy7

Thanks for your post. I've read your previous post too and I'm sorry you have had a really tough time. It's a shame treatment in the US is not as available as it is in the UK.

My PP episodes were years ago. In both of my pregnancies I didn't experience psychosis. I had very happy pregnancies and was so looking forward to the births ...... then PP hit and I was very ill for a long time. Eventually though, with good medical care and family support, I did fully recover and regained my place.

Take good care of yourself ......

[Bindy7 in reply to Lilybeth]

Two times?? Wow that is rough.

[Hannah_at_APP Administrator]

Hi Bindy7,

I didn't experience psychosis in pregnancy, but had PP after my first child. I did stay well after my 2nd though. It's interesting that each of us have different experiences, but the symptoms you talk of such as not eating or sleeping, severe agitation, are things I can remember all too well from the early days of my illness.

I wondered if the following link from the APP website might be useful to you, if you've not seen it already, it has some FAQ's:

app-network.org/what-is-pp/...

I too hope that awareness of PP and support for women and families going through it continues to improve, wherever we live in the world. Take care, xx

[Mims2014]

I didn't have psychosis during first pregnancy (pp onset day six) but on reflection had mild symptoms such as loads of energy, very clean, like the nesting part lasted a month or more, always happy - probably over analysing now though as I was much fitter then and had just finished full time so I guess finishing work early meant I wasn't exhausted.

I'm 39 weeks pregnant tomorrow and no psychosis. I'm exhausted all the time and struggle to get to sleep at night but do sleep a little (I don't at all during pp). I have no energy to clean. Mood is fine.

One thing I have done differently is remove all the stress possible from my life.

I think pp can come on towards the end of pregnancy but I don't personally know any other sufferers.

Anyway, time will tell wether I get pp again but I got better fully after 14 months (couple of months for the worst of it) and will get better again - when I eventually loved my son, I realise I'd go through anything to have him xx

[Lilly53 Volunteer]

Hi.The first time I got psychosis it came in my 6th month of pregnancy.Looking back now I can understand it more. I was pretty stressed due to a redundancy situation at work,I wasn't sleeping at all and my mood was getting lower and lower. Added to the general worries or effects of pregnancy. Plus I had a fibroid which was beimg monitored and could cause problems so I was more worried about that than I'd realised (thought I might die,and never meet my baby). Then boom.One night in bed I had a massive hit of mania(God spoke to me and my body literally turned into love).Then minutes later I became like something from inside a horror film. Screaming, screeching. No control of the sounds coming out of my body. Thrn paranoid (husband had to kill me due to something I now knew, baby was evil etc),racing and delusional thoughts. That state stayed with me acutely for 48 hours and then more mildy until birth and well into my son's first 6 month's of life. But my episode with my second son came AFTER he was born and wasnt as severe xxx