post partum psychosis after miscarriage

[Buggybrain]

I’m trying to find anyone else that might have suffered through ppp afterwards miscarriage - I had pnd with my first child but have recently experienced both pnd & ppp after 3 consecutive miscarriages & it’s been really hard to find any advice or experience from anyone who has been through similar (it took ages to realise what was going on because I didn’t know it could happen- just thought I was completely insane - which Tbf I was, but knowing why really helps but I’d have been far more aware of the possibility of ppp if I’d had a live birth, if that makes sense?)

so yeah…. Anyone with ppp or pnd after miscarriage?

[Barnowl18]

Hello,I am so sorry to hear your experience. I also had 3 consecutive miscarriages and then PPP with my first live birth.

I don't think the miscarriages helped as I was so anxious throughout the pregnancy with my daughter but I didn't have any mental health support during pregnancy as I didn't realise I needed it. I then don't think I could fully believe she was alive and safe and through my all into looking after her which meant I didn't sleep for days and that then led to the PPP.

[Buggybrain in reply to Barnowl18]

I’m so sorry you experienced that

[Olanzapinelenny]

I’m so sorry for your loss ❤️

[Catherine657]

Yes, l had PPP after l had a miscarriage; it was horrendous.

[Buggybrain in reply to Catherine657]

I'm sorry 😔 it’s certainly been a rollercoaster- I hadn’t even considered that what was going on was psychosis related to the miscarriages & thought it was extreme menopause or something (nobody around me noticed something was wrong either, just thought I was being a dick/too emotional/overreactive - which is kinda the biggest sign for me as I’m not emotionally reactive normally 😣)

[Rachel_at_APP Partner APP in reply to Buggybrain]

Hello Buggybrain,

It’s Rachel here. I’m part of the peer support team at Action on Postpartum Psychosis.

Firstly congratulations on your little one, although I’m so sorry to hear you experienced PP. I’m also so sorry to hear you experienced miscarriages before your little one arrived. That must have been so difficult and very sad.

I hope you managed to access help and support to recover from PP. It’s a different situation to your miscarriages, in that I was recovering from PP, but I remember being so hell bent on getting “over” what happened that I didn’t really address the trauma that I’d experienced until much later on. I access counselling a few years later, having someone to talk to really helped.

I wonder if you’d be able to access support at the right time for you. I was awful at just desperately trying to forge on, so well done for writing here and asking others about their experiences too. I hope the replies will bring some other useful insight and experiences.

I’ll pop a link below to APP’s recovery guide which you might find useful. Take care, and write anytime - you’re most welcome here.

Rachel

app-network.org/postpartum-...

[Buggybrain in reply to Rachel_at_APP]

My ‘little one’ is 10 years old. The miscarriages & PPP are within the last 6 months - no baby

[Catherine657]

I’m sorry. l think it’s the big hormonal change. Happy to discuss it, if it’s possible to dm on here.

[EquineBeauty]

I haven’t experienced a miscarriage myself but I have heard of several women who did. I had PPP with my first child. My husband and I want another. My doctors told me they will prescribe antipsychotics in case I miscarry and that I need to start taking them right away if I’m experiencing a miscarriage. Perimenopause is a vulnerable period as well. Speak with your psychiatrist. You may consider having your pills accessible to you when you start perimenopause or even going on some kind of mood stabilizer especially if you start experiencing mood shifts.

[HPLuv]

I’m so sorry.

I’ve been a bit obsessed with hearing others stories about PPP and there’s a book published recently that the author experienced PPP after a miscarriage - her name is Aaisha Alvi. Just a warning - I did find it a bit upsetting to read about how others treated her during her experience.

[Buggybrain in reply to HPLuv]

Thank you - it’s certainly been a rollercoaster of misunderstanding/assuming I have a new baby etc (just 3 recent losses & an older child that I had PND after - I had 2 losses before her too) it seems to be really uncommon for it to happen after a miscarriage, & mines only been picked up now that I’ve started coming out of it (still getting treatment & blood tests etc, even though it would have been far more useful 2-3 months ago!) I’ve lost friends, my partner left, my family thought I was just depressed because he left, one friend noticed something was up & pushed me to get help - but even she thought it was depression/burnout. Genuinely shocked I made it through alive at some points - not because I was trying to not, but the intense intrusive thoughts, the feeling like an alien took over my brain whilst I was locked in a box unable to stop it or have any control was horrific - I’m in a tonne of debt now & I’ve been extremely irresponsible in other regards too. I’m now looking into sterilisation because I can absolutely NOT do this again. It’s not worth it (for me personally) I have a wonderful child, I survived the pnd with her & I never ever want to experience this again. It’s been truly horrific & completely isolating

[EquineBeauty]

Sharewell is a US based company with free group sessions on different topics. On Mondays they have a support group hosted by PSI (Postpartum Support International) for PPP survivors. It’s a 1.5 hour session. It’s nice to chat with the volunteers and other women who went through this. For many it happened after a miscarriage. Your body doesn’t care whether you give birth or don’t carry to term and miscarry. If the hormone drop happens suddenly it sounds like that can be a trigger.

It’s free to register. You can connect every Monday and chat live for additional support.

See the link for PPP survivors

[Fowler01]

Slightly different situation but I had a miscarriage and then feel pregnant again almost straight away, I do however think the trauma of the miscarriage impacted my mental health and perhaps contributed to PPP. I was worried throughout the whole pregnancy and just before I was about to deliver during labour I had a funny turn and thought the baby was dead. Not sure if this was the start of psychosis or not. Hope you get support, take care x