Sunday, October 01, 2006

Peri-pregnancy depression

Feministing has an interesting post about depression during pregnancy. Apparently, not everybody glows when they're knocked up!! Some women even feel (gasp!) sad!!!

This struck a chord with me because of my last ob-gyn appointment. Hubby and I are thinking about having children someday. Maybe. If the stars align correctly. I also happen to be living with depression. ( I prefer "living with" to "suffering from" -- seems more empowering or some such shit....) So I asked the nurse practicioner about my antidepressant and pregnancy.

She proceeds to tell me that the only medication the doctor will "let" (her word!) women use is Prozac, and then what he recommends is that they go off their meds as long as possible, until they just can't handle it any more. Then they go back on, and repeat the process until the parasite is expelled.

I was speechless. I nearly started a bit of a scene, about how antidepressants can be less effective if you go off and on of them, about how Prozac gives me brutal headaches, and about how no doctor is going to tell me that I just have to "live with it" because he's an ass who is lucky enough to be happy every day of his life! But I didn't.

Yet.

1 comment:

Shine Becca Lam said...

Going through depression during and after pregnancy can be pretty tough. New moms react differently from the norm but it's not their fault. Hormones and events contribute to this. Aside from medication, t is but important that close family and friends, especially partners, are present to support and understand.