Starting on antidepressants

When my GP diagnosed me with Postnatal Depression her first recommendation was that I start on an antidepressant, Sertraline was her antidepressant of choice. At the time she did not give me any other treatment options. In her words, she felt I needed to be 'more stable' before I would respond well to any other input.

I was very reluctant to start on antidepressants, in fact I went against her professional recommendation initially and didn't take them. This was not just my own selfish reluctance, I was also aware that it can pass into the breastmilk. It was my GPs opinion that the risks outweighed the benefits to my bubba  (minimal risk of side effects to my baby verses a mum who was coping better). But she did also encourage me to cease breastfeeding. I went home and read some online research and still wasn't reassured.

4 weeks later when I met with my new health visitor I explained why I hadn't started on the Sertraline and how I wanted some other treatment options. She listened. It was explained to me that I was starting on a very low dose (50mg) and that the risks to my little man really were small especially as he only has two feeds a day from me now. She also disagreed that I should cease breastfeeding, and cited some research that concluded mood is lowered further in mothers who stop breastfeeding but are not ready to, but she wanted further treatment alongside the medication if I agreed to take it. She suggested Talking Therapy and input from their team to improve my son's sleep.

So I started taking 50mg of Sertraline (that was 5 weeks ago). I read all the possible side effects and I expected the first couple of weeks to be unpleasant but I barely noticed a difference. I felt slightly foggy and a marginally more sleepy for the first week and my appetite reduced a little but otherwise I was well. These minimal effect cleared after a week.

After 3 or so weeks I noticed that I was nowhere near as tearful as I had been and I was not taking absolutely everything to heart anymore. The medication was having a positive effect and, more importantly to me, didn't seem to be having any negative effects on my son. I was, however, also getting more sleep as the nursery nurses input had resulted in my son sleeping through the night. So my mood improvements were likely due to both these factors.

4 weeks into antidepressant treatment I had a review with my GP. She was pleased with my improvements and felt I was more positive. She still felt my confidence was down and that I would benefit from upping my Sertraline dose to 100mg. Again, she was unable to guarantee no side effects to my son. Again I have declined to follow her advice. I explained my trepidation and I compromised. My son is almost 11 months and I've always said that I want to breastfeed for 1 year. Over the next month I will begin to wean my bubba into cows milk and once he is fully weaned, if I still need to, I will up my dose.

I have some big changes happening over the coming month including returning to work, and I feel this may be a helpful step with regards to my well being. So we agreed to review how I was managing in 6 weeks time. So I will blog again in a few weeks to update.