cricket1178 Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Please pray for this family. The hsing mother of 5 is struggling with depression and believes the best thing for her family right now is that she not be in the home. It is very difficult for her dh and dc. Has anyone ever dealt with severe depression? The kind that you fear you may be capable of hurting your own dc. If so how did you overcome this? I am broken hearted for this family and would appreciate your prayers and advice. The mother has started on anti-depressants (5 weeks ago) but has said she doesn't notice them helping her yet. She has sought counseling but I'm not sure if she has actually had any sessions yet. She isn't known for being emotionally unstable. As far as I know this is the first time she has ever suffered from depression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca in GA Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 What a smart and loving mother, though, to recognize that she may be a danger to her babies and ask for the help she needs!!! It may be awful for all of them now, but think what kind of tragedy they may have avoided by reaching out. I will pray right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5kidsforME Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Please pray for this family. The hsing mother of 5 is struggling with depression and believes the best thing for her family right now is that she not be in the home. It is very difficult for her dh and dc. Has anyone ever dealt with severe depression? The kind that you fear you may be capable of hurting your own dc. If so how did you overcome this? I am broken hearted for this family and would appreciate your prayers and advice. The mother has started on anti-depressants (5 weeks ago) but has said she doesn't notice them helping her yet. She has sought counseling but I'm not sure if she has actually had any sessions yet. She isn't known for being emotionally unstable. As far as I know this is the first time she has ever suffered from depression. I know this has got to be such a hard time for her dh and dc. What a hard time for her as well. She is very very strong for stepping forward and admitting this. I think she is one strong women and hope she can get the help she needs and get back to loving, to take care of her family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleB Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Is this a post-partum depression? In my experience, if she is not noticing *any* difference after five weeks, she either needs a stronger dosage or a different medication altogether. Not all anti-depressants work for all people the same. Does she have mood swings, or is she mainly depressed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forwardbyfaith Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 I said a prayer for this lady. There is a lady in our church who was recently admitted to the hospital for severe depression. It is hard to know how to help them. I pray she can get the help she needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 I was in a depression like that several years ago. I never feared hurting my own dc but feared hurting myself. And, I WAS hurting my dc emotionally b/c of my own sadness, lethargy and overall mood. It was all I could do to get by each day. I was lucky. I had some wonderful, praying Christian friends who prayed for me every day and one who finally sat me down and said, "you need medication and counseling". Tell your friend to keep up the counseling and ask about the dosage/brand of medication. Like previous posters said...not all meds work the same for all women. I will pray for her and for her family to hang in there with her. It is just as hard for them to watch their wife/mother go through this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becca Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 I've been in her shoes. Finally after about 4 months of severe depression, I went on anti-depressents (Zoloft). It took almost a month for me to notice any difference at all. Things did get better overall, but after another 2 or 3 months I also went on Wellbutrin. It was a combo of those 2 drugs that brought me back to my normal self. I have a friend who needed to be on 3 anti-depressents in order to help her cope, although she has now weaned herself down to 2. I agree with the other poster who suggested that another drug may work better for her. Or she may need a combination of drugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricket1178 Posted April 18, 2008 Author Share Posted April 18, 2008 Is this a post-partum depression? In my experience, if she is not noticing *any* difference after five weeks, she either needs a stronger dosage or a different medication altogether. Not all anti-depressants work for all people the same. Does she have mood swings, or is she mainly depressed? I have wondered about it being post-partum depression myself. I'm not sure, though. She said she has been depressed for about 9 months so it sure sounds like it could be. Her baby is just 13 months. She is having some hormone testing done, but I'm not sure if she's gotten her results yet. I also agree with the poster who said she is a very loving and smart mother. I think it was a very responsible decision. Thank you for your continued prayers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 No advice, but I am praying for her now!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Please tell your friend to have her thyroid tested ASAP if she hasn't had it tested already. One of the symptoms of untreated Hypothyroidism is depression due to the slow-working metabolism and thyroid gland. I'm convinced that I struggle w/ depression b/c of my thyroid. Even treated, hypothyroid patients still can struggle w/ depression. Please suggest this to her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbeaser Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 You wouldn't happen to be talking about a young lady whose first name (and DH's first name) start with a J, and she recently returned home, would you? If so, we definitely need to get together. That describes the exact circumstances of one of my best friends from when I was growing up. I've just gotten out of the Navy and returned to to area. If you go to her church, I'm the short one, alone with 3 kids (7, 5 and 18 months). Or just the new person :) Missy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 I nannied for a lady (long time ago right after college) who was in the hospital for severe depression. Sometimes it does get so bad that you need to be hospitalized - to get much stronger I.V. medication and be in a safe environment where you can't hurt yourself or others. When I first met her at the hospital she tried to give me her two children. She was completely serious. I turned her down. I nannied her children for about 3 months apart from her - at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Part of that time she was home but needed to just focus on herself at that time. Then on the advice of her psychiatrist the children and I moved in with her. At first she truly believed that she could do nothing on her own (and this was a woman who had been quite bright and capable before depression hit). It took a long time, lots of medication and some pretty tough love to get her to the place where she could be truly the Mom that she was meant to be. I was not the typical nanny. I worked hand in hand with the psychiatrist. At one point (because she was paralyzed by fear that she could not even wash dishes right) I would put out only the dishes that were clean. If she complained that there were not enough plates I would point her to the sink. The point of all this was that it was a long, recovery - at least 6 month or more before she was functioning on a "normal" level even with medication. Of course, different people need different dosages, different combinations of medicine etc. She really needs to be under the care of an expert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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