ADHD and Post Pardum Depression
Submitted by goingcrazy on Sat, 09/12/2009 - 14:55
I'm just wondering if there is any information out there about ADHD and post pardum depression ("PPD")? It would be very helpful as I haven't been able to find anything. In my experience ADHD and PPD seem to aggravate each other and I was therefore wondering if there is any information which could help me.
I have ADHD which was diagnosed while I was in my senior year of college over 5 years ago. I had managed to more or less live with my ADHD and cope with daily life. However, I was seriously hit by PPD which started after the birth (emergency cesarian) of my son 2 years ago. This is combined with other serious health problems which started during my first pregnancy.
Although the PPD started to get better after a while, I never fully came out of it due to the surprise pregnancy of our second child. We found out that I was pregnant just shortly after my husband and I moved to Europe when our first child was only 8 months old. The PPD was difficult for me to deal with and became even more intense with the birth of our second child.
The past 9 months since our second child was born have been an extremely difficult emotional roller coaster. The ADHD and PPD seemed to aggravate each other and have made it very difficult for me to cope with even the most basic tasks of life. Where I (prior to my pregnancies) had a bit of a temper which could flare up and instantly burn out again, I have been reduced to a seemingly perpetual state of frustration and depression where I have a difficult time doing anything without getting frustrated to great extremes and generically not being able to cope with life.
It has been hard to want to seek out any help here as I do not speak the language and have had a really hard time learning it with my ADHD, health problems, PPD, kids and the list goes on with all of daily life.
Quite honestly I'm not sure how I've survived this long to reach a point where I want to talk about it. In moments where I am able to not be as influenced by the PPD hormonal mood swings I have wondered whether the ADHD and PPD influence each other. I think they are connected and aggravate each other but in my recent search I haven't found anything about it. So now I am here and asking. Any help would be VERY much appreciated by both me and my family!
Thanks in advance.
Comments
Anti-depressants?
by ahope - 09/20/2009 - 18:14
Hi,
I'm so sorry to hear about how difficult you are finding life right now. I have suffered from chronic depression all my life - different from postpartum depression in some ways but I KNOW that feeling of being at the bottom of a deep pit and with no energy left to try to get out of it.
I'm on this forum because my partner has ADD, not me, so I'm afraid I don't have much insight on the ADD struggles you're having. But I do know that both ADD and depression are caused by problems with brain chemicals (neurotransmitters). It may be a dopamine imbalance that's causing your problems. Low levels of dopamine can cause both ADHD and depression. Some of the behaviors associated with ADHD are an attempt to stimulate dopamine production. Dopamine is the chemical that is released when you do something that is pleasurable. It's a "reward" mechanism that rewards you with pleasure when you do certain activities. When your levels of dopamine are low it is difficult for you to take pleasure in anything - even things you love doing normally. So my guess is that the ADHD and PPD ARE related.
When you're in the middle of a period of depression I HIGHLY recommend seeing your doctor about anti-depressants. I realize that if you're breast-feeding you may be worried about this, but I have read a number of articles about depression also affecting the health of both you and your child, so antidepressants may be a risk you should take.
Once the anti-depressants start working, you can then look into other ways of controlling depression and ADHD. Thankfully, some of the things you can do work for both disorders - exercise, omega-3 supplements etc. But you won't be able to motivate yourself to do any of these things until you feel the depression lifting.
Also, do you have friend or family member you can confide in? It sounds stupid, but when I get depressed I can't even pick up the phone to call the doctor. If someone close to you can actually pick up the phone and dial the numbers for you it may help you take that first step.
I found that simply by having someone else call the doctor for me I already felt a little better, because I knew a solution to my problems was possible and within reach.
Hell, if you give me your doctor's name, I'll do it for you :)
And by the way, you've done an excellent job learning English! I'm amazed that you've be able to do that with all you've been coping with. You are obviously a very strong person.
If you do decide to take antidepressants remember that they will take some time to take effect - usually 6 - 8 weeks. So make sure you keep taking them even if you see no immediate change. I promise you, one day you'll wake up and realize that your life is actually pretty good and you'll have the energy to tackle whatever comes along.
Good luck.