Please can any one help.am suffering with baby blues.cant take medication,am allergic. any alternatives??

am allergic to all antidepressents and am suffering with very bad baby blues. does anybody know any herbal or alternatives i could use to get me through it. am desperate to get well again. please help

apparently acording to my doctor only 1 in 700 are allergic to anti-depressents. and unfortunatly i am that i. have tried over 7 different ones. reaction was so severe that the doctor stopped them immediatly,someone help.please

5HTP.... the clubbers choice...its not an antidepressant, but helpd your body recover seratonin (spelling) which makes you feel happy... bananas are also good, pawpaw is also good for regulating hormones on the flux...but beware, too much an act a bit like the pill!! (As studies in africa have shown) Catching some sun is good...but use protection...but best of all is talikng about how you feel with friends and family...and sharing your burden...what you are suffering is not unusual or something you need to do on your own....and just remember..... YOU ARE FABULOUS

baby blues?

How about St. Johns Wort and surrounding yourself with supportive friends and family.

St John's wort is supposed to be a good herbal antidepressant but I should ask your doctor just to be on the safe side about things. Socal girl is right. Try and surround yourself with friends and family if you can.

You should listen to some music.

Go to www.myspace.com and check out a few of these bands (I have no idea what you like, but these put me in a good mood).

aphex twin (click on the one with the black and white A logo)

the reverend horton heat

DJ3

if you don't like these - you can pick by music type, or other criteria.

I don't know about you - but listening to some good music makes my troubles go away.

i was told st johns wort is the best but you really really need to see your health visitor who may give you alternative ideas like excercises, therapy and hypnotism, please get help it is practically impossible to do it on your own. if you phoned your health visitor now you could be on the way to getting help by tea time.
good luck and please don't just sit there, that will not cure it.

Go to www.hufa.org, and read about low blood sugar. Depressions of all sorts can be caused by low blood sugar, and low blood sugar can be brought on by hormonal fluctuations.

Your hormones, your body and especially your insulin levels have been different than normal, due to your pregnancy. Knowing this, and knowing what to eat to help settle your insulin level to normal will help your blues.

Consider eating more salmon or tuna, and adding 5 minute oatmeal to your diet.

Feel free to e-mail me if you wish more information.

Congratulations on being a new mother, and best wishes.

St. John's Wort is a good herbal that is often used. Here is one I like http://www.vitabase.com/supplements/stre... Also this company sells a product which uses St. John's Wort plus Siberian Ginseng, Tyrosine, and another herb that helps with 5-HTP. These all can contribute to better mental states. You can read more about it here http://www.vitabase.com/supplements/stre...

Have a look on Dr Ray Sahelian's website about SAMe, it's supposed to be the next natural replacement for Prozac.

get out of the house...........surround yourself with people and things. eat right..........get some exercise.........put the baby in a stroller and walk walk walk..................rest. when you are tired and the baby sleeps, or someone else can watch the baby...........you sleep. don't watch depressing/violent/dark stuff on t.v. keep a positive outlook whenever you can. if you catch yourself being negative, or having depressed thoughts, try to find something good in the situation instead.
pray pray pray.

i hope you find the solutions that you need! just try to take good care of yourself, for your sake, and the well being of your family.

congratulations on the birth of your baby, and blessings to you!!!

Prayer.
If you're allergic to medications, still a competent doctor knows what to do to help you.
Get out and get around other people. Get others to help you also. Don't isolate yourself and whatever you do, make sure your immediate family is aware of your blues.
Get your family involved. I am sure they care.
I will be rooting for you also.

First, you need a thorough evaluation to make sure you do not have some other health problem like anemia, diabetes or hypothyroidism causing your symptoms. Avoid things that may make you symptoms worse like alcohol.

Second, if you have true post-partum depression, you need to have a detailed discussion with you doctor about you previous medication reactions. Many people who have "allergic" reactions to medications, actually have had side effects. True allergic reactions to all antidepressants is highly unlikely. If you merely had side effects, various strategies might be employed to try to manage those side-effects.

Third, moderate exercise has been shown to be helpful in managing depression. Put your baby in a stroller and go for a walk. Also be as socially active as possible. Enlist family and friends for assistance with child care. Go to church. Be around other people in positive settings.

I got the baby blues really bad too! If you can have a night off, and put your baby on bottles, take herbal nytol, and have a good nights sleep! It really will help! I did get anti-depressants, but without sleep, they were pointless! You need to get rest! Herbal Nytol is good and can be taken whenever! I truely feel for you. You're very brave adressing it now and not leaving it till it becomes PND. Well done you. xxxx

st.johns wort and maybe a support group if you can't talk to friends and family,my friend joined a group last year and it did really help her,

Doctor will decide that you are allergic to medicine or not, i have never heard that anybody is allergic to anti depressants.
Consult doctor. before it becomes worse.

Congratulations on your new baby! Make sure to remember all the things you are grateful for. Get some sunshine, exercise,and make sure you are getting enough nutrients from your food. Your body has been through alot, and needs some pampering, so take advantage of this time and do something for yourself, like getting a massage, a pedicure,or something like that. This can help alot because you are taking time for you when there has only been time for the baby since the birth! Good luck!

Hi I am not sure what to say but I have heard that skin to skin contact with the baby can help with bonding and post-natal depression (it helped me). skin to skin means exactly what it says just put the baby in a Nappie/diaper and sit with her/him having direct contact with your skin. hope you feel better soon.

Practice the method at http://www.selfhelpmagazine.com Meditation room; try it out; mantra meditation; repeat the word: "easy", or use the method at http://dbtselfhelp.com/ or gaze at a burning candle in a quiet, darkened room for 20 minutes. Maximum effects are achieved by using either of these techniques 3 times daily, some hours apart. Tai Chi & yoga suits some (http://www.yogasite.com). Work up SLOWLY to 30 - 60 mins of vigorous daily exercise, preferably in sunlight, eat healthily, and keep occupied. Take a vitamin B complex, and 4 fish oil supplements, daily. Arctic root is highly recommended; Passiflora and Lemon Balm are alternatives (from health food stores). If you take St. John's Wort, tell your doctor, as it can affect other medications. Therapy may also be of benefit. See http://www.anxiety-and-depression-soluti... (-solutions.com)

I do know of St. John's Wort, but if you are allergic to ALL antidepressants, then you can't take it b/c it works just like prozac.
Maybe you can call a health food store and ask them. Usually they are pretty helpful.

The other answers are good: Be with people! Friends, family, anyone - go out, introduce your baby and you, and you won't feel alone.

Before I took any medication, I was able to keep depression at bay by trying to do some things regularly.

I tried to keep active. Most helpful were my daily lists: I would always keep a daily list that I tried to write the night before made up of about 1-3 things I had to do such as errands and chores, and 1-2 things that I wanted to do for fun, for me - such as an easy hike if it was nice, or a nap with my baby, or a hot bath! HOWEVER! If I didn't follow the list, then I wrote down what I did do, and checked it off (always check off what you do!) and, if all I did was stay in bed with the baby, then that's what I wrote and I checked it off.

Here are the other things I tried to do every day that really helped:

- Exercise outside daily - Fresh air made a difference, even a 10 min. slow walk. Even if I cried through it.
- good multivitamin daily (2x's) I still take prenatals
- Eat good food 3x's (I would forget to eat)
- healthy snack 2x's (Ring dings are healthy)
- Drink!
(I would never drink anything but coffee - dehydration made me tired, confused, achy in my bones & joints, and made me grind my teeth at night)
- Perform a variety of activities to combat boredom
(I kept a list of leisure activities I got from a depression workbook in my bedside table. When I did not know what to do , I looked at it. I had checked off things I enjoyed. I would force myself to do one - even just "listen to music" which wasn't Physically active, was better than sitting and moping.)
- Tried to get a good nights sleep
- Followed a routine

I tried to follow a daily routine and a weekly routine with my baby. That way I didn't have to "Think" as much everyday. I made sure to put in a visit to somewhere outside the house each day of the week, so I wasn't isolated any day. We went to the library one day, to the park another day, to the college art building, out for afternoon tea, etc. Each Sunday my husband and I would look for free activities that week in the paper, and put them in my schedule on the calendar. Again, so I would not have to figure it out when I was alone, when it would be easier to just stay in bed.

Some days, I would literally argue with the calendar - because I didn't WANT to do anything, but an activity was listed. It made it a lot harder to stay home. It made it a lot harder to stay in my dark hole.

I hope some of this helps. I still keep lists, I still do many of t he things here, but eventually I did have to take medication, because of my circumstances.

Good luck, and hope you can have fun with your new baby. Congratulations on being a new mom - you have just done something amazing and fantastic! Be gentle with yourself, celebrate your own accomplishment.

Your extremely lucky to be allergic to anti-depressants. They're awful things, the studies their efficacy are based on are extremely questionable and I wouldn't take them if my life depended on it. I especially wouldn't take them if you are going to be around young children.

Baby blues can have a number of causes:

1) Physical

The foetus depleting certain nutrients from the body leading to you being more prone to depression. One good supplement to take which could have an affect would be omega 3 fish oils with a high EPA content. The best ones I've found are sold by www.mind1st.co.uk.

2) Situational
A new baby creates several situation changes which make a mother far more likely to develop depression.
A) Lack of sleep
This leads to more negative and disasterous thinking. It is difficult to control levels of emotional arousal when you are severely fatigued.
This can be helped by allowing yourself to seek more help from your partner, family etc.

B) More time alone to introspect
For a lot of mothers having a baby is the first time that they have lots of time to themselves to think about their life, what sort of mother they are etc. Excessive introspection is a key component in depression and the sleep quality issues associated with it.
A good way to help this would be to go to some mother and baby groups, make friends with other new mothers, visit current friends etc.

C) Sudden change to your life
Apparently a lot of mothers have trouble adjusting to the huge upheaval a baby brings. They feel out of control and feel excessively guilty when they sometimes resent the daily demands of motherhood. They put too much pressure on themselves to be perfect and stop doing just about everything they enjoy.
One way to help this would be to not beat yourself up over sometimes feeling tired or resentful of the baby's demands. In addition make an effort to still gain enjoyment out of life. Visit friends, leave the baby with family and go out partying sometimes etc. Don't totally throw away your old life for the sake of this new one.

If your problems persist or worsens then look at some of my other posts as I pretty much only post answers to mental health issues. There is a range of information in these posts on helping mental health issues.

Good luck and all the best

I used chinese herbs to treat depression; it worked for several months. You need to find a reliable practitioner; if you're in the UK, try Herbal Inn. The doctor there will check your pulse etc and prescribe many herbs which you then take twice a day.

But be aware of two things:

Chinese herbs are extremely strong and as you seem to have various allergies and sensitivities, you should be very careful; tell the Chinese doctor this and make sure she understands totally. Also: make sure any anti depressant you've been trying is TOTALLY out of your system before you take the herbs - this is vital.

Also, the dried herbs are the best; they will probably try and persuade you to buy lots of different capsules and pills as well - don't get these, just the herbs, no matter how much they pressure you!

You might also want to tell your doctor that you're trying the herbs - but don't be surprised if he/she's sceptical!

Finally: if you're not going to the Herbal Inn, be careful as some less reputable herbalists use products that have caused serious health problems for some people. So always check thoroughly once you've found a practitioner - don't be afraid to ask questions!




It's really bad luck that you keep getting terrible reactions to the anti-depressants! Are you seeing a doctor(general practitioner) or a psychiatrist? A psychiatrist will be able to prescribe different doses and different, newer drugs.