Anonymous asked this question on 4/27/2000:

Do you feel that Manic Depression is caused by or made worse by the onset of a monthly period? My friend is still breast feeding her baby, has suffered from 'depression' for years, but has had a bad experience recently of wanting to commit suicide. It seems she got her first period after the birth of baby, at 8 months. She is not coping very well at all at present. Please help us to understand what could be going on within her brain. She has been taking Zoloft but it seems not to be working effectively any more. Would Prozac be a better option. She is going to see a psychiatrist but is getting desperate as the waiting list for these people is so long. Thankyou for any help at all.

Lil_Min gave this response on 4/28/2000:

Yes, manic depression for me is worse just before and during my period. The hormones after having a baby are running wild that could cause her symptoms of being manic to show so much worse then usual. I've taken prozac, zoloft and a bunch of the other anti-depression drugs. She just may need a higher dose but, the drugs work so differently with everyone's system it's hard to tell.It's kind of "Well lets see if this works?" most of the time.But, I think most of all people in general need support.Maybe by a therapist or a good friend(like you). But for me in my battle with depression I at times just needed some motivation and anything that would lift my spirits. _Hope all is well_-Melinda ps. She might want to look into a support group for people with Depresion.So maybe bring it up casually.

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