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Our Antenatal and Postnatal Depression forum is a supportive space where you can share your postnatal depression experiences.

Antenatal/postnatal depression

Homeopathy for baby blues/ semi PND

13 replies

Gingerbreadlatte · 11/12/2012 09:48

Anyone used homeopathy to help baby blues/ slight PND?

Baby is 5 wks and I'm struggling with guilt about everything and anything. I have lots of joy about my baby so not sure it is actual PND.

Thx

OP posts:
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Gingerbreadlatte · 11/12/2012 11:51

Bump

OP posts:
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MissCellania · 11/12/2012 11:56

Homeopathic remedies are just sugar and water, they can't help with real problems. You might like to look into the herbal remedy St Johns Wort which has been shown to work on mild depression, but the best thing you can do is talk to your doctor, talk to your friends and family, get some fresh air and exercise and eat well.

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quietlysuggests · 11/12/2012 11:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

fourbears · 11/12/2012 12:17

I had severe PND and was very happy with my DD and bonded brilliantly to her, it was the rest of life I couldn't cope with. Just don't want you to miss getting medical help if you need it. Enjoying and loving your baby unfortunately does not make PND impossible.

I second not taking homeopathic remedies. There may be a placebo effect I suppose but if you need to take something, to my mind, they are a waste of time, when you could be taking the real drugs and getting better. Maybe go and see your GP for a chat and she what she thinks. You don't have to make a decision right away. A caveat to that though, if you find yourself getting much worse, please go and get some proper treatment. Thinking of you x

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VenusRising · 11/12/2012 12:30

I know I'm out on a limb here but I find that homeopathic remedies are brilliant.
As a scientist I'm amazed on how many people have opinions about homeopathy, yet very little scientific research is done on them - it seems to be the thing to do to dis homeopathy and say it's a load of hogwash - like it's another of those opinions essential to being a Guardian reading, middle class, card carrying left wing athiest.

I've seen a homeopath who has helped me overcome hayfever, insomnia, birth trauma and a serious cat allergy- where traditional medicines didn't work at all.

If you're serious about homeopathy you must go to a qualified homeopath and spend some time talking about all your symptoms, physical and mental, including feelings and dreams, and your poo!

And in the meantime, take a very good multi vitamin and mineral (Solgar do a good one) and be sure to sleep well and eat lots of fresh foods.

If the homeopathy doesn't work out for you, you might try your GP, but don't start taking herbal medicines like st john's wort without consulting your GP, as they block the absorption of other medicines you may be on.

Best of luck and congratulations!

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MissCellania · 11/12/2012 13:10

As a scientist you should know that water doesn't contain a memory of substances just because you shook it in a special way. Hmm

If you go to a homeopath, you're right, you must spend lots of time talking about yourself and your feelings, because that is where the benefit is. There is no benefit to taking drops of water which supposedly remember being in contact with a substance that supposedly mimics your symptoms.

Go to your GP first, not to some untrained quack who will charge you for bottles of water or sugar pills with no active ingedients.

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CoteDAzur · 11/12/2012 13:20

What Miss said.

I am flabbergasted that you call yourself a "scientist" while expressing belief in something that has repeatedly been shown to work no better than placebo and had no logical mechanism of action. Diluting something until there is maybe one active molecule in the entire solution, then expecting that to work because a solution is stronger the more you dilute it Hmm

What exactly have you studied that you can't see what is terribly wrong with such claims?

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123tragic · 12/12/2012 17:49

I second what VenusRising says. I've had brilliant results - much to my amazement - from homeopathy. It has resolved several niggling health issues and I feel much better as a result. Try and see someone from the Society of Homeopaths. Good luck.

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VenusRising · 14/12/2012 12:44

tsk tsk, there's no need to slap my Scientific wrists just because you have a vehement opinion Misscellania or Cote.
Have a read of this and here - in fact read as much as you can and do your own research - Become a Scientist even - lead the field!

the thing about Science is that it's not about opinion, vehement or otherwise, it's about research and repeatable results and building a hypothesis and theory. Nothing is written in stone, and opinion matters not a jot.

To say 'homeopathy doesn't work' calls all who says 'it has worked for me', a liar, and exposes you as an ignorant bigot - clearly it's not in your interests to do this. It's more Scientific to have an open mind and to take the evidence into account.

Homeopathy works for me - as a Scientist, it's a puzzle why it does, but like most Scientists I've an open mind, and, happily, I'm no longer suffering from my allergies! Good luck to the OP! and, to everyone.

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CoteDAzur · 15/12/2012 09:44

Venus - Your 1st link is about one experiment from 2003 the results of which have never been reproduced in the past 10 years, and not from lack of trying. As a scientist Hmm no doubt you know what this means. In your article, it says that the experiment "was not blinded". You should know what this means, as well.

Your 2nd link: I'm not about to read a 5,000 word essay written by some unknown guy intent on telling the world "Homeopathy worked for me!". Well, hurray for you, unknown strangers, but the "scientist" who linked to your "Extraordinary medicine" website should know that the plural of anecdote isn't data.

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CoteDAzur · 15/12/2012 09:53

"the thing about Science is that it's not about opinion, vehement or otherwise, it's about research and repeatable results and building a hypothesis and theory. Nothing is written in stone, and opinion matters not a jot"

Exactly. So you can't have the opinion that homeopathy works unless you have research & repeatable results that prove that it works.

Unfortunately for you, There Is No Such Research And Repeatable Results. In fact, a mountain of research and experiments show that homeopathy is No Better Than Placebo. Which is perfectly logical, as sugar pills with no active ingredient are indeed called Placebo.

"To say 'homeopathy doesn't work' calls all who says 'it has worked for me', a liar, and exposes you as an ignorant bigot"

No. Actually, saying the above exposes you as someone who is not at all a scientist, and makes you look clueless re scientific method.

I believe people who say homeopathy has worked for them Because It Works As A Placebo. This is why real scientists know that there need to be double-blind experiments that compare placebos with homeopathic substances to see if there is a significant difference in effect.

And the fact is that many such experiments have been done and they have overwhelmingly shown that homeopathy works no better than placebo.

If you were even a medical student let alone a "scientist", you would know all of the above re scientific method.

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VenusRising · 19/12/2012 23:05

You know you can get all hot under the collar about the Cartesian viewpoint Cotes, and hammer home to anyone who will listen to you about how science can't explain how homeopathy works, but as a scientist with an open mind, all I know is that people have found homeopathy works for them, and it worked for me.

I can't explain why it works, and I have as much understanding about the placebo effect as the next scientist has (zero). All i know about homeopathy is that it works. It's a big embarrassment as a scientist I suppose to know that the experiments we have designed to test pharmaceuticals (on men, in the main I may add) don't seem to deliver an answer when we look at homeopathy, and lead to an understanding on why it works. But that's where being a research scientist comes in I suppose - it's not good enough to just look for the answer you want - you have to have an open mind to realise that the questions you may have in your mind are altogether wrong.

Now i'm sure you can harp on about your opinions about how science can't explain how homeopathy works, or even how a placebo effect works, but you'd be wasting your time arguing with me - because as a scientist, I'm not interested in arguments, or rhetoric, I'm interested in observable results. The facts speak for themselves: many many people have reported that homeopathy works for them, myself included.

Homeopathy works, there is evidence to prove it does. Science does not yet have the experiments to explain how it works. And yes, it embarrasses me, as a very well regarded research scientist actually, that we have been sitting on our hands ignoring these pesky reports that homeopathy works - trying to shoehorn the results we have gathered into boxes we already have.

And to those who would wish to deny the OP the opportunity to be listened to in a caring and compassionate way for an hour or two, and being prescribed a remedy which could dramatically help her, who in their right minds would deny her this level of care after she has just had a baby, in order that you can tick your atheist, oh so clever, postmodernist, left wing, Guardian reading, middle class boxes; so you can give your hobby horse du jour a good gallop on t'internet? Why not pop over to the spirituality boards and pour some cold water on those believers over there? Go for the Full House.

Let the lady have her homeopathy I say.

Congratulations again OP, and hope you're feeling much brighter about the future soon. Let me know how you get on.

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CoteDAzur · 20/12/2012 14:23

"how science can't explain how homeopathy works"

Science doesn't try to explain any such thing, because homeopathy doesn't work any better than placebo. This has been shown over and over in many double blind experiments.

"Open-minded" shouldn't mean having a head so empty that wind blows through it. If water had memory, we would all be dead, since all water on Earth has been around decomposing bodies & toxic substances at one point or another.

Mine are not "opinions", because all I am doing is explaining reality to you. Yours can be called opinions, but actually a better word for them is "delusion" or "wishful thinking", since there is no basis in reality to your claims.

Anyway, feel free to believe whatever you want, of course. Just please don't pretend that there is any basis whatsoever for it, scientifically or logically.

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