Hi there,
I'm a 29 yo female. Was diagnosed with bipolar years ago. I never really thought about having children before, it didn't appeal to me. But loads of my friends started having babies, then I met Mr. Nice Guy, and I catch myself thinking about it, questioning whether I would miss on something important if I don't.
A couple of days ago I did some research and found out that it would be a pretty hard pregnancy and then until recently bipolar women were advised not to have children. My health is alright more or less, and I don't take mood stabilizers continuously. I take Venlafaxine, propranolol, and benzos PRN. When I have to, I go on seroquel or lithium for a bit, but can't handle being on that stuff all the time. I do get pretty bad, but nowhere near as often as I used to when I was younger. I am more stable than not. But I hear pregnancy can really mess up your emotional state..
Anyhow, one of my best friends is a psychiatric nurse. He was not excited when I asked him about it. He saw a few women in his ward with postnatal psychosis, plus he knows me well. He said it might not be the best idea for me, though possible.
But I'm sure loads of bipolar women do have babies! So, I would like to know your opinion/experience. Quite worried to be honest