Experience/Opinions? Meds for breast milk production?

[dinkery]

I just found out there are prescription medications available for women who have trouble producing milk. Recently I have completely and entirely stopped making any milk at all, not a drop. There doesn't seem to be a real reason for it other than stress. Anyway, I'm considering calling my OB tomorrow and asking her about the possibility of this type of medication to help me. Because of Baby B's allergies, he's now on SUPER expensive formula and I'll be honest, we're having a hard time with the cost, so if I could get back to breast milk at least partially it would be huge for us. So my question is does anyone know about these meds, or have you had any experience with them and what happened? Did it work for you? Side effects for you or baby? If it worked how much would you estimate your production went up? Do you have to have low supply to take them or do you think it might work for me even though I've stopped producing completely? Any insight at all would be much appreciated.

 

[sheldonsmommy]

I don't have much advice hun, just that the sooner the better if you want to reestablish supply.

My friend went on Domperidone (Motilium in Canada) and she said in about 24 hours her breasts were hard from milk.

I hope it works for you if you go that route!

 

[ButterflyX]

I would love to read what people say . I don't have any experience

 

[leigh5tom]

I was prescribed domperidone because of very low supply. I took it for a month. Before I started it I was topping up with formula after every feed. My little one was losing weight, it took him 3 weeks to get back to his birth weight. But after a month of taking it my supply had improved and we have been ebf ever since. Me and baby had no side effects that I noticed. It worked very well for us. Good luck xxx

 

[Nevaie]

I had alot of difficulty producing enough breastmilk. My daughter lost 23% of her body weight within a week, was severely dehydrated and I ended up having to pump, bottle feed and supplement with formula so that I could track exactly how much she was eating. Once I had the okay to go back to breastfeeding she would no longer take anything but the bottle The upside was that I knew exactly how much I produced and what helped/hindered production. I kept tracking it myself and writing it down until I quit about 6 1/2 months in.

Weeks in and pumping as often as my breasts and baby could handle (she hated the sound of the pump and not being held) I was only producing about 4-6 ounces. Per DAY. I took fenugreek and blessed thistle. That upped me to 6-8 ounces a day and also allowed me to space out pumping a little more without a drop in production. Then about 3 months in I started taking domperidone along with my supplements (although I should note that the FDA has actually banned it's use for this purpose in the US - doctors many times will not prescribe it) and within a couple weeks was producing 13-16 or so ounces per day. Big jump. I was able to provide about half of her daily intake and I was happy with that. Off and on I started having trouble with production again though. Sometimes the dosage needs to be adjusted as time goes by. Oatmeal helped quite a bit as well, but it was sort of a small, short term type gain.

There are definitely lots of different things you can try, with or without a prescription. If you have a pump, pumping for a few minutes as often as you can in between feeding attempts could help alot with upping your production. Waking up and attempting a feed and/or pumping a few times in the middle of the night will be especially helpful. This early on you really just want to keep feeding/pumping as often as possible to stimulate the milk production. Take a nice, warm relaxing bath every night. The relaxation and heat may work together to get you leaking. If that happens, feed or pump as much out as you can and then keep going for a few minutes after you're empty. Then finish your bath and let yourself relax again. If it doesn't happen, just enjoy the bath and know that you tried your best. It'll always seem slow, but if you track the progress over time you can tell for sure if it's working or not. Good luck and I hope you're able to make it work

 

[Foxybabyhg3]

I think you're thinking about Domperidone (brand is Motilium) I used it as my milk was struggling which I think was down to DD's prem birth. Oats, fenugreek and mothers milk tea was also a great help. Good luck

 

[AP]

You may struggle getting domperidone prescribed at the moment, GP's are beginning to withold these prescriptions

https://www.gponline.com/drug-watch...use-side-effects/gi-dyspepsia/article/1291948

I have used domperidone though, and it made a great difference. It was tough to get from my doctor - I had to proove what difference it would make with documentation from NICU because they werent keen on supplying a drug for a reason other than what it was made for. The lactation point is actually a side effect.

Brewers Yeast is another to try

 

[leigh5tom]

It was difficult for me to get domperidone too. My midwife suggested it to the doctor who finally agreed after speaking with her xx

 

[mamaduke]

For your reference... FDA on domperidone: https://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch...tyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm154914.htm

 

[BabyMaybe917]

Reglan is another medication that has the side effect of increasing milk production. Please read the black box warnings before considering and keep in mind it is associated with increased anxiety and depression.https://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/meds/prescript_galactagogue/