Horrible hives from a galactagogue!!

[ladysarcasma]

I decided to try More Milk Plus today. Bad plan. By my third dose of the day (just started it today) I was covered in horrible big itchy hives! I went to the ER where they told me they believe I reacted to Nettles.

They put me on Benadryl, Pepcid, and Prednisone. They said I can't nurse while on it. Got my period today too so this may end what was left of my supply. I'm pumping and dumping though.

What I'm really worried about are any effects on LO. He only nursed a little from me and I got rid of the rest of the milk I'd pumped earlier. He has no symptoms. His last feeding was about 5 hours ago. If he was going to react would it have happened by now? I'm so scared that I did something horribly wrong by taking this stuff that came so highly recommended!!

 

[patch2006uk]

Have you actually confirmed that those meds aren's suitable for breastfeeding? Try these guys: https://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/drugs-in-breastmilk.html Often medical staff say that a medication can't be breastfed on, but that isn't actually the case. Worth double checking, rather than wasting milk if you don't have to.

So sorry you reacted badly to the more milk plus. Allergic reactions can happen with anything - just really bad luck it was this!

Try not to give up hope - it's draining your breasts that controls milk supply, not herbs and supplements. If you can keep some supply, you can build it back up. Check you need to be pumping and dumping first, though.

Good luck!

 

[summer rain]

I believe most anti histamines aren't wise to BF on because they can dramatically cut supply as opposed to them being harmful for baby via your milk. Xx

 

[ladysarcasma]

Oh I should clarify. I didn't nurse him on the medication. I meant that I nursed him during the allergic reaction well before I went to the hospital.

 

[summer rain]

That's what I am saying you may not need to pump and dump while on this medication however the reason most anti allergy meds aren't advised in the insert is because they can dry up your milk.xx

 

[SerenityNow]

Don't worry about the milk your baby had while you were having a reaction. An allergic reaction, by definition, is your immune system treating a harmless substance as though it is harmful. It is a glitch. It won't affect your baby. I have the same reaction to chamomile tea, but I've never had it so severely that I've needed something like prednisone. I can only imagine how miserable that must have been!

I would definitely talk to a pharmacist about whether you can breastfeed on the medications they gave you in the ER. The ER staff are going to tell you not to breastfeed because they don't have enough information to tell you if it is safe to take while breastfeeding. Their expertise is knowing how to respond in the short term to the myriad of problems people come to them with. They can't also be expected to know everything about drugs and how they are metabolized. A pharmacist will be able to tell you if a drug is safe to take while nursing and if it is not, they will be able to tell you based on the drugs half-life how long you should wait to nurse after taking it.