The last few weeks were a bit stressful as my milk supply drastically dropped. I went from having more than enough milk, too much milk, to barely cutting it by the end of the day. What changed? The only thing I could figure was the fact that my dear old friend returned... any guesses? For those of you who guessed my menstrual cycle, you got it right. Thats the only thing that I can figure changed. And once I talked to my doctor, she confirmed that its quite normal that when your period returns, your milk supply drops.
I tried everything to increase it. Pumping every 2 hours, drinking more water, mothers tea, and fenugreek. For a time the tea and herbs worked to increase my supply, but then it dropped. I spoke to my dr, and she prescribed me Domperidone. This medication is not actually to increase milk, its for prolonged stomach fullness, and nausea, I dont have either, however one of the side effects is increased milk production. Women who are not lactating at all can take this drug and it will cause their bodies to produce milk. Needless to say this stuff works!!
For the first time in over a month, I actually had enough milk by 5:00pm, that I could put 6 oz away in the freezer. This is such a great feeling. Before I started the domperidone, we ended up picking up a tub of formula because I just didnt have enough. I had considered looking into other mothers who had a large supply of frozen breastmilk before turning to formula, but Andy wasn't comfortable with that idea, so formula it was. It was only about a bottle of formula once a day, usually at the end of the day as my supply would drop in the evenings.
The side effects to this drug are headaches and dry mouth. I have experienced both in small amounts, however nothing that I can say has been a big issue.
Once concern that I do have though is I wonder what the long term effects of this drug could be on my system? I hope to continue to exclusively pump and give him my milk until he is a year, and so being on this drug for another 7-8 months could maybe cause some long term issues. Im not sure, its just a thought.
If anyone has any experience with Domperidone, and would like to chime in, Id love to hear it!
1 comment:
Hey Karla, sorry to hear that you've been having supply issues. I don't know if you remember but with Isabella I had absolutely no issues with supply but with Addison I just didn't have enough milk. I used Domperidone with Addison from the time she was 4 weeks old until a year. I don't know about any long term problems but it worked for us. Wishing you luck.
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