No Medicine so have had to stop breastfeeding

[henshake]

I've been really poorly over the last 10 days (fever - temp up & down like a yo-yo) and managed to breastfeed through it all.

Went to the Dr's & was told could only have co-codemol for releif of pain and aches in bones. Came off those after 2 days due to sickness. Now over the flu but a terrible cough won't budge.

I'm not coughing any thing up & it is a violent cough, my chest sides and stomach sides don't like me coughing any more & neither does my head or the back of my neck. The cough reaches the stage where I am embarrassed by the noises I am making (like retching noises). Any way, nothing on the market for bf mums.

So after 7 days of awful cough & severe lack of sleep due to cough I've had to call it a day to bf so that I can get some drugs inside me. All I can say is that they'd better work & PDQ.

Moan over.

[milward]

You could express to keep up your supply & then restart bf when better - if you want to contiue to bf. Hope you feel better soon.

[morocco]

poor you - you sound pretty sick - hope it does work pdq
how are you feeling about stopping bf for a while? I had to do something similar and was gutted but in fact after about 5 days I just started back up again and he'd remembered what to do and everything and we just got back to normal. so if that's what you'd like to do, it is possible.
watch out for massive and painful breasts though! I'd definitely recommend pumping or manual expressing (ta to mears for telling me about that!) to take some of the pressure off.

[henshake]

I can't believe how stupid I am to not thinking about expressing. Will try that, I will have to get rid of the milk though as have already started on the medicine.

[mears]

henshake - there are very few drugs you can't breastfeed with. What are you on?

[aloha]

Um, I'm almost certain your medicine will be find if you are breastfeeding. What is it?

[fqueenzebra]

pseudo-ephedrine (in ordinary Sudafed) is ok for breastfeeding mothers.

Hale would say that all cough remedies are nearly useless, anyway (but also safe for breastfeeding moms)

[henshake]

Hi there, now then, the Dr told me I could only have co-codemol & there was no cough medicine he could give me.

Have gone to Pharmacist today after making decision to stop bf (however, now changing mind & expressing) & he put me on Benolyn Chesty Coughs.

I even rang the NHS Direct before going to Dr & they told me to go to Dr as couldn't recommend anything as BF?!

[aloha]

It will be fine to breastfeed! Don't stop because of that! What's the active ingredient (look on the box)? I will find the reference re breastfeeding for you if you like.

[mears]

This link might help you. Cough medicines are pretty useless actually - they work more on the mind than on the chest. Simple linctus would probably be just as good. According to the link your Benylin may be alright. Coughs, especially when viral, can last for a number of weeks. You might find Brufen will help and it is definitely OK for feeding. Aspirin is the only painkiller you shouldn't take.

[SueW]

henshake, I hope you feel much better soon.

This type of thread makes me fume though. How clear is it that a mum is not getting the correct help and support from HPs? Giving up breastfeeding not because she wants to because she has had enough/thinks she done all she can but because her HPs are not giving her information she needs to make a proper decision.

It's not as if the info isn't there. A few well-informed mumsnetters can find it....

Apparently this is a good source of info for doctors etc too

[frogs]

Henshake, there are very few drugs that are absolutely contraindicated in bf, and you would know if you were taking one of them (they're mainly the very powerful anticancer drugs).

It will always say on the packet leaflet not to take while bfeeding, but that's because no-one can say absolutely that it's safe (same could be said of many foodstuffs, or household cleaning products for that matter). Very little of the active ingredient will get into the bmilk, and is very unlikely to cause the baby any serious harm (though v. powerful prescription painkillers may make him a bit sleepy for a while). In most cases, it's simply that the drug has never been studied in pregnant women (our old friend, androcentric medicine again!).

With almost all drugs there is a presumption that the benefits of bfeeding outweigh any theoretical risk to the baby. I have this on very good authority, as I was taking a powerful immunosuppressant drug while bfeeding all three of my children, and was told this by the consultant (professor). I also intermittently had to take very powerful painkillers. Again, the presumption by people who know what they're talking about (as opposed to the many who think they do but don't) is that it's better to keep feeding than to stop. All my three children have immune systems like armoured tanks. Go figure.

Hope you feel better soon, and enjoy your feeding!

[netter]

From what I gather from Hale the main problem with pseudo-ephedrine is that it may, and this is not definate, it may affect your milk supply.

[bobbybob]

I was recently in hospital being treated for pneumonia and used this as a good time to stop bfing - but ds is 2.5. If he has been younger than 2 I would have got dh to come on mumsnet and ask about every drug!

Honestly the amount of drugs that get through are minimal and you can still feed. After all children and babies have medicine too!

If you would feel better taking your medicine after you have fed - then do that.

You don't have to pump and dump - extra work when you are already feeling crap.

[tatt]

henshake nothing to add to what you've ben told already. My husband has the same problem at the moment, he's been coughing for several weeks and hasn't found a cough mixture that helps. Used to work with pharmacists and doctors and the pharmacists have much better training about drugs than the average gp (That's not just my view it was also what the doctors said).

[henshake]

Had to leave quickly last night as DD started crying out in her sleep.

But, hey, hey (still feeling like sh*t but) I posted a message on here just as a point to let off steam and now I find that I can continue bf. I have stopped taking the benolyn & am now steam inhaling vics in hot water.

How good are those links. Think I will be having a nosey on them over the next couple of nights.

Thank you to all & I'm sorry that a lot of this does appear to have been covered in other threads, I never thought about searching, but then again, I never thought my GP et all would be talking b....cks.

[SueW]

babbybob I agree re children and babies taking medicine too. Lots of adult medicines are marked for 12yo and over and for under 12 only by reference to doctor. But some are pretty much deffo no-no's e.g. pepto bismol has a very clear warning on about not giving to under 16yo.

[motherinferior]

And I'd second the fact that psueudephedrine doesn't always reduce supply by any means. I've taken a fair bit of it while b/fing and admittedly I was Daisy the Cow in any case, but it didn't seem to affect my bovine capacities.

[hunkermunker]

SueW, it's still not like giving a full dose to a baby through breastmilk though.

For future reference, the Breastfeeding Network's Drugline is a brilliant resource - they know everything about drugs and breastfeeding

Hope you feel better soon, Henshake.