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Pregnancy

Promethazine for nausea and breastfeeding

4 replies

Beagadorsrock · 16/07/2015 18:00

I'm 14 weeks today and my nausea/sickness instead of tapering off is actually getting worse. I went to the doctors and - among the expected 'it's better to ride it out' stuff - did get prescribed promethazine.
The problem is, I'm still breastfeeding at night and when I got home I saw in the leaflet that promethazine passes into breast milk so I didn't take it yesterday (I hate the idea of being 'forced' to wean....). However, today is worse (eat a bit, drink a bit, feel 'in limbo' that it could go either way, then suddenly - and like clockwork around the time we have to pick up from nursery! - rush to the loo...). It's really getting me down and I want to take the pill. But I don't want to wean!

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of exactly how bad the side effects would be on my infant (who's 18 months)? Do I have to wean him just for the sake of not feeling like crap for what could be days or weeks?

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CarShare · 16/07/2015 18:53

There's a small reference to promethazine in this article:
"Information on the distribution of antihistamines into human milk is limited, but there is no evidence to show that breast-milk supply may be diminished as has been speculated. Short- or medium-acting antihistamines may cause irritability or sedation in infants. Nevertheless, many consider their short-term use safe, although there are few studies to support this view. Drugs such as chlorpheniramine, dexchlorpheniramine, diphenhydramine, hydroxyzine and promethazine have been in use for many years without adverse effects being reported."
www.australianprescriber.com/magazine/20/2/35/40.

Could you time taking the meds carefully around breastfeeding so you're not taking it just beforehand (i.e. take it immediately after BF)? This might help to reduce the amount your son is exposed to. I know promethazine can be taken more frequently but you might find that taking it daily does enough. Or perhaps see if half a tablet 2x day does the job.

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Beagadorsrock · 16/07/2015 18:58

Thanks for that.

It's a 1 a day pill (25 mg) - I'm supposed to take it before bed and could easily bf just before I take it - I just wish they could tell how long it stays in the breast milk for ( so as not to accidentally bf in the night, for example, or in the morning - which is becoming a rarer occurrence anyway but you never know)
I think I'll have to bite the bullet

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glorious · 16/07/2015 19:10

Breastfeeding network has a great resource on drugs in breast milk. [https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=promethazine+breastfeeding+network&oq=promethazine+breastfeeding+network&aqs=chrome..69i57.16423j0j4&client=ms-android-orange-gb&sourceid=chrome-mobile&espv=1&ie=UTF-8]] see the second result.

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