Will the doctor give me domperidone?

[monkeypuzzeltree]

Me again! This is getting daft now, am at the last chance saloon to bf and wondering if this drug might be worth a try. Here is where we are:

• bf started well, got really awful thrush, got treated, stopped bf for few days as too painful.
• bf resumed, all well, supply had dipped a bit but then baby got an infection, week in hospital, pumped about every 2 hours but supply nose dived and DS wouldn't latch - did lots of skin to skin, fenugreek and blakyhorn elxir etc - no change except I smelt like curry!
• left hospital, son all better and he decides to latch, great but there is not much there and nothing is helping! I try him at every feed but he comes off after 5/10 mins of tugging but only getting a small feed.

So is this drug worth a try or do I just give in?! In all honesty after a week in hospital and that stress im half tempted to just ff and get on with life but turns out I like bfing and I'm keen to give him as many antibodies as poss after his infection.

Thanks in advance!

Hi mptree. Sorry to hear you've had such a difficult time. I used domperidone to boost up failing milk supply. It did work (though had to give up with 4 x mastitis + abcess). It's well worth a try. I don't know if your Dr will prescribe it but you can buy it over the counter. It's brand name is Motilium and it's marketed to aid digestive discomfort.

Hope things improve for you soon.

They might - but it's not licensed for use as a galactagogue in this country, so equally, they might not.
This might be a little bit helpful, though, in persuading them.
Good luck.

Ah, just assumed it was prescription only - trip to boots then! Did it take long to work?

Mastitis is horrid, got that last time, bound to get again knowing my luck, we've had everything else!

I got knocked back by the first doctor i went to so i got another appt with a different doctor and he prescribed it. Im in Scotland where prescriptions are free and to buy it over the counter would be extremely costly i think.

It's a fiver for 10 tablets, so if you have to pay for prescriptions, it's cheaper to buy otc. Sadly, can't tell you how long it takes to work, as I've only ever taken it for stomach issues...

I've been taking domperidone for about 6 weeks, with the support of my GP. For me, it has worked, but I've had to take it in large quantities (12 pills a day) - this would be way too expensive to buy over the counter (a pack of 10 pills costs about £5). As has been mentioned, it's not licensed in this country as a galactalogue, but my GP was sympathetic to my plight! (i know people whose GPs have refused to prescribe it, though, so you may have to try more than one doctor.) However, she'd never heard of its use in this context, and was reassured by the fact that I brought along Dr Jack Newman's online guidance on taking domperidone (google him to find it) to boost milk production. I had to tell her exactly what dosage I wanted - so it would probably be a good idea to visit your doctor armed with information. I also found that it took a while to work - about a month to get to full effectiveness; I'm weaning myself off it now. For me it hasn't been a wonder cure: I was taking it because my breasts went into "shut down" and stopped producing any milk at all after 2 severe bouts of mastitis. The domperidone did work, but only when accompanied by lots of expressing and feedingfeedingfeeding to boost supply too. On its own, it wasn't so effective - I didn't find myself overflowing with milk overnight! And I still don't have enough milk to EBF, but I'm able to bf 70-80% of DD's requirements, which I'm v happy about! HTH - Good luck with your GP!

It seemed to aid production after a few days. As IMH says the pharmacist may refuse to dispense it if you say want it for improving milk production. I used to say I needed it for trapped wind!

I know the thread is about medication but I had supply issues every 3-4 weeks as dd wouldn't suck to increase supply just came off and ended hitting, pulling, frustrated and crying.
I basically pumped it back up. I don't know if you know much about let downs but I spoke to le leche league on phone and kellymom websites. I had no idea that once there is one let down and nothing coming out from pumping you can still pump for few mins to get another letdown (several times) though i wouldn't reccommend more than 2/3/4 (depending on volume and how long it is taking). If you can pump after baby feeds to get another letdown or two (depending on volume- it decreases each time) or if not working start pumping 45 mins after feed (if not near another feed). Get out extra couple of ounces after monring feed when it is easier and especially do in evening.
The setting on the pump i have (medela swing- don't know about others) does frequent small bursts at first and I used this to get let downs. Sometimes I found taking it off for few secs and then starting again got let down faster- and deep breaths for some reason.
I thought it better than drug route but don't go mad with frequency and number of letdowns as I ended up with way too much for a while!

Thanks for your replies. An off to drs this pm, keep changing my mind as to what to do for the best but will see what dr says. What dosage have people been given?

This fenugreek is making me smell lovely!!