Fenugreek - worth a shot?

[Wommer]

Hi,
I've recently returned to work and am attempting to carry on ebf my 5.5 month old (expressing at work and feeding when at home)
I've previously had a very good supply but am finding that expressing is not getting my h going.
Have bought some fenugreek seed supplement as have read that this should help.
Has anyone tried it for better or worse?

*Am finding that expressing is not getting my boobs "going". Breast feeding at home is still working well.

It worked really well for me, you just need to take it for two or three days (until your skin smells funny!) then stop. I really noticed a difference, although it might have been a sort of placebo effect rather than anything physiological, who knows.

If you are breastfeeding well, but finding it hard to express, it probably is a lot to do with the psycological aspect - i.e. being relaxed enough to get your hormones doing what they are supposed to. Are you comfortable and in a nice private place? Have you tried looking at photos or videos of your baby while you express? Sometimes even having a nice cup of tea and a biscuit can make all the difference to relaxing you enough.

With regards to the fenugreek I did recommended it to a friend of mine and when she took it it gave her really bad headaches, so its not right for everyone. I'd say worth a shot, but stop if it makes you feel bad.

Well, it worked for me twice when I was trying to establish bf. Worked brilliantly in fact- just step it up carefully and be careful you don't produce too much milk and get mastitis or something. Also I just smelt like a curry. I should mention though that not everyone on MN thinks it's a wonderful substance, Truthsweet usefully posted links to some cautionary articles about it on this thread.

In addition, I agree it would probably be wise to look at how efficiently you're getting the milk which you do have out of your boobs, as Mummyabroad suggests, anything which makes expressing at work more comfortable. And possibly a different pump or technique might be worth a punt?
Hope the going back to work is going well apart from this.

The other thing to consider is domperidone, which worked for me (you can do your own research of the pros and cons online, I'm not trying to sell it to you, but a paediatrician ended up prescribing it to me on my request here in NL). I got my supply up using a combination of domperidone and a hospital-grade pump (Medela Symphony), but I never had that much luck with a pump, I just responded much better to a nice warm baby!

I used it and it worked great for me, makes your wee smell of curry, but it worked lol

Mmm yes, you could try hiring a hospital-grade pump from the NCT and see if that works for you.

Thanks all, will give it a shot and see what happens.
Have tried the photos/video of DS and have tried hand expressing/pumping.
If this doesn't work will probably supplement with formula during the day and carry on bf ing when we're together.
If he was younger then I'd go down the medication route, but I'm not hyper worried about introducing formula any more.
Thanks again

I'm taking it but didn't realise you should stop I'm still taking it 14 weeks on - I think it smells of maple syrup lol

yy maple syrup! I used it too v successfully.

I used to put fenugreek seeds (from the spice aisle) in boiling water and take it that way - certainly seemed to work. Fennel is also good, in tea form. Avoid too much mint!

Do you have a photo with you when you express at work? I used to look at a picture of ds on my phone when I did it, which really worked for me.