Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

BF, FF or mixed? Complicated personal situation - I need advice!!!

51 replies

liquidclocks · 29/07/2006 16:59

I'm 7 months pg with baby no.2 and facing a bit of a dilemma, here's why:
I fully intended to BF no.1 as I know 'breast is best' and I wanted to do what was right for him. My personal complication is that I have chronic migraine (migraine for more than 15 days each month if unmedicated) for which I'm generally (not while pg) on long term medication that is not recommended while BF, I also developed PUPPP/PEP towards the end of last pg and I'm allergic to piriton(only BF 'safe' antihistamine). Despite this I decided to see how it went. After DS was born he was put on my breast but couldn't/wouldn't latch on. My PUPPP stopped me from sleeping at all in hospital formore than 20 mins or so and about 6 hrs after giving birth I started with a migraine which continued for 2 days. I kept trying to BF but DS just wouldn't latch on and without exagerrating I didn't see the same midwife twice for the entire 3 days I was in hospital- they'd come over put him on then leave and within 30 secs he'd dropped off. On the beginning of day 3 I KNEW my baby was hungry but wasn't BF and, desperate for some sleep, relief from the migraine and PUPPP I took my medication and effectively scuppered any chance I had left of BF. DS is now a very happy well-fed 21 month old but I still feel guilty for that 'moment of weakness/desperation' that I took my meds. The midwife who got me my first bottle for him (I'd never met before) made me feel so guilty too even though no-one had really supported me trying to BF.
I'd like to try and BF DS2 but having a toddler as well this time around I really do need to consider taking my medication as I won't just be able to lie in bed with a migraine and bottle supply like I did with him. (I don't have PUPPP this time at least). However, I'm worried that if I put in my maternity notes that I'll try and then I get ill and need my meds that I'll be put under pressure and made to feel guilty again.
So my questions are these:
Has anyone BF around taking medications for migraine/any other function-limiting health condition, if so how and was it successful?
If I were to mix feed what does that actually entail?
Does anyone think I should just bottle feed from the outset and avoid all the horrid stuff I wentthrough last time?
If I do BF where do I get support from without being made to feel shit if I eventually give up?

Sorry for long post - felt it necessary to explain where I'm coming from.

OP posts:

EnidsFanjo · 29/07/2006 17:40

i had them thru pg

Original poster

liquidclocks · 29/07/2006 17:40

Edam - had a look at that link and can't find any references to anti-migraine meds unfortunately. Thanks though, makes an interesting resource!

OP posts:

EnidsFanjo · 29/07/2006 17:40

all those will still apply with bottle feeding though

Original poster

liquidclocks · 29/07/2006 17:43

I think that if it's true that even a few days is worth it I might try that and see how it goes. If that leads on to a week, then two, great but I also need to be realistic and be prepared to put my health (and sanity) first.

So does anyone have any recommendations for getting BF support IN hospital - not going to be relying on midwives this time.

OP posts:

EnidsFanjo · 29/07/2006 18:01

that sounds sensible

make sure your midwives are fully briefed on the problems you had last time

are there bfeeding workshps allied to your hosptial?

quootiepie · 29/07/2006 18:09

Hiya... Even a few days BFing are beneficial (think of the colostrum days). Even BFing for a week is better than not, BFing for a day even is better than not. Im on panic and axiety medication while BFing, but if I get really bad, id give up and be a "better" mum, rather than in a state but BFing (not saying thats your case). Just see how it goes... and dont worry if you have to go to full formula feeding -you have a valid reason. Youll be doing the best whatever you do x

Original poster

liquidclocks · 29/07/2006 18:17

Thanks quootiepie. Hope you're feeling a bit better now too.

EnidsFanjo - The only BF thing is like a support group for after you've had the baby. The bit I'm worried about is getting it established in the first place. We have a local midwifery led unit that I've heard loads of good things about and I'd love to book in there. The trouble is that during my last labour I had the unusual situation of getting contractions without breaks in between and needed an epidural and the unit doesn't do them. I'm scared that that would happen again and I want the safety net of an anaesthetist. I also only just got DS's head out and this LO being number 2 is likely to be bigger!

OP posts:

tiktok · 30/07/2006 00:11

edam - I'm not a doula. I'm a breastfeeding counsellor

Who's going round saying milk goes off inside the breast?! It doesn't - it can't! Mastitis can make you ill - but it's not the milk going off. It's inflammation/infection in the breast, but not caused by 'off' milk.

Mothers with migraine can certainly be treated without worrying about the meds affecting the milk. Here's a good site: gives a list

Original poster

liquidclocks · 30/07/2006 12:26

Thanks for clarifying that tiktok - it did sound odd! Is it true that women who mix feed are more prone to mastitis though?

Thanks for link - looking at it now...

OP posts:

Original poster

liquidclocks · 30/07/2006 12:31

Have seen this site before. The medications I take (pizotifen daily, immigran as needed) are both listed as 'not enough information', though I have been taking the odd immigran while pg if desperate as advised by a specialist GP so wouldn't have a problem I think taking this one occasionally (I did read all the research myself before making that decision).

Do you know of anyone actually given the go-ahead for taking pizotifen while BF, my GP has said no.

OP posts:

edam · 30/07/2006 13:20

Sorry tiktok, I know you are a b/f counsellor, obv. mind went a bit doolally there!

Liquid, taking Lamictal for migraine would be a last resort, I think, given that it's an anticonvulsant. So when you take it, it really hits you until you adjust to the dose - they start at 0.25mg I think, which is not even a therapeutic dose. It's also used as an anti-depressant but again, I guess only for people who can't be helped by other meds. But the key point is that it is considered safe for p/g and breastfeeding women - there's a register of women who have taken it (inc. me) and no problems have emerged except in women taking multiple meds which include ones known to affect foetuses.

I took it while p/g and b/f and ds is fine, btw. Used to have migraines but since developing epilepsy and going on Lamictal am migraine and seizure-free.

Original poster

liquidclocks · 30/07/2006 13:41

Thanks edam. I've got an appt with my GP in a few weeks to discuss the possibilities of medication while BF. I'll talk to him about that one and the other one I've been reading about this morning is propanolol which is a beta-blocker recommended by the london migraine clinic. I'm glad Lamictal hasbeen so effective for you in terms of seizures etc, but do you get any side effects from it at all?

I've been managing my migraines in pg by sticking to a very structured 'lifestyle management' programme which is fine and maybe one day that will be all I use but life with a newborn just isn't going to fit in around it and I'm definitely going to need something as a preventer medication as well as the odd immigran. The more I think about it the more scared I'm getting - so easy to forget how hard those first few months are!

OP posts:

leanoracat · 01/08/2006 13:23

I've taken propanolol for migraine prevention, and while it didn't get rid of them entirely, it made life much more bearable. Almost as important as fewer migraines, I was also much more relaxed and less panicky about life in general!

Original poster

liquidclocks · 02/08/2006 14:46

Thanks leonoracat - I'd read about that. One of the listed side effects was nightmares - have you ever experiencedthat at allor any other unwanted ones? I'm going to talk to my GP about it in a few weeks. The other thing someone mentioned was feeling 'slow' and I don't want that really.

Did you take anything as an 'instant' fix if you had a breakthrough one?

OP posts:

mummyhill · 02/08/2006 15:25

Can't offer advice with regard to the migraines but I had problems bf withmy DD (4) so when I fell pregnant with DS (10months) I got in touch with the lactation consultant at the hosptial explained the difficulties I had 1st time round and that I hadn't got a lot of support. I also told her that I wanted to bf this time round or express if we couldn't get a latch. I kept in touch with her throughout the pregnancy and within 4 hrs of giving birth she came to see me on the ward and spent hours with me trying to get a latch established when this was failing she loaned me a mains operated breast pump and I expressed with this for 12 weeks after which we moved onto formula as we still couldn't get a latch and I needed to spend time with the rest of the family instead of being permanently attached to the breast pump.

Original poster

liquidclocks · 02/08/2006 16:03

Thanks mummyhill. I've never even heard of a lacatation consultant - is that someone employed by the hospital, a specialist midwife or a volunteer of some sort? Sounds like it might be quite helpful as DS1's inability to latch on definitely affected my end decision last time.

OP posts:

mummyhill · 02/08/2006 16:10

In the case of our hospital it was someone with nursing/midwifery qualification who specialised in and felt passionatly about breast feeding. She was great. She even called me at home a few times to see how I was getting on and gave me the details of local breast feeding support groups.

If I have anymore I will deffinatly be on the phone to her again as the help and support she gave me was invaluable and helped me to feel so much better about myself evenwhen I felt a bit low about stopping expressing t spend more time with the rest of the family iyswim.

Original poster

liquidclocks · 02/08/2006 16:12

I'll definitely ask my midwife when I see her in a few weeks - thanks!

OP posts:

mummyhill · 02/08/2006 16:13

Glad I could help.

leanoracat · 02/08/2006 16:18

I did have odd dreams more than nightmares, and the gp said I could wean off it if I wanted, but I said I'd rather carry on, dreams being preferable to migraines in my opinion. I didn't take anything for breakthrough - just paracetamol and ibuprofen. In fact, I think that high dose ibuprofen may be one of the breakthrough treatments for migraine, and you can take that whilst breastfeeding.

Original poster

liquidclocks · 02/08/2006 18:06

Thanks Leonoracat. Sounds like a definite possibility anyway. Have to be very careful with paracetamol personally as 5 yrs of undiagnosed migraine led me to medication overouse headache and now I'm hypersensitive to it. Sorry, has annoyed me all the way through pg having to explain that to midwives! I'm assuming it'll be ok to take immigran with propanolol (hopefully) but will check with doctor.

Have an acupuncture appt next monday after a week of migraine this week - thank goodness for chinese medicine, shame it's so expensive!

OP posts:

Original poster

liquidclocks · 02/08/2006 18:07

Have an acupuncture appt next monday after a week of migraine this week - thank goodness for chinese medicine, shame it's so expensive!

OP posts:

mears · 20/08/2006 13:02

liquidclocks - I suffered from migraines from when I was about 9 years old and then they stopped for a couple of years before I got married. When I was pregnant I had a few extreme ones when I couldn't even speak properly. In the first few weeks after birth I found they came every few days.
I saw my GP who specialised in homeopathic medicine and she bave me Brionia 30C. It was very effective. Didn't stop the migraine starting but stopped the aftermath IYKWIM? No headache or vomiting. I did take Sanomigran while breastfeeding but found it made me feel a bit spaced which I didn't like.
There are medications out there, traditional and homeopathic which are compatable with breastfeeding if that is what you would want to do.
Breastfeeding is much better established if it is done exclusively in the first few weeks. Mix feeding is possible - any amouint of breastmilk is good. Even one breastfeed of colostrum gives a baby a 'shot' of protective antibodies and activates deveopment of the gut.
My hospital has an infant feeding advisor who speaks to women with concerns regarding medication and breastfeeding. She gets the necessary info. GPs have no decent knowledge of milk transfer of drugs IME.

Blandmum · 20/08/2006 13:33

Liquidclocks, it may be worth contacting the manufacturers of your medication to see if tey have any information on transfer into breastmilk. (I used to work for a pharma company and we got asked this question a lot on our products)

If they are unwilling to give you the informtion (if they have any) directly you could ask if it could be sent to your GP.

They many not have much info, but on the other hand they might have some unpublished reports and it is worth a try.

Phone them and ask for the medical information department. Explain the situation and they may be able to help.

mears · 27/08/2006 12:07

Have posted this here for eenywifemum.

When googling I realised that pizotifen is another name for Sanomigran which is what I was prescribed while breastfeeding! Funny old world...

I didn't like the feeling it gave me because I wasn't used to it.

Flip

1 2 3

Swipe left for the next trending thread