No choice but to give up breastfeeding.

[Piffyonarockbun]

I had DD 15 weeks ago. Breastfeeding got off to a tricky start. Her mouth was small and it was painful bt we perservered. She ended up in hospital at 10 days old with an infection and was too weak to suck properly so she ended up on a bottle. I expressed milk during this time. We came out of hospital and ended up with thrush. I had a lot of support from a local breastfeeding group and got the treatment needed but it took a few weeks to clear. I was still expressing off one side as I couldnt get DD to take that side. Finally a few weeks ago I got her to latch on both sides and breastfeeding finally clicked into place. Throughout all this I was determined to keep feeding as I felt it was the best thing for us. I felt too disorganised to get to grips with formula and I enjoyed feeding her. The last few weeks have been lovely. Feeding has been pain free and DD has thrived.

Sorry for the essay, I'll get to the point now. I had blood pressure problems and pre eclampsia before DD was born. My blood pressure has remained high despite the highest dose of labetelol. In the last couple of weeks I have had severe dizzy spells. The other day I nearly fell while holding DD so made an appt withy GP (earliest ome available was over a week away). Today I developed blind spots in my vision and knew my blood pressure must be high. I got in with the doctor and sure enough my blood presure is dangerously high. Labetelol isnt cutting it. It is too dangerous too breastfeed on any other drug. It is too dangerous for me not to take another drug. I have got to give up breastfeeding. I know its for the best. It is more important for DD that I am healthy than she is breastfed. She has been breastfed for 15 weeks which was a start.

Intellectually I know all this. I just feel absolutely heartbroken. Im putting off taking the first tablet until tomorrow so I can feed my little girl overnight. DH and I have agreed that we will have no more children so aftertonight I will never breastfeed again. It is purely selfish really. I love breastfeeding. I love the way it makes me feel. Dd was very small at birth and has put on weight beautifully. It took a lot of work to persevere and I really thought I would feed her until at least 1 year old. I just feel so sad. I need to snap out of this. I have a lovely healthy baby and a loving husband. DH has just been diagnosed with MS so it is even more important that I look after my health.

Please come and tell me I will feel better soon and that stopping breastfeeding is not the huge deal I am turning it into.

I def have more hope now. I emailed the bfn last night with all the details and questions i have. I was wondering about the half life as i will take the meds in the morning and DD tends to feed less in the day.

As i was writing this update i got a reply from the bfn. There have been studies into Amlodopine and its all positive. There is no reason i cannot carry on feeding and take the drug. They have also suggested an alternative if i dont feel i can take the amlodipine.

I have got an appt for monday morning with the more receptive gp so will see how amlodipine suits me over the weekend.

I posted yesterday hoping to be told that it wasnt the end of the world. I got that and it helped immensely but i didnt expect to get help to carry on feeding. I would never have questioned it if i hadnt posted. I would just have finished feeding her today and that would have been it. Im so grateful because your replies helped me make my peace with stopping but also encouraged me to get the advice i needed to carry on.

you all deserve the biggest bunch of these i can find for your kindness and wise words. After a sleepless night im sat here watching winnie the pooh with DD. Im so happy.

Writer, i recommend emailing the bfn. I got a reply in8 hours which is incredibly.good going seeing as i emailed at one in the morning. I hope you get some reassurance

Yes, please do email the bfn drug line. If you are emailing them give them:

• details of your condition
• what drugs you are considering (and what dosage)
• your baby's age

Oh I was just coming on to offer a hand to hold as I know I would be upset if I had to stop feeding dd, but I am so pleased to find that this nest of vipers has supported and helped you to the best solution

I fucking love Mums net!

:) for piffy.

There are often questions like yours in this folder - just a tiny corner of MN, and MN is a tiny corner of the world, where many, many more 100s of 1000s of women don't see it or think to discuss it. The BfN do a great job with their drugsline, and Wendy tries to educate doctors as well.

There are hardly any meds which are risky to babies - the heavy-duty tranx, chemotherapy and a few others really do mean 'no bf' but most of the rest are apparently ok (though individuals should take individual advice).

Oh, piffy, I'm so delighted for you!

Fantastic!

Oh what a lovely thread! I'm so pleased you got such a positive result piffy

Really pleased for you , just wish all GPs were better informed

Brilliant news piffy - you must be so happy!!

Regarding my tablets, it's a bit late to worry as I've been breast feeding on them for 11 weeks now. I was taking them during pregnancy so assumed that if they were safe whilst pregnant then it'd be safe to breast feed on them too??!

Generally there are a lot fewer restrictions on drugs in BF than drugs in pregnancy (where there really are a lot of things that aren't safe): I can only think of one thing off the top of my head that's OK for pregnancy and less advised in BF and that's sedating antihistamines as they can make small BF babies sleepy. As tiktok said above there are very few drugs that are a total no no in BF and they're things like heavy duty tranquilizers and chemo.

What does Lactmed say? Is it DO NOT TAKE, or "we don't have much data but they seem ok", in which case they're probably fine. Def check with the BFN if you're worried.

Late to the thread, I was going to recommend BFN drugline as they were brilliant, but I see you have had advice from them. Excellent news! I would feel the same way about giving up breastfeeding as you do, so I'm glad that you seem to have found a way round it!

leedy - it says that for one of the drugs I take that the baby should be having blood tests to check the serum levels in their own blood stream as in some scenarios up to 50% of the mother's dose can be transferred through breast milk I'm seeing my Specialist next week anyway as my routine post-natal check so I will discuss it with her, but like I said, too late to do anything about it now. DS has been fine so far

I bet the BFN would be able to tell you things like if that's something you should be worried about (ie if it is transferring how likely is it to have an adverse effect, are you in the particular scenario described), when to time doses, if there's an alternative, etc.

At the start of my pregnancy I was on at the same dose I've been on for years but when I hit 20 weeks gestation my dosage had to be increased due to my own concentration levels dropping as a result of the extra blood in my system. I increased my dose over the course of a month and my serum levels increased back up to normal.

When DS was born I had blood tests 2 days later to check my serum levels again as there were concerns my levels could be too high now that my circulating blood volume was back to normal but I was still on the increased dose. I never heard anything about the results so assumed all was fine.

I'm still on this increased dose but I think when I see the Specialist next week she is going to talk to me about reducing it back down to my pre-pregnancy dose but I'm a bit worried now as the Lactmed site says babies can suffer withdrawal symptoms

Hope it's all ok. Presumably if you're lowering the dose gradually baby will also be getting a gradually lowered dose?

I think you're getting good advice but just to say if you do stop bf it really is not the end of the world. I could only feed
My first for seven weeks and then switched to formula. I'm now bf my daughter and hoping to continue for a year. But you must see formula for what it is - a fab substitute that will give your baby nutrients and help them grow up healthy. Millions of babies worldwide have thrived on it. It is not
Pois

Poison. We are indeed lucky to have access to it. My son is very rarely ill which I put down to his great diet. If you do have to stop bf think of all the wonderful work you can do with weaning. Home cooked wonderful fruit veg etc. I was very sad to stop feeding my son also but you would be right to focus on your lovely, healthy child who has been bf this far. Good luck op!

Thank you all again. DD is a really healthy lovely little girl and that wont change whether i formula feed or breastfeed. I hope the consultant or the bfn can ease your worries writer.