Fluoxetine - Advised to give up breastfeeding

[burstingbug]

My Dr has prescribed Fluoxetine to see if it helps lift and motivate me. But he advised against bf and also said DS2 would have got the main benefits of bm by now at 10mths.

Is it necessary to give up bf and ff till a yr?

Once again he didn't seem forthcoming with ad's, told me to count to 10 and do something with my lo's to help me

I was initially prescribed fluoxetine as it is, while not necessarily the most compatible with bf, it is the one with the most data suggesting it is safe - and certainly over 4 months there seem to be no reported problems at all. The women's breastfeeding network website has a good page on ADs and bf.

So there is no reason to give up if you don't want to. Doesn't sound like your dr is very helpful anyway...

(I'm now on citalopram and still bf, encouraged by my dr!)

burstingbug, all the info you need is on the bf network site. You can print off the referenced info and share it with your doc.

I don't understand about the 'main benefits' ceasing at 10 mths. Breastmilk always has antibodies, it's always nutritious and ready, and mums and babies enjoy it - why stop if you don't want to? Does GP think you are producing water now?

I've looked at the network site earlier, thanks tiktok. That's why I'm a bit confused why he said stop bfhe is never a great help, not keen on him anyway. He looked in his 'big book of medicine' for his reference and said 'manufacturer doesn't advise'. Its a real struggle to see any Dr at my surgery

Sooooo, I'm ok to take my ad's and breast feed still - cool

"count to ten and do something nice with the dc"????? wtf?

is the man an actual doctor?

sorry, don't know anything about ads, but I know enough to know that telling you to count to ten is farking useless.

Sorry you're feeling like this, mate and hope things pick up really, really quickly for you.

From your messages it doesnt sound like your GP has looked it up in the right book! There is a publication by Hale called "Breastfeeding & medicines" iirc & it would be well worth you finding somone with a copy so you can make an informed choice about any medications you want/need to take. Its quite technical but worth hearing or reading for yourself to get an unbiased version of the information. Most of the BFCs from the 4 national orgs (BfN, ABM, NCT & LLL) should have a copy or access to one. If you know a local BFC then I would call them & ask that they read the passage out to you. Or you could ring one of the national helplines if you dont know any local BFCs.

I was recommened by my GP to take something & I wasnt sure from the info on the net (I checked everywhere - BfN, LLL, Hale's own site, Kellymom etc) what dosage was safe for my DS so I rang my LLL leader friend & she read the relevant passage out to me & then we had a chat about what it all meant & it helped me make a properly informed decision I was happy with.

Thanks, it was just his general drugs book. I've looked on a few sites now, and it seems we're fairly safe.

or am I safe? Just looked at this site

Tentibug - I've just checked Hale's own forum & he repeatedly refers people asking about Fluoxetine to his book saying there is loads of info in it - so IMO its well worth finding a local bfc who has a copy you can read.

Will do, also searched through thread archives. Given that DS2 is 10mths a not nb, he will be less affected as far as I can tell.
I'm also on the combined pill, not recommended if bf due to reduction of milk production.
Maybe my Dr is against bf

TBH he probably hasn't had any training in bfing so you cant really blame him....it wouldn't hurt complaining to the practice manager about his lack of bfing knowledge so he can get some .

My sis suffered from terrible PND and was prescibed anti depressants immedately after giving birth and was told NOT to breast feed.

I thought this was v v bad advice (am no expert but in my own experience BF makes bonding with your baby easier eventually not to mention the guilt factor of not BF when everyone expects you to), so I spoke to the breast feeding counsellor who had helped me. She gave me the names of several anti depressatns which are ok to use when BF - and this was for a new born not a 10 month old. Unfortunately I no longer have the text message which has the names on it but there must be some.

My umderstanding is that one of the reasons GP err on the side of caution when prescribing drugs to BF mothers is because it is not poss to test the effects on BF mothers.

I started to give my DS cow;s milk at 10 and a half months as he went to nursery and I didn;t want to give him formula so he had 2 cups of cows milk and 3 or 4 BF a day and he was fine - but I think it would depend on whether you have allergies in your family as the general advice is no cows milk before 12 months

Hope you get full info you need.