AAaaaaarghhhh - brick wall GP...where to go next?

[verylittlecarrot]

Quick recap - baby carrot 17 weeks, excl bf, weighs just under 9lb, has been checked out by paeds, healthy baby, but very slow to gain.

Tried ALL recommendations for increasing breastmilk supply (lots of other threads describing attempts) - last resort is domperidone. Have taken it for just under 2 weeks. Baby has gained weight much better since I've been taking it the last couple of weeks, and whether it is the cause, we'll never know for sure. But I want to continue.

The lactation specialist told me she agreed that domperidone may help me, but "you'll never get a GP to prescribe it around here. You'll have to buy it privately and lie about why you want it, but you didn't hear that from me!" In actual fact, I was lucky enough to see a GP who read the material I brought with me, and was happy to prescribe it for a couple of weeks, then see if I wanted to continue.

My first prescription of domperidone is running out. The sympathetic GP who prescribed it was a locum at the surgery and isn't there any more. The normal GP has just refused to prescribe it "I won't prescribe off licence. If you can find a consultant at the local hospital to put in writing why I should prescribe it, then maybe".

No chance of that as far as I can see. How am I meant to get hold of a consultant anyway - doorstep them in the carpark of A&E?

How can I get it prescribed? I REALLY am nervous about ordering it online and hugely aggrieved that I have to take that risk with my baby's health - and mine.

Why does it have to be THIS HARD???? I just want to feed my baby, for God's sake.

[welliemum]

Awwwww. That's nice!

Because of dd1 being so skinny, I did lots and lots of reading about exclusive breastfeeding, weight gain, growth charts, etc etc and what I read totally backs up what you're doing with your dd.

Exclusive bf, especially, is starting to look more and more important health-wise. I really regret that at the height of the weighing madness, I was bulldozed into giving dd1 some formula top-ups - she immediately developed dairy-induced eczema and I feel terrible because I did it against my better judgement.

Remember, it will get easier in a few weeks' time, because once she's eating even a teeny weeny bit of solids everyone will immediately start to focus on what she's eating/not eating and that takes the spotlight off you iyswim. It's loony, but there you go...

[duchesse]

v little carrot- can you please email me at purpledotpenatgmaildotcom (replace with appropriate punctuation!). I will contact my friend and get you together virtually!

Incidentally, I checked my 2nd daughter's red book yesterday evening-born at 7lb9oz, she was just 11 lb at 17 weeks. Both my daughters gained 2 oz a week from birth. With the first one I worried because the health visitor made me worry, with the second (diff hv) I didn't at all because she asked me if I was worried about her. I wasn't, so the HV wasn't. The personnel you have around you can make all the difference.

[duchesse]

oh and both daughters at 10 and 12 are on the small and slender side now, but by no means unhealthy (quite the opposite- the words "rude" and "health" definitely apply) but will doubtless keep growing longer due to genes and excl b/f for those months (another reported side effect of excl b/f for many months is later puberty (possibly due to not being exposed to cow hormones in formula)).

[duchesse]

And, anyway an 18 lb four month old sounds GROSS! That's what daughter 2 weighed at 21 months!

[womblingalong]

VLC,

My first baby DD, was 7lb 10oz born, and did not hit 10lb until 26 weeks, and only gained about an oz or two after the first few weeks, despite medicating her for reflux and moving to FF at 16 weeks (reluctantly. So please don't worry, there are other DC's out there like your daughter. Also, at 3 now, she is still tiny, has just stopped wearing 9-12 month clothes, but perfectly healthy and eats like a horse.

I have also had problems with DS, who had extreme failure to thirive, and dropped from 98th to 0.4th Centile, due to undiagnosed silent reflux, that resulted in a supply issue. I ahve been taking Domperidone and Fenugreek, with great results, and so long as I keep feeding/expressing, have been fine with reducing/discontinuing Domperidone.

[mears]

VLC - here is a site with money off vouchers for packs of 10.

Is this cheaper than what you have seen?

[mears]

oops here

[liath]

Don't suppose you're in the Edinburgh area VLC?

[VeryLittleCarrot]

Hello ladies, sorry for the hiatus, I went to stay with my folks for a couple of days.

Good news - GP number 3 prescribed the domperidone...hooray! (thank for the link, though, Mears)

Although she gave me a severe paddington bear stare and told me I must give formula if her weight gain didn't improve. DD was NOT allowed to fall through any more centile lines. (she long since dropped off the bottom though, so that's a given)

Today I'm pretty sure that babycarrot has a finite appetite, and it is THAT, not my supply, which is limiting her gain. I don't think there is anything that can be done to make a difference. And I don't think the HCPs will EVER accept that this is "normal", for her at least. I think she'll be an anecdote on another worried mum's post in a year's time - "my baby was tiny too, and she's fine..."

Tomorrow I may blame myself again (doh!), and in the meantime I'll just keep on trying to do my best.

Liath - I'm in Cheshire, sorry.
Wombling, welliemum, duchesse - your stories are very heartening, thanks for sharing them. It's just good to know that there's light at the end of the tunnel. I'm now going to do everything in my power to avoid HVs and GPs from now on. Even one of the lactation specialists seems uncomfortable with supporting my exclusive breastfeeding for the forseeable, so I'll have to be careful at babycafe too.

Thank you all for supporting me!

[mears]

Glad you got it.

I agree with you, stayaway from the scales. You sound extremely sensible and would not put your baby at risk. As I have said on SGK's thread - breastmilk feeds the brain. So waht if the baby is not fat.Fat and healthy don't necessarily go together. Keep up the good work