Domperidone. Why or why not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a pretty deeply emotional compulsion to do whatever I can to breastfeed this baby -- it's totally irrational, I know, but it comes from feeling guilty about his premature birth. But even I wasn't willing to do domperidone. Domperidone acts against dopamine, and I wasn't going to mess with my dopamine levels. I have a family member who died by suicide, a wonderful, amazing person whose brain went completely haywire after the birth of a child. I wasn't going to risk taking something that could mess with my brain chemistry just for that.

If you're looking for something that might help, my LC recommended Go Lacta, a mulanggay supplement (it's a leaf from the Phillippines). Of course supplements and herbs have risks, too, but it is used extensively through Asia and worked well for me.

Totally agree. I wasn't able to BF my first due to a combination of low supply and not being properly educated about how to correct it (and PPD keeping me from seeking out help), so I was hell bent on BFing #2. I've managed to get my supply up to about 95% of his daily needs through diet (eating lots of oatmeal, almonds, flaxseed, fennel, etc.) and medicinal herbs (morgina and more milk plus special blend and fenugreek, etc.) and constant pumping.

But subjecting my body to domperidone and uncertain risks, nope, that's not worth it to me. Formula will do just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I took it and it doubled my supply. It is available OTC in other countries. I had no side effects accept for maybe a bit of loose stools. The benefits far outweighed the side effects.

The only pain was that it took forever to get it from the Canadian pharmacy I ordered it from. For baby #2 I'll be ordering ahead of time. It was much cheaper than getting it at the compounding pharmacy.

I read a ton before I decided to go this route, also at the suggestion of a LC. Never did I come across anything saying it causes organ damage! Does the PP have any references?

Which pharmacy? I ordered it almost 4 years ago from Canada but I know they have changed their name - I don't know to what.... I am expecting my second and want to order it already too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took it and it doubled my supply. It is available OTC in other countries. I had no side effects accept for maybe a bit of loose stools. The benefits far outweighed the side effects.

The only pain was that it took forever to get it from the Canadian pharmacy I ordered it from. For baby #2 I'll be ordering ahead of time. It was much cheaper than getting it at the compounding pharmacy.

I read a ton before I decided to go this route, also at the suggestion of a LC. Never did I come across anything saying it causes organ damage! Does the PP have any references?

Which pharmacy? I ordered it almost 4 years ago from Canada but I know they have changed their name - I don't know to what.... I am expecting my second and want to order it already too!

Really, even after reading the FDA warning and evidence of risks, you still want to use it? Don't you worry about feeding medication-laced breastmilk to your newborn?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took it and it doubled my supply. It is available OTC in other countries. I had no side effects accept for maybe a bit of loose stools. The benefits far outweighed the side effects.

The only pain was that it took forever to get it from the Canadian pharmacy I ordered it from. For baby #2 I'll be ordering ahead of time. It was much cheaper than getting it at the compounding pharmacy.

I read a ton before I decided to go this route, also at the suggestion of a LC. Never did I come across anything saying it causes organ damage! Does the PP have any references?

Which pharmacy? I ordered it almost 4 years ago from Canada but I know they have changed their name - I don't know to what.... I am expecting my second and want to order it already too!

Really, even after reading the FDA warning and evidence of risks, you still want to use it? Don't you worry about feeding medication-laced breastmilk to your newborn?

Yes pp. The FDA warning is from 2004 and my first child was born in 2010 and I used it with her. I plan on doing it again with my second child. The FDA warning doesn't faze me at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Really, even after reading the FDA warning and evidence of risks, you still want to use it? Don't you worry about feeding medication-laced breastmilk to your newborn?

The FDA warning from 2004 refers to case studies of heart problems in patients who received IV domperidone. I didn't take IV domperidone. And to warnings from other countries that domperidone is excreted in breast milk. I don't know if those are the same countries where domperidone has been prescribed (off-label?) for babies, where the babies would presumably be exposed to domperidone at much higher levels.

Not that it necessarily matters, but reglan (metaclopramide) is an FDA-approved drug. Which is associated with rare but serious side effects that include anxiety, depression, suicidal ideas, tremors, and tardive dyskenisia. No way was I taking that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Against. I decided that when women started taking unapproved meds so that they could breast feed, we had gone too far with the "benefits" of breast milk. I won't use a provider who condones this in an way.

Totally agree. I don't understand how someone can be so fixated on breastfeeding and so averse to supplementing with formula that they take unknown risks for themselves and their baby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Really, even after reading the FDA warning and evidence of risks, you still want to use it? Don't you worry about feeding medication-laced breastmilk to your newborn?

The FDA warning from 2004 refers to case studies of heart problems in patients who received IV domperidone. I didn't take IV domperidone. And to warnings from other countries that domperidone is excreted in breast milk. I don't know if those are the same countries where domperidone has been prescribed (off-label?) for babies, where the babies would presumably be exposed to domperidone at much higher levels.

Not that it necessarily matters, but reglan (metaclopramide) is an FDA-approved drug. Which is associated with rare but serious side effects that include anxiety, depression, suicidal ideas, tremors, and tardive dyskenisia. No way was I taking that.

And it is total bat shit to use reglan to increase breast milk production, too. And the FDA says not to do that, too.

[Anonymous]

I considered it, but was mainly put off by side-effects to baby and having to order it on the internet. Not about to take some weird drug off the internet while BF ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a pretty deeply emotional compulsion to do whatever I can to breastfeed this baby -- it's totally irrational, I know, but it comes from feeling guilty about his premature birth. But even I wasn't willing to do domperidone. Domperidone acts against dopamine, and I wasn't going to mess with my dopamine levels. I have a family member who died by suicide, a wonderful, amazing person whose brain went completely haywire after the birth of a child. I wasn't going to risk taking something that could mess with my brain chemistry just for that.

If you're looking for something that might help, my LC recommended Go Lacta, a mulanggay supplement (it's a leaf from the Phillippines). Of course supplements and herbs have risks, too, but it is used extensively through Asia and worked well for me.

Totally agree. I wasn't able to BF my first due to a combination of low supply and not being properly educated about how to correct it (and PPD keeping me from seeking out help), so I was hell bent on BFing #2. I've managed to get my supply up to about 95% of his daily needs through diet (eating lots of oatmeal, almonds, flaxseed, fennel, etc.) and medicinal herbs (morgina and more milk plus special blend and fenugreek, etc.) and constant pumping.

But subjecting my body to domperidone and uncertain risks, nope, that's not worth it to me. Formula will do just fine.

What I don't understand is considering the risks of domperidone too undertain, but being fine with moringa and fenugreek. At least pharmaceuticals are regulated. Medicinal herbs are almost completely unregulated, and also unstudied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

And it is total bat shit to use reglan to increase breast milk production, too. And the FDA says not to do that, too.

I don't know if the FDA says not to do that now. But they didn't used to say not to do that, when it was an issue for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a pretty deeply emotional compulsion to do whatever I can to breastfeed this baby -- it's totally irrational, I know, but it comes from feeling guilty about his premature birth. But even I wasn't willing to do domperidone. Domperidone acts against dopamine, and I wasn't going to mess with my dopamine levels. I have a family member who died by suicide, a wonderful, amazing person whose brain went completely haywire after the birth of a child. I wasn't going to risk taking something that could mess with my brain chemistry just for that.

If you're looking for something that might help, my LC recommended Go Lacta, a mulanggay supplement (it's a leaf from the Phillippines). Of course supplements and herbs have risks, too, but it is used extensively through Asia and worked well for me.

Totally agree. I wasn't able to BF my first due to a combination of low supply and not being properly educated about how to correct it (and PPD keeping me from seeking out help), so I was hell bent on BFing #2. I've managed to get my supply up to about 95% of his daily needs through diet (eating lots of oatmeal, almonds, flaxseed, fennel, etc.) and medicinal herbs (morgina and more milk plus special blend and fenugreek, etc.) and constant pumping.

But subjecting my body to domperidone and uncertain risks, nope, that's not worth it to me. Formula will do just fine.

What I don't understand is considering the risks of domperidone too undertain, but being fine with moringa and fenugreek. At least pharmaceuticals are regulated. Medicinal herbs are almost completely unregulated, and also unstudied.

I wouldn't take Moringa either for that reason. I did take Fenugreek because it is the only herb approved by the AAP for lactating moms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And it is total bat shit to use reglan to increase breast milk production, too. And the FDA says not to do that, too.

I don't know if the FDA says not to do that now. But they didn't used to say not to do that, when it was an issue for me.

This is what I don't understand - presumably you bf in part because of the health benefits. But you took an off label drug that hasn't been studied for safety or efficacy in this role because you wanted to increase production? How did you get comfortable with it? Who recommended that you do this? What dosage did you determine was good? I find this whole thing so crazy and full of risk. So much cognitive dissonance. I just don't get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And it is total bat shit to use reglan to increase breast milk production, too. And the FDA says not to do that, too.

I don't know if the FDA says not to do that now. But they didn't used to say not to do that, when it was an issue for me.

This is what I don't understand - presumably you bf in part because of the health benefits. But you took an off label drug that hasn't been studied for safety or efficacy in this role because you wanted to increase production? How did you get comfortable with it? Who recommended that you do this? What dosage did you determine was good? I find this whole thing so crazy and full of risk. So much cognitive dissonance. I just don't get it.

Well, speaking only for myself -- there are a lot of off-label drugs that haven't been studied for safety or efficacy for the off-label use. People don't usually fuss about this (unless they're in the Oklahoma or Texas state legislatures).

And yes, I wanted to increase production from basically zero to non-zero. It wasn't a case of believing that formula was poison. There was going to be formula regardless.

I got comfortable with it because, while the FDA hasn't approved it, that doesn't necessarily mean they wouldn't approve it; it may mean (and I think I remember reading, but I'm not certain) that the manufacturer didn't think it was worth the time and money to submit it to the FDA for approval. Plus other reputable countries (like New Zealand and Canada) have approved it. And it has been prescribed for babies (although obviously not in the US), who would then be getting it at much higher concentrations than they'd be getting it through breast milk. (Especially when the babies (my babies) aren't getting a lot of breast milk to begin with.)

The lactation consultant recommended it.

I don't remember about the dosage. Probably the lactation consultant recommended something, and I looked it up. (Not on Mothering.com.)

For what it's worth, fenugreek didn't do a darn thing for me except make me smell funny. Other people may have other results, of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And it is total bat shit to use reglan to increase breast milk production, too. And the FDA says not to do that, too.

I don't know if the FDA says not to do that now. But they didn't used to say not to do that, when it was an issue for me.

This is what I don't understand - presumably you bf in part because of the health benefits. But you took an off label drug that hasn't been studied for safety or efficacy in this role because you wanted to increase production? How did you get comfortable with it? Who recommended that you do this? What dosage did you determine was good? I find this whole thing so crazy and full of risk. So much cognitive dissonance. I just don't get it.

Well, speaking only for myself -- there are a lot of off-label drugs that haven't been studied for safety or efficacy for the off-label use. People don't usually fuss about this (unless they're in the Oklahoma or Texas state legislatures).

And yes, I wanted to increase production from basically zero to non-zero. It wasn't a case of believing that formula was poison. There was going to be formula regardless.

I got comfortable with it because, while the FDA hasn't approved it, that doesn't necessarily mean they wouldn't approve it; it may mean (and I think I remember reading, but I'm not certain) that the manufacturer didn't think it was worth the time and money to submit it to the FDA for approval. Plus other reputable countries (like New Zealand and Canada) have approved it. And it has been prescribed for babies (although obviously not in the US), who would then be getting it at much higher concentrations than they'd be getting it through breast milk. (Especially when the babies (my babies) aren't getting a lot of breast milk to begin with.)

The lactation consultant recommended it.

I don't remember about the dosage. Probably the lactation consultant recommended something, and I looked it up. (Not on Mothering.com.)

For what it's worth, fenugreek didn't do a darn thing for me except make me smell funny. Other people may have other results, of course.

Oh god. Yeah, LCs are the worst. That was your first mistake.

And using an off label drug in certain circumstances is rational. But with something like bf? Crazy and I totally judge you and would never trust your judgment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Oh god. Yeah, LCs are the worst. That was your first mistake.

And using an off label drug in certain circumstances is rational. But with something like bf? Crazy and I totally judge you and would never trust your judgment.

Why did you bother to ask the question, if you already know what you're going to think regardless of what the answer is?