Reglan

i used that. it definitely increased supply, i don't remember and side effects except it made me starving (that is its original use....digestion)

good luck

kellymom.com has a lot of great advice.

The fenugreek and blessed thistle didn't work for me with my third child. For whatever reason, I just couldn't get my supply up when it started to decrease after my son had RSV. I did fenugreek and blessed thistle, more milk plus, mother's milk tea, pumped after every feeding, fed every 1 1/2 to 2hrs, and it was all to no avail. I ended up with Reglan as a last resort, and I had the scary side effects. It sent me into a terrible depression to the point that I was crying until I was close to vomitting, so I had to go off of it. It worked to increase my supply while I was on it but as soon as I stopped it went back down. My suggestion to you is, as long as you don't have a history of depression, then try it. Once it starts to increase your supply, pump after every feeding to keep your supply up. My lactation consultant also told me that there is a drug called domperidone that some doctors will prescribe but it has to be done at a compounding pharmacy so that may be an issue. It works the same as reglan but without all the side effects. Good luck!

Hi I am surprised the Fenugreek hasn't increased your supply enough. Are you taking enough of it. You need at least capsules daily. I take 9 a day and have been for the last 4 months. It should also only take 24-48 hours to see an improvement.
Hope this helps
D.

Hi MM,

Something that worked WONDERS for me was Brewer's Yeast Tablets, I would take 4 and about 20 minutes later I could feel the milk come in :) It was great! You can find them at health food stores. In Tidewater area I found them at Health Food Center at Ward's corner in Norfolk. I would try all the 'natural' ways before a med but that is just me. You might also check these websites for other ideas: www.mothering.com, www.llli.org, www.kellymom.com.

Good luck and congrats to you for persisting with nursing!! It such a GREAT thing for your baby :)
S.

I have used Reglan but it didn't work. Instead, Healthy nursing tea worked good increasing my supply.

Hi there!

MIlk supply is a different quest to different moms, so I can't tell you whether or not to keep it up or work on alternatives. I can tell you my experiences...

I had 2 different sons born premature, so I never really had a chance with them for normal milk production. With our first, he wsa a month early and I pumped, worried and did the Reglan prescription recommended by our Lactation Specialist at the hospital. My first OB (Who isn't practcing anymore for alot of good reasons.) Gave me a HUGE lecture I didn't need about Reglan, and said it was useless. BUt the specialists at the hospital all raved about it. It did work for a while, but as the dosage was decreased, so did my milk. THat got pretty frustrating as I pumped really often and did everything I could to stimulate. It had a rough side affect of bad headaches and head rush, but I did it for the baby. IN the end, I was able to give my son a little bit of milk every few feedings, and I did my best but felt like a failure. He had issues with formula changes and colic, but he was healthy and had NO colds or issues. I think his first cold was nearly at 2 yrs old! My pediatrician (Who is amazing) said it would maybe be the difference of an extra cold a year as a non-breastfed baby, and it really has been fine. He's been my good kid with ick, and never suffers terribly or for very long with colds.

My 2nd child was 3 months early! I went into it with a better head this time, and pumped, did the reglan for 2 courses and told myself the whole time, WHATEVER I can give him is going to help. THat made a ton of difference, and I was able to feed him for his 2 months in the Nicu, almost all his meals, or at least with maybe only 2 or so a day supplemented. But we had alot of things going on in our family (He was born early from a car accident that left me unable to drive for a while...Getting rides along the way, etc.) Plus once I could drive my husband's step father was dying from cancer in and out of hospitals, and his mom needed help with alot of things at the time. So I was never able to keep the stress low and the schedule constant. Also, by the 2nd course of Reglan my headaches and dizziness were so bad, we had to stop it all together. The milk started drying up even faster this time, so I started mixing it with the formula to transition our son smoothly at hte hospital. He was perfectly fine at teh time, but developed Reflux and colic after coming home again. This time, we went through many more formula woes and he was sick a LOT from the reflux. (5 meds, docs, etc.) But that had more to do with his preemie development. He took much longer to come to regular food, where my first one was eating solids at a whopping 4 months! The two boys are really night and day, but both are strong, fun, loud, VERY bright and generally Happy.

I guess the point of all this, is do what you can. Try the reglan if you want, but make sure you talk it over with a doctor that WON'T make you feel like you just asked to kick your child. Watch for side effects for YOU. (Also remember, Reglan is used in small children with REflux too, so it has had some benefits for issues of reflux. The side effect for you is increased breast milk. But read carefully on anything long term, as it does eventually cross the blood/brain barrier with no long term research results.With ANYTHING you do for your children, weigh the results vs. the effects and conseequences, and just make the decision you need to. Pump regularly and do your best, but make sure you MIND and HEART are not feeling pressured more than they can handle, because they determine how your body will work for you. If you are stressed, milk gets harder to make. Relaaaaaax. Enjoy holding your baby, without feeling like you are failing them!

Also, do your searches on Reglan and REFLUX and babies, rather than breastfeeding...For long term effects on the baby. I found that the search engines were less helpful unless I did that. Or just search on Metoclopramide and infants. (That's the name for Reglan).

Good luck with whatever you do! The info on being a new mom out there can be daunting and conflicted. My big lesson was that common sense doesn't necessarily match the information you get from doctors...and all you can do is read up, talk with other moms you trust and use your INSTINCTS.

I believe it's safe for baby. Most things we take as new moms you only have to watch baby for excessive sleepiness. Google Dr. Thomas Hale. You should be able to search his website's messageboards for most drugs.

If you call your pharmacy, they should be able to answer the quesiton about the interaction of the drug and the herbals. And they can probably tell you about the side effects for baby. But if they are anything like my pharmacist, they will proabably just say it is a class of drug that can cross to baby in the milk since most do. A lactation consultant can probably also alswer your question over the weekend.

Good luck. Nursing my first child was a nightmare at first, but I ended up going for 13 months and loving it (and longer wiht my second). It can be done, even if not exclusively!! You are almost over the hump, and it should get easier soon. Congrats on your new baby!