Should I Take This Reglan?

Feb 09th 2009

My new midwife just prescribed me Reglan to help get my supply back up after the Mastitis practically killed it.  But I'm sitting here reading about it and it seems hella scary.  Though, I am a bit of a hypochondriac when it comes to pill-popping.  I'm always convinced that I'm going to die instantly of some horrible allergic reaction to anything I take.  I could never be a drug addict.  I'm far too paranoid.

I haven't worked up the courage to take this yet.  Anybody have anything to say about it?  Please don't hold back.

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And that's the part I'm worried about.... I was taking Zoloft for PPD up until I had Jules. Did I really have PPD? Or was it PTSD from the c-section? Or was in my untreated thyroid condition acting up? I suppose I'll never know.

Um...as per the comment above, Reglan can and does have serious side effects. I've worked with a number of women who have dealt with them. There's the option to take it if you want, but just be aware.
Doctor Thomas W. Hale (the foremost authority on medications and breastfeeding) lists the adult concerns: "Diarrhea, sedation, gastric upset, nausea, extrapyramidal symptoms, severe depression." (p 635, 13th edition)
Like I've already said, the psychological issues associated with it are more likely among women who have a history of depression.

Gina,
I have been a Pharmacy Assistant turned tech since I was 15. Now 15 years. There is NO HARM in taking Reglan to help get your milk supply back. This is very VERY common in women who need to let their first milk drop or for women that have lost their milk supply for various reasons.

So the reglan was only $6 with my insurance. I filled the prescription before I started having my panic attack about it. I've pretty much decided not to take it. I'll just have to figure something else out. That shit is too freaky.
(sent from my iPhone)

If you have a history of depression, stay far away from Reglan. It can cause some pretty scary side effects, particularly in those who have a history of depression. It's also SUPER expensive. Domperidone is generally much better, but the FDA has NOT approved it. You used to be able to get it at a compounding pharmacy, but I hear that's not an option any more. I knew someone who got it from Canada. I know one woman who convinced her midwife (CNM) to write her a prescription for it about a year ago. Domperidone has NO reported side effects when used for milk production. The only side effects were when used for heart defects. It is approved in other countries for milk supply issues, just not here.
I have to give a disclaimer that I am not a doctor. I'm not make recommendations, just stating some information. Don't sue me. :-)

A few people have recommended domperindone(sp?) and I read about it on kellymom. There are only a few compounding pharmacies in the US who make it and it is very pricey. You can get it from overseas pharmacies pretty reasonably though, and without a prescription. I am thinking of trying it myself. It is actually used for stomach issues from what I can tell, just like the fenugreek. It "seems" safe enough but like many things we take it isn't recommended by the FDA. The problem is that I don't exactly think the FDA is up to the task when it comes to our safety and best interest.
I guess we have to decide what will be best for us and our little ones. I am having trouble producing enough for Ari's bedtime pumped bottle. My big dilemma is choosing between maybe a half pumped bottle supplemented with formula or taking giving him prescription meds indirectly to help with supply. I never want him to have formula but am not sure what to do when push comes to shove.

Jeez, this is bringing back the good ol' days. Oh I definitely mean "sippy cup;" he was veeery interested in regular cups because that was what his brother, who was aged 5 at the time, was drinking out of! but of course it was a massive disaster every time he launched himself after one (both my kids walked by 10 months--it is kind of awful to have a completely nonverbal child who is an utter infant, SELF MOBILE like that!). It became obvious that he just really, really wanted to drink out of a cup! So we bought a bunch of sippy cups and let him have juice in them--not milk of any kind other than what I made internally :) til he was over a year old. I never put breastmilk in the sippy cups either. I remember talking to the doctor because I didn't want him to lose out on breastmilk nourishment because he was drinking far-substandard fruit juice from a sippy cup, but the doctor said that I should witness him gradually gaining a solids appetite to go with the gradual self-induced increase in sippy cup usage combined with the same rate of withdrawal from nursing. And it worked out just like that. Re the sippy, I'd just put a little fruit juice in it, like half-full, and let him play with it--he'll get it right on his own eventually since he's interested in it. Definitely NO cow's milk til he's at least a year old--cow's too early will make him a lot more likely to develop a childhood allergy to it and has waaay too much sodium for a little guy anyway. It's best to use fruit juice specially made for babies--organic if you can--or you're doing the Granola Mamma route, you can buy or borrow an apple/pear press and make your own! :) Just fill a no-leak sippy cup half-full of some juice and let him play with it--he sounds like the kind of guy who'll figure it out on his own.
It was SO different with my older son; he was absolutely indifferent to cup usage and was still drinking out of a bottle at 2 years of age. The Ped told us to get him off the bottle too--he actually never ended up using sippy cups because he hated them (no idea why, except maybe he regarded them as highly substandard bottles, which he loved); he just drank from regular cups and so spilled stuff all over himself and us and the furniture and the floor on a regular basis (sigh) til his hand-eye coordination really started to pick up after age 2.

Here's a question, when you say "drinking from a cup" does that mean drinking from a sippy cup? Or straight from a regular cup? What did you put in the cup (milk, juice, water?) I always wonder that when moms say their kids drank from a cup before a year old. Jonas refused to drink out of a sippy cup until he was 13 months old. The Ped told us to get him off the bottle, so we tried every sippy on the market until we finally found one he'd take, then we packed away all the bottles. I remember seeing a 6 month old drinking juice from a bottle that he was holding by himself and I was in awe - Jonas wouldn't hold his own bottle - ever. He didn't hold his drink until we finally got him on the sippy. Jules is interested in the sippy now, but he can't get the coordination down. I'm not sure what we should give him in the sippy though. There's no way I'm putting breastmilk in it because I don't have any extra for him to play with.
anyway... this one perplexes me.

lol, oh, I remember that feeling...at around 9 months I actually remember my breastmilk supply starting to decline noticeably from what it had been--it stressed me out!! but I think it was kind of a natural thing. I have no idea how professional wetnurses used to keep things going for years. My little guy started wanting to drink out of a cup around that time too--partly because he worshipped his older brother and that's what his older brother was drinking out of and partly just because that's the way he is (Mr. "I can do it!!" as opposed to his brother, who would have been and still is perfectly happy to go through life with everyone else doing everything possible for him). I never really weaned him officially--he basically weaned himself off me and onto a sippy cup starting around 10 mos and ending around 14 months. Part of you misses that special closeness--but omg, part of you is ecstatically happy not to be tethered to your breasts anymore too. :)

Yes, Jules is almost 9 months now... so my body is probably gearing down on the milk production anyway. I'll never understand these women who have a full supply for years. How do I get that?!?!? Well, I suppose being away from my baby most of his waking hours doesn't help the situation.
Yeah, I read all the FDA and AAP stuff, and it sounds like a really bad idea to take it. A mommy friend just said that her friend took it and it made her crazy... hallucinations and crap. Ambien did that to me, so I'm very nervous about this. I'm chugging water and lactation vitamins today to see if that helps at all.
This kid needs to turn 1... like yesterday.

Not me--I wish I did! but when I had mastitis the one thing it didn't do was affect my milk supply--also, I'm not totally sure (it was a loooong time ago) but I think my 2nd baby was younger than yours when I got it, so I was closer to the early, massively-overproducing stage of breastmilk generation than you are (isn't your boy eight or nine months?). I would be careful though--Reglan is classified as "FDA Pregnancy Category B" which means "Animal reproduction studies have failed to demonstrate a risk to the fetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women OR Animal studies have shown an adverse effect, but adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women have failed to demonstrate a risk to the fetus in any trimester." In other words, the label on this drug will generally instruct the physician to not give it to a pregnant or breastfeeding woman if there is an alternative. So I'd be careful about it.