Ode to Domperidone

As I watch my son proudly pee on the potty during our potty-training journey, I reflect back to when we were on our breastfeeding journey. My husband asks why every thing has to be a hassle. When Gannon was a newborn, he wouldn't sleep more than 20 minutes at a time, and he cried for 3 hours straight daily. He wouldn't latch, would just scream every time I tried to breastfeed him. Of course, this resulted in the necessity of electric breast pumps, so I could exclusively pump. Then, my breasts decided they did not want to cooperate either, and they just flat-out refused to spit out enough milk. My doctor prescribed Reglan, with its zillion side effects. I researched low-supplies and discovered the wonder of Domperidone. Sadly, it was not available to me in the U.S., so I had to order it from overseas. Hassles, yes! Were they worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!!!

It doesn't take a genius to know that milk from a mother's breast is much better for a child than milk from a can at Walmart. Still, some of us aren't given the choice to exclusively breastfeed. There are hassles in life, and some of us receive more than others. So, when I realized that my son was not going to latch and my breasts were not going to produce what he needed, I still considered myself extremely blessed to have options. I did have access to electric breast pumps, several of them in fact. I was able to find a medication that helped me to increase my supply. We may have been playing catch-up on each and every bottle, but by golly, after a couple of months we were exclusively breastfeeding via breast pump.

Domperidone increased my supply greatly. I started out taking approximately 9 pills a day (3/3 times a day). This is a dangerously high dose according to several sources I can dig out if necessary. However, I can say that I did not experience any negative side effects from taking this drug for approximately 12 months. I did experience negative side effects from the Reglan: hormonal shifts easily blamed on post-partum changes, sedation in Gannon (a previously wild child turned sedated child just isn't good in my opinion), and probably other side effects I just don't remember. The good side effect was an increase in supply though. Still, Reglan didn't do for me what Domperidone did. It was worth every penny and any hassle which accompanied it. Gannon is much better off having had mother's milk for the first 14 months of his life (minus the supplementing with Allimentum we had to do the first two months).

Hang in there, ladies! It does get better, and you are true heroes for giving your child the best you reasonably can! :-)

Welcome to Exclusively Pumping!

Welcome to Exclusively Pumping! This is a place for moms who are exclusively pumping to talk about the trials and tribulations of being an exclusively pumping mom. Share your tips, your successes, your heartaches, and everything in between! We want to hear about your experiences!