ADD Medications & Breastfeeding

[mygirlsrmyheart]

I had my annual dr. appt. and talked to her about getting on ADD medication since i haven't been on it for a couple of years. She suggested taking Welbutruin (i was on previously for a short period of time) She gave me a low dose 75 mg i believe and said that it would be ok to take in morning since my 1 yr old only nurses a couple times at night. But many of the websites i have looked up on say not to breastfeed at all. I am trying really hard to wean her off but she is one stubbon kid =) Has anyone else had experience with this? I don't want to endanger my daughter in any way. When i was on the wellbuturin before i became pregnant with my older daughter and was the dr said to wean off as quickly as possible because of risk of seziure in the baby.

Thanks

[WheresMyList]

Its very different in terms of what is OK when you are pregnant, versus breastfeeding...the former poses a lot more dangers than meds while breastfeeding...

From Kellymom.com (I really trust this source)

(I know these aren't for PPD, but I figure the logic applies to ADD somewhat...)

"The effects of an untreated depressed mom on the infant are significant and hazardous; but the marginal effects of any medication usually are less hazardous than those effects. Treating a mom with postpartum depression (PPD) is much preferable to not treating, since a baby has a better outcome generally (as measured by Bayley scores, measuring interaction skills and speech and language development) when being cared for by a non-depressed parent.
In all studies thus far, any negative effects of medication usually occur in the first 30-60 days postpartum, so breastfeeding beyond that and taking medication is usually fine."
"



When choosing a medication SSRIs are generally the preferred choice for a breastfeeding mother. Side effects from SSRIs are most common in the first 3 months postpartum; so with an older baby, there is little concern. Hale's "choice hierarchy" is as follows:

• Zoloft
• Paxil
• Celexa
• Effexor
• Prozac "

For more, see source: http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/...hale10-02.html

Hope this helps! I'm currently nursing my 7 month old and hope to nurse a lot through a year, then just night nursing past that. I'm going to be working during the day so I'm actually looking forward to nighttime bonding...

I've never really liked antidepressants, always been on Ritalin, so right now I'm trying to pursue other stuff...fish oil, exercise, and lots of organization...

[Kitty]

I am also curious about this since I have never been on medication and am now considering it since I was recently diagnosed with ADD. However, I am still sometimes nursing my 2 year old daughter (we are in the process of weaning). What medications have others found helpful for the symptoms of inattention and how have you dealt with medications and weaning?

[keldonia]

I took zoloft daily and ritalin as needed while PG and nursing. My Dr. said deperession and/or anxiety would be far worse on my system than the miniscule amount of meds that pass through.

My DD is 5 now and I never noticed any side effects or anything from her. Most informational websites err on the side of caution. If your baby is one, the nursing is just for comfort and it's not as though it's a nutritional thing. I wouldn't worry about it at all. Just take your doses early in the a.m.

Congrats on extended nursing, btw. I nursed my first until she was 28 months and my 2nd is still nursing and 19 mos. It's good for them, it's loving, it's great for when they are teething or sick, and it's what god intended "the girls" for! I was very anixous about my first nursing so long, but I let her wean on her own and she did. I'm in no hurry this time.

good luck
kelly

[Titanica]

Here is what a friend of mine who is training to be a lactation consultant advised me....


As for the lactation risk category, Dr. Hale is a professor of pediatrics and he does all the research. Since he is a pediatrician he knows what a therapeudic dose for each med is for an infant. Then he tests milk of women who are on the meds he is studying that year(s). They pump and give him samples. At which point he tests fresh expressed, milk that's been pumped at and after the half life has been reached for that med. He studies the protein of the medication to see if it is even small enough to pass into the myoepithalial cells (the milk producing cells) and determines safety based on all of that information as well as any untoward effects infants have shown while mom was taking the med, and any animal laboratory tests that have been done. It's pretty thorough. And he is the ONLY name in medicine safety and breast milk. Pharmaceutical companies just play it safe and say most meds are NOT safe but he acatully studies them and found out most meds ARE safe. His book is called "Medications and Mothers' Milk"

I thought I gave the lactation risk for strattera...but let me check again. Strattera is actually an L4 which is described as "Possibly Hazardous...There is positive evidence of risk to a breastfed infant or to breastmilk porduction but the benefits from use in bfeedin gmothers may be acceptable despite the risk to the infant (e.g. if the drug is needed in a life threatening situation or for a serious diseas for which safer drugs can not be used or are ineffective).
I'm sorry but most of the ADD drugs are classified as L3 or 4s. Which is really odd, but out of all the drugs those ones tend to give the ol' doc. Hale a bit of anxiety. I do know there are some herbal supplements too. BUT seriously w/o behavior mod...meds don't help much at all. I have worked in the field for a few years so I'm familiar w/ most of the meds available and how they use them for treatment.



--I hope that helps. I am seeing my doc on June 14 to confirm that I have ADD (all the online inventories including the Amen inventory say I am ADD inattentive type). My daughter is still nursing and will be 2 on June 20...still debating what to do.