Does Reglan work?

[holiday]

My 24 weeker may come home soon and like most moms who experience HELLP my milk hasn't came in that good. I have been pumping for 3 months and 1 week never feeding the baby, only the machine.

My OB office for this pregnancy had 2 doctors. One was leaving and the other didn't want to be on call for childbirths so they told us to find new doctor.

I made appt with new doctor but never made it because of HELLP and delivered in an emergency situation at a totally different hospital than planned.

Well, now I need Reglan. It means ALOT to me to breastfeed. I have breastfed my other kids. I love the nursing relationship.

My family doctor won't prescribe Reglan to me. She tells me get it from an OB. Well the first OB place isn't even in existence anymore. The one doctor moved like planned and the other one unexpectedly died. She told me find an OB. But they may not prescribe it to me either since they didn't take care of this pregnancy!

I asked LC at hospital if she could find out what doctor delivered my baby and see if they could prescribe it to me. But long story short, she said it needed to be my family doctor. UGH!!!

Is it even worth trying to call around and find an OB or new doctor that will prescribe it to me?

[julieb]

I tried the Reglan because my supply never came in either. One side effect is high blood pressure but I took it anyway. I did notice a small difference in my supply but I couldn't do the whole course because it made me so drowsy that I literally could not stay awake. I wish that I could have done the whole course because I really think it would have made a difference but I could not function while on it and it became more important for me to be in the NICU with Mason than totally out of it and stuck at home. My feelings were that breastfeeding was important to me and I was willing to try anything to make it happen, so I would say it is worth a shot! I hope you find a way to get the prescription, my OB was really casual about giving it to me so hopefully you can find a new OB who will. I hope that it works for you! Oh, I do have a friend who had to pump and she didn't have much milk either but she took Reglan and was able to pump enough for her son to have breastmilk for his entire first year.

[jenn]

I completely understand your dilemma. I experienced the same thing with my preemie.
I did try the Reglan and it worked great, but once my rx ran out.. so did my milk :o(

Check with your dr. about using milk thistle tea, regularly available at any health food store. It may also come in caplet form (something to check on). It is known to support milk production. I used it with Natalia and had great success with it... though I should point out she wasn't a preemie and she nursed regularly.
Sending my best!! Let us know how things go!

[tree]

Reglan is not improving things much for me. I also had HELLP and a poor supply, and my daughter has been on formula supplements from the beginning. I think I went from ~7oz/day to ~10oz/day after 6 days. I also just realized we have thrush, which is one more way to reduce supply.
My OB was very willing to prescribe Reglan once we got my major health issues sorted out, but I didn't start it until 8 weeks. It does make me very drowsy, and she said it doesn't work for everybody. I have come to terms with my limited supply and formula. I hope you are able to find something that works for you.
I had a smaller increase with the "more milk plus" supplement, but it made me too sick to my stomach to stay on it.

[jayme]

Reglan was horrible for me- it knocked me out. I had much better luck when I was prescribed domperidone.

[kara]

Holiday,
The best way to increase your milk supply is for baby to breastfeed, frequently. Obviously she hasn't been able to, but you might ask what the BF policy is for when she comes home. If you can breast feed her regularly, your supply will probably increase alot. If you can only BF her a couple times a day, you will need to keep pumping. The pump is not a great substitute for BF, but for us preemie moms, it helps, and is pretty much our only option.

I drank decaf rootbeer (most is decaf, but always check the label), which seemed to help a little bit. But it isn't a substitute for bf. Keep at the pump, frequently, and when Jasmine is home nursing it'll probably get better for you.

[kara]

And just a gentle reminder that we cannot have discussions about Domperidone on here, for legal reasons. The medication is not approved by the FDA in the US, at all, and while available in other countries it would be considered off-label use for lactating women. Here's what the FDA says about it, along with warnings to BF moms, in case you are interested.

An article from 2004 (the newest I could find): http://tinyurl.com/kt63jp

Here is a public safety alert from the FDA: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm154914.htm

[sheri-ct]

Reglan will only help if your limited supply is from a low prolactin level. It is most likely a "supply & demand" issue and breast feeding will help (like Kara said!). I had major supply issues, but was able to increase my supply over time. I rented a hospital grade pump for 1 month, pumped every 2-3 hours during the day (went 5 hours at night), took Fenugreek, Mother's Milk Plus, Brewer's Yeast (this really helped) and drank Mother's Milk tea. Ask your NICU, but all of this was recommended by them. My twins were never good at nursing, but I was able to increase my supply to about 30 oz per day. This was not enough for twins, so I supplemented, but they were required to have 2 feds per day of Neosure until 9 months anyway. Try not to stress......some BM is better than none.

Sheri

PS- eat some yogurt 1/2 hour after the Brewer's Yeast.

[holiday]

ive been doing fenugreek, mother's milk tea etc. nothing has helped...

what is brewer's yeast and Mother's Milk PLus and where do you get it??

Oh I've also tried eating oatmeal/oats.. increased water. Use hospital grade pump every 2-3 hours thru the night as well.

thanks!

[tree]

You can get brewer's yeast and Mother's Milk Plus at most health food stores. Motherlove makes a lot of supplements for nursing mothers that you can order through their website.
My local La Leche League leader just told me that Reglan will only help if your prolactin levels are below 50. She said that many OBs or family doctors will order a test for prolactin level but that most do not know how to interpret it. LLL has lactation consultants that their leaders can contact who will help you interpret the test. I highly recommend contacting LLL for help. They have been incredibly helpful and supportive of my efforts. I have been BFing an extra month that I would not have made it without them.
Good luck! There is a lot of good info in the nursing after HELLP thread over in the HELLP forum. It is possible that one of the suggestions over there will help you. Please be kind to yourself. I haven't found anything that has helped my supply, but other mothers with HELLP have breastfed successfully. I hope you can be one of them! Everyone tells me (including La Leche) that some breast milk is better than none, and it helps to remember that when you get frustrated and sad about pumping and supply issues.