Domperidone questions

[dengera]

Good afternoon,

I am currently nursing my almost 8 month old exclusively. He does eat cereal and baby foods and is beginning to take table foods as well. I have been taking domperidone since he was about 2 months old. I have increased the dosage to 4 pills three times a day. I have done some reading about it and although literature says you can discontinue after supply is up, I have continued to take it in fear of a low supply. (I also take fenugreek.)

I have put on a lot of weight since being on the domperidone and wonder if that could be a side effect. Has anyone else had this happen? I have just started back to work full-time and am pumping now, so am afraid of discontinuing the medication. Should I begin to wean myself off? If so, how quickly?

Thanks for your thoughts and support.

Andrea

[KerryS]

YES!!

I've been taking domperidone for 8+ months. I started out at 3 pills, 3 times a day, and at maximum was taking 8 pills, three times a day (which is way more than the recommended dosage and I would not recommend that to anyone else, but it was that dosage that I finally had a noticeable improvement). I am currently taking about 6 pills, three times a day. I too have been afraid to totally cut back for fear that my milk supply will take a hit, and I probably will not try to wean off the medication until my baby is at least a year.

Not only have I not been able to lose any of my pregnancy weight, but I've gained 10 lbs. on top of that. This is completely different than with my other two pregnancies, in which I was back down to pre-pregnancy weight by 6 months postpartum. I've often suspected that the lack of weight loss is due to the domperidone, and it's validating to hear that someone else has had the same issue.

[dengera]

Wow, someone else in my shoes! I have not lost any of the baby weight as well and have probably gained 20 lbs to boot! Poor eating habits don't help, but I think the domperidone has exacerbated those. When reading about it, it says that it empties the stomach faster. One of the uses of the domperidone is for overeating - when your stomach is too full. Hmmmmmmm could be that it is not letting us feel the sense of being full? Do you take it before meals? Maybe taking it an hour or two after a meal would work better since we are not using it for stomach discomfort.

I currently am taking 4 pills 3 times a day, but may increase the lunchtime amount because I am back to work, pumping and need better output. Unless I hear from other posters that they successfully quit taking it, I will probably not wean myself off the medication until baby is ready to wean.

Thanks again for the reply,
Andrea

[jodibug]

I have also put on a lot of weight since taking the domperidone..... but hadn't realized the connection. (I've been eating a lot also).

I take 3 dom and 3 fen, three times a day. Now that I see what others are taking, maybe I need to increase the dom because I am still not pumping what I would like.

[dengera]

Jodibug,

I, too, snack a lot. Even taking 4 domp 3 x a day and 4-5 fenugreek 3-4 times a day, I still am not able to pump what I think that I should. I have to pump before I go to bed and first thing in the morning to get enough for ds. I guess that I am just always going to be that way, because it was the same with my son who is now 6.

Andrea

[KerryS]

Yes, domperidone increases gastric motility, which means it causes food to pass through the body faster. I've often suspected that this causes increased appetite.

[dengera]

So...............if I weaned myself off of the domperidone, maybe I can get some of this weight off, (of course with good nutrition and exercise). My concern is that if I decrease the amount of domperidone, I my supply will decrease as well. Any thoughts on that?

[KerryS]

I think I would probably wait until your baby is on a good amount of solid foods. And then I would go VERY slowly. Like maybe one pill a week.

[yonmomof5]

Anyone needing Domperidone? Let me know.
Thanks.

[dengera]

Yonmomof5, I just sent you a message. Did you have any problems when you decreased the amount you were taking and went just to fenugreek?

[Amy_G_]

please note
domperidone is available at compounding pharmacies all over the US.

but it's not ok for the pharmacies to come to breastfeeding.com to advertise their services without contacting breastfeeding.com to pay advertising fees.