I have been on antidepressant for quite awhile. I was on Zoloft throughout my first pregnancy and after. I breast fed DD #1 for about 6 months but found it difficult after going back to work, so weaned her to formula. About 2 1/2 years ago I switched to Cymbalta and took it until recently. It is very expensive even with insurance and I was getting samples from my doctors office. I was doing very well on this medication. About 3 weeks ago, my doctors office notified me that they have been limited in their samples and since I have insuance they could no longer give me samples. Even with insurance my out of pocket for a one month supply of Cymbalta is still over $100. We can not afford that, so they switched me to Fluoxetine. I have been on it for about 2 weeks now and have noticed a decrease in my milk supply. Has anyone experienced this? I guess I am wondering what some other options for me are so that I can continue breastfeeding. I am a sahm know and woulf hate to have to stop breastfeeding. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. I appreciate the insight!!
There is a drug called domperidone that increases your milk supply, its the side effect of the drug. I took it with my third son for the same reason and your insurance should cover it. It worked great!
Have you ever considered a natural healthier way to stop depression? What I have done, it worked for me is St Johns Wart and a good B Complex. I call the B Vitamins my B HAPPY Vitamins. If you ever want to consider an alternative to any kind of pill, There is an energy healer by the name of Carolyn Cooper that is amazing. I was completely healed of generational depression. Meaning- most of my family members are or have been depressed. I am in a better place now than I have ever been. I think she could help you too. Her web sight is calycohealing.com. Her fee would be almost free compared to what you have been paying for pills all these years
Hi, J..
I have looked up fluoxetine (prozac) in Medications and Mother's Milk 2006 by Hale. It is rated an L2 (L1 is safest) and has been shown to sometimes inhibit milk ejection reflex. The alternatives it lists are sertraline (zoloft L2), paroxetine (paxil L2), and citalopram (cilexa L2). From what I read, milk supply has not been shown to decrease (or milk ejections prohibted) with these other medications. Maybe you can figure out which is cheapest at your pharmacy, or if any have generics, and then ask your doctor about decreasing the one you're on and switching. Good job figuring this out! Your baby needs a happy mom, and it would be great to continue nursing, too. Good luck!
A., fellow mom and lactation consultant (IBCLC)
There is definitely a correlation between the anti-depressant and milk supply. From my understanding, some anti-depressants affect Seratonin, while others mainly affect Dopamine. The draw back here is that an increase in Dopamine positively correlates with a decrease in Prolactin (the milk-making hormone). That is why some women who take Reglan to increase milk production will often times become depressed - because it seeks to decrease Dopamine production.
There are many anti-depressants that do not affect Dopamine production (they are called Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors or SSRI's)- you might want to look into these. There are also many natural options, such as high potency Omega-3 and high potency B-Complex (I take these regularly, and they help tremendously with stress and mood regularity). As an added plus, they are even good for your baby.
Regarding boosting back your supply, once you have found the right remedy for your mental health - pump, pump, pump. Also, Domperidone, unlike Reglan, is reported to help boost milk production without affecting Dopamine production.
Forgive me for any inaccuracies. God Bless.
Hi J.--
I have dealt with depression as well, and I treated it naturally while nursing my son--and I should say it was successful treatment. The treatment depends on what the root cause of your depression is and I would have to know more about your symptoms before I could recommend natural treatments. If you are interested in learning more I'm happy to spend some time talking to you. Possible solutions are b complex, vitamin C, St. John's, 5-HTP, L-tryptophan, and adrenal support. Let me know if you'd like more info.
J.
