ITP and Breastfeeding (Steroids)

I just signed up here, but have been looking for support/info. about ITP and breastfeeding. My son just turned 6 months last week and I was diagnosed with ITP about 2 weeks ago now.

My platelet levels have gone from 10 to 19, 27, 67 last Monday and today are back down to 19. I was on Predisone 20 mg 3 x a day, was allowed to go to 2x a day after the 67 count, but now am back to 3x.

I am so concerned about breastfeeding. It seems like I am having huge supply issues, I can only assume to due to the steroids, but nothing I can find online will confirm that....my husband has even found things saying that is boosted supply.

I am worried about me and having ITP of course, but my main concern is continuing to breastfeed my son. He's never had formula or a bottle and after experimenting last week when my supply totally tanked, it was a disaster. he wants nothing to do with it and it flips both of us out. I know the stress isn't helping my supply either.

I've been taking mother's milk tea, and special herbs (fenugreek), but have recently read about that having an ill effect on platelets or causing the steroids not to work, so I'm worried that they are down again this week b/c I've been consuming all that. But I have to keep the supply up. It's a vicious cycle, I guess.

Anyway, just looking for some support and see if anyone else is trying to breastfeed through ITP and what you're finding works/doesn't work. Whatever you can help me out with! Thanks

Hi Lady with a Crunchy Baby!(?!)

OK, so it was 25 years ago when I was nursing mine, but I was told that having a beer would improve my output--and might even help me relax. However, since I can't stand beer, the doc recommended brewer's yeast tablets.... no help in the relaxation department, but I/we successfully went a whole year! Lots of liquids, of course. And it would have been a big help to have some sort of setup to catch the overspray from side 2 while baby was working on side 1! Ahh, memories---! Ann, Caitlin's Mom

Have you talked to the pediatrician and your doctor about continuing to breastfeed?

I was also diagnosed with ITP 6 months after my daughter was born. I do not recall talking to our doctors, but I did stop breastfeeding. I was concerned about how my health and medications might affect her and the additional drain on my body.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Hi

I have no experience of ITP myself - am a mum of a kid with ITP.

One of my kids was like your baby though - VERY stubborn about the whole feeding thing. I made a decision to stop feeding him at about 7 months because I had gone back to work when he was about 3 months and he just switched his feeding times around and fed all night instead of in the day time. I was exhausted, so I stopped. The health visitor said he would get thirsty and hungry and give in and drink out of a bottle or a cup, but he just didn't.

We spent about a year making his food super wet - half a pint of milk on his cereal, yogurt for every desert,ice pops etc. We very rarely gave him things like biscuits to eat, and when it was hot we used to give him fruit juice off a spoon which he would accept. Surprisingly he was fine all this time, produced as many wet nappies as my friends kids. At about 1 1/2 he got ill with a chest infection and ended up in hospital on a drip for a week (he needed antibiotics and he was also dehydrated) , and after that he just seemed to work out the whole drinking thing.

He is 13 now, horrible teenager who drinks and eats me out of house and home. I had the same trouble with getting one of his brothers to stop breastfeeding after this, but I was better prepared so I managed to get him onto drinking from a cup at about 8 months. It might be worth trying different teats or a cup or a spoon, and the thing that I found that worked was if you were out of sight when the alternative to breastfeeding was being offered - my husband did all the feeds when we were changing him over.

Hope you sort something out anyway - all the other posters are right in saying that worrying about it would adversely affect your supply. So chill!!!!

Ali

well, i'm confused. do you have steroids in your system and you are breast feeding? isn't there a concern with steroids in the milk? has your doctor said he's not concerned your baby is getting steroids?

I was diagnosed when my baby was 8 months and nursed until she was 15 months. Only a tiny amount of steroid will pass through the milk - this is not an issue, especially if it's prednisone. High dose dexamethasone is a bit different and I would reconsider breastfeeding if you have to take this one (eg. the 4 day pulse) more than a few times.

Have you gone to see a lactation consultant or contacted la leche league? I'm not sure if it would help at 6 months but often the best thing to do is just feed more often to get the supply up. Good luck with it all. Whatever happens, eventually the baby will adapt and everything will be fine.