If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
combo pills at 14m pp?
I just got back from seeing my doctor. She had three ideas about how
to deal with my never-ending spotting: try dong quai (a chinese herb I know pretty much nothing about); try acupuncture (not a likely choice for me, it's not my style, it's probably not covered by my insurance, and who would watch my children while i went to the appointments?); or try 2 or 3 months of regular combination (not progesterone only) birth control pills. She also got two vials of my blood to check my iron and my thyroid. So! What do you wise folks know about dong quai? And, can I safely take combination birth control pills, or could they still dry up my milk? DD only nurses about 5 to 7 times per (24hr) day. She's 14 months old now and surely my body knows how to make that small amount of milk after all this time, even if I took the pill, right? Wrong? I have no idea and neither did the doc, so I said I'd look into it myself. Any wisdom? Web sites? Thanks for any help you can give, --- --- Vicki in Indiana Married my dear husband Joshua on May 21, 1995. Ima shel DS, born 11/16/99 and breastfed for 22 months; and Ima shel DD, still nursing. Born at home, 05/19/02. http://www.geocities.com/vyxter/ An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. -Spanish proverb Names I like: Adele, Amelia, Chloe, Corinne, Lionel, Orlando, Theodore, Timothy. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
combo pills at 14m pp?
And, can I safely
take combination birth control pills, or could they still dry up my milk? DD only nurses about 5 to 7 times per (24hr) day. She's 14 months old now and surely my body knows how to make that small amount of milk after all this time, even if I took the pill, right? Wrong? I have no idea and neither did the doc, so I said I'd look into it myself. I do know someone who had to switch off the combipill because her daughter was crashing down through the weight percentiles and holding out for the mama milk to come back. She'd never been much of a fan of solids and is only now, at age 2, starting to eat any significant amount of calories from them. The mom figured out what was going on when she realized the daughter had actually *lost* weight and had been nursing literally all night long. She told me it was amazingly obvious how much milk came back within two days of stopping the pill. However, her doc sees a lot of breastfeeders, and said, "sure, the baby's a year old, we can put you on the regular pill no problem!", so I assume they don't often see that. Might just have been her particular biochemistry. -- Caryn mama to Oscar, 10/20/02 |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
combo pills at 14m pp?
However, her doc sees a lot of breastfeeders, and said, "sure, the baby's a
year old, we can put you on the regular pill no problem!", so I assume they don't often see that. Might just have been her particular biochemistry. Well, I don't know if this is true of the population that doctor sees, but in my experience a lot of women who are still nursing at a year aren't nursing *much*. I'd say about half the women I know in real life who nursed over a year were cutting way back as soon as they'd gotten to 12-15 months. That includes me with my twins -- I wasn't aware at that time of there being much benefit of going past a year, and was only doing so because it was convenient. Hmmm. I would certainly characterize this little girl as an avid nurser at age 1 (heck, at age 2) as she wasn't getting many calories from solids. But I don't know if that ped sees avid one-year-old nursers, or just one-year-olds who nurse occasionally. So I guess it might depend more on whether or not Zipporah likes a lot of solids. :-) -- Caryn mama to Oscar, 10/20/02 |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
combo pills at 14m pp?
Vicki S wrote:
So! What do you wise folks know about dong quai? It has phytoestrogenic effects, so if you get menstrual migraines, steer clear of it. Then again, if you're looking into combipills, I wouldn't think that a problem for you anyway. Other than that, it doesn't appear problematic for BF. And, can I safely take combination birth control pills, or could they still dry up my milk? According to Hale, once BF is firmly established, estrogen is OK and *shouldn't* significantly impact supply. Since she's over 1, I wouldn't worry about it too much. -- iphigenia www.tristyn.net |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
combo pills at 14m pp?
iphigenia wrote:
Vicki S wrote: So! What do you wise folks know about dong quai? It has phytoestrogenic effects, so if you get menstrual migraines, steer clear of it. Then again, if you're looking into combipills, I wouldn't think that a problem for you anyway. Other than that, it doesn't appear problematic for BF. I've gotten a few headaches in my life, but I don't think I've ever gotten a migraine, menstrual or not. So maybe today I'll see if I can find some of this dong quai stuff and read a label or two. Maybe I'll even buy some. And, can I safely take combination birth control pills, or could they still dry up my milk? According to Hale, once BF is firmly established, estrogen is OK and *shouldn't* significantly impact supply. Since she's over 1, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Thank you so much for looking that up for me. I was really feeling a little desperate for that sort of answer - meaning scientific, not anecdotal. This makes me think I'll end up giving the combo pill a try. If I do start on it, I'm sure I'll be posting here wanting to know "how will I know if my milk is drying up?!" I still want DD to nurse for actual milk, not just comfort! (For a long time yet.) I had a talk with DH last night and he is VERY nervous about me taking anything hormonal, but I think he's overreacting just a tad. I mean, they might make me grumpy, but not dangerous to the children (which is what he fears). And I'd only take the bc pills for two months, maybe three if two months didn't stop the spotting. If three didn't stop the spotting I'd bail and regroup. But I think I'll probably start by taking dong quai. Seems easier - possibly even cheaper. I don't particularly expect the stuff to work, but maybe it will anyway. --- --- Vicki in Indiana Married my dear husband Joshua on May 21, 1995. Ima shel DS, born 11/16/99 and breastfed for 22 months; and Ima shel DD, still nursing. Born at home, 05/19/02. http://www.geocities.com/vyxter/ An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. -Spanish proverb Names I like: Adele, Amelia, Chloe, Corinne, Lionel, Orlando, Theodore, Timothy. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
combo pills at 14m pp?
Vicki S wrote: I just got back from seeing my doctor. She had three ideas about how to deal with my never-ending spotting: try dong quai (a chinese herb I know pretty much nothing about); try acupuncture (not a likely choice for me, it's not my style, it's probably not covered by my insurance, and who would watch my children while i went to the appointments?); or try 2 or 3 months of regular combination (not progesterone only) birth control pills. She also got two vials of my blood to check my iron and my thyroid. So! What do you wise folks know about dong quai? And, can I safely take combination birth control pills, or could they still dry up my milk? DD only nurses about 5 to 7 times per (24hr) day. She's 14 months old now and surely my body knows how to make that small amount of milk after all this time, even if I took the pill, right? Wrong? I have no idea and neither did the doc, so I said I'd look into it myself. Any wisdom? Web sites? Thanks for any help you can give, --- --- Vicki in Indiana Hello Vicki, I used combi pills while nursing from when my son was just over a year to when he weaned at 3 1/2. Give it a go for a month or so and see how you get on. Mary Ann |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
combo pills at 14m pp?
iphigenia wrote:
Vicki S wrote: So! What do you wise folks know about dong quai? It has phytoestrogenic effects, so if you get menstrual migraines, steer clear of it. Then again, if you're looking into combipills, I wouldn't think that a problem for you anyway. Other than that, it doesn't appear problematic for BF. http://webmd.lycos.com/content/article/24/1825_50367 ""Our studies show that dong quai and ginseng stimulate the growth of [breast cancer] cells," write Paula Amato, MD, from the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Houston's Baylor College of Medicine, and colleagues. Their findings appear in the most recent issue of Menopause." "The team tested four herbs commonly used to fight hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms: dong quai, ginseng, black cohosh, and licorice root. They looked at what effect each of the herbs had on samples of human breast cancer cells and whether they had any estrogen-like properties either in a test tube or in live mice." "None of the herbs exhibited estrogen-like effects, but the dong quai and the ginseng both "significantly induced growth" of the cancer cells, the researchers write." --Helen |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
combo pills at 14m pp?
Thank you so much for looking that up for me. I was really feeling a
little desperate for that sort of answer - meaning scientific, not anecdotal. This makes me think I'll end up giving the combo pill a try. If I do start on it, I'm sure I'll be posting here wanting to know "how will I know if my milk is drying up?!" Ah, but that's exactly why I posted anecdotal evidence: you'll know if she's nursing all night long every night. :-) -- Caryn mama to Oscar, 10/20/02 |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
combo pills at 14m pp?
I want to thank everyone who replied to my questions. DH and I have
talked about it and made a decision about our next step. I'm going to get the IUD removed and switch to another plan. I'm sure it will all work out great. --- --- Vicki in Indiana Married my dear husband on May 21, 1995. Ima shel DS, born 11/16/99 and breastfed for 22 months; and Ima shel DD, still nursing. Born at home, 05/19/02. http://www.geocities.com/vyxter/ An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. -Spanish proverb Names I like: Adele, Amelia, Chloe, Corinne, Lionel, Orlando, Theodore, Timothy. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
How Long Does It Take For Birth Control Pills To Work? | David Mills | Pregnancy | 9 | February 23rd 04 08:29 PM |
Trouble swallowing pills | Elizabeth A | Pregnancy | 3 | August 2nd 03 12:57 AM |