I’m finally getting around to looking into this myself and am not pleased. Turns out that Tylenol 3 (coedine and Tylenol) is not recommended during nursing. (Note: this was the med I was given specifically to use while nursing… although it barely puts a dent in pain management at this point in my recovery.) I can suck it up if I know it’s safe, but now I’m not so sure. I can’t tell if it’s a class II or class III drug (there is conflicting information depending on the other active ingredients?… or maybe I’m too clouded to read the information clearly), but the drugs.com recommendations for Tylenol 3 and hydromorphone (Dilaudid) are the same… that the substance shows up in breastmilk and it’s not recommended. Withdrawal symptoms in nursing babies are generally frowned upon.
So.
Do I continue nursing Kate on Tylenol 3? Do I force wean her — which would entail my avoidance of her completely for a few weeks. My not holding her for 5 days didn’t do the trick, goodness knows how far we’ll have to go before she forgets about the whole nursing thing being connected to me. If I decide to not to wean her, do I continue to restrict use of the hydromorphone (the drug of choice) or do I go ahead and use it since the recommendation reads the same? (The doctors were pretty vague about this stuff. I could write a tome of frustration with this.)
Anyone else been in this position or have any insight?
Anonymous | 11-Aug-07 at 9:38 pm | Permalink
Hi Holly, So sorry to read about all this. My general feeling is that the breastmilk barrier is strong and you could take the meds and nurse. I have found that doctor’s rarely know and the info out there is not clear. When I had to take pain meds while nursing Eli I checked with my La Leche leader and she was super as ususally and checked in some book she had to let me know. Can you hook up with La Leche? The leaders seem to have these secret special breastfeeding books that can answer almost any question. Also, it would seem to me that if you decided to forgo the meds and were in pain, that makes your body all messed up and you secrete higher levels of natural pain defenses which end up then in higher levels in your milk anyways. La Leche was also able to tell me when the med would be highest in my milk and I then had the option of pumping if I wanted to get rid of the most concentrated milk. I hope you are feeling better and things have worked out. xoxox, Elizabeth
chrissieroux | 14-Aug-07 at 4:57 pm | Permalink
Hey Holly–
Just found your blog through Los Pininos! Nice job! I nursed Sydney for 15 months and throughout that time took a few different meds. I agree with Anonymous–the breast milk barrier is strong. If you don’t discern a noticeable difference in Kate then I would bet it’s fine.