I recently had a shoulder injury that is causing me LOTS of pain. The doctor wouldn't prescribe me any strong pain killers because I'm breast feeding my two month old daughter, and he was concerned about the drugs going through my milk to her. Well, after two days of physical therepy, the pain became too much for me to handle, so I decided to put my baby on forumula for just a few weeks while I'm healing so that I can take the vicoden he prescribed to me. I'm pumping my breast milk and throwing it away for the time being, just so I can keep up my milk supply for when I'm ready to nurse again. My question is this - how long after I stop taking the vicoden can I breast feed again? Will the drugs stay in my system for a long time, or if I take one at night, can I nurse her the next day?
Tanya2008-03-23T17:32:42Z
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http://kellymom.com/health/meds/pain-meds.html
see that list of how pain meds are rated. vicodin is one that is relatively safe - I was on lortab for a few days while nursing, but there are plenty strong ones that have higher safety ratings too (darvocet and toradol are pretty common after csections in nursing moms)
and I agree w/ sheera o... the tiny amount of vicodin that could pass into your milk will only cause your baby to be sleepy- the formula could cause more issues than that!
It's really your doctor's call on this one, and more your pediatrician. However...
From the drug's literature:
Nursing Mothers: Acetaminophen is excreted in breast milk in small amounts, but the significance of its effects on nursing infants is not known. It is not known whether hydrocodone is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk and because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants from hydrocodone and acetaminophen, a decision should be made whether to discontinue nursing or to discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother.
vicoden is perfectly safe for breastfeeding......geez
what is wrong with your doc?!
i was on vicoden for two weeks recently and never stopped nursing......go back to nursing........that formula is far more harmful than a bit of drug in your milk
This is really a matter of reading information that came with your medication. When you're prescribed medicine, it comes with a pamphlet. Read all of it. If you don't get some of the answers you're talking about, talk to the pharmacist. And also, it wouldn't hurt to go online and visit the makers of Vicodin and see what they have on their website.