Does anyone else have insuffient glandular tissue? - Page 7

[mkmb129]

Corey, I have a friend who is exclusively pumping, so keeping up a supply is a bit difficult. She stopped pumping when her ped told her she can't mix formula and ebm, and just about lost her supply completely. She started taking domeperidone and now she said she makes enough for 2 or 3 babies at least! She's got a freezer full, only pumps half the time she used to, and gets so much. Good luck, I hope that it helps you!!

[svmaine]

Another tubular mom

Greetings, while I'm new to the mothering forums I'm 2 big boys into dealing with self diagnosed hypoplasia. I also went through the devastating heartbreak of not being able to completely feed my children and now I'm 25 weeks into pregnancy #3 with hopes of some new miracle that will help. I tried fenugreek, goat's rhue, teas, with my first ds, and with my second was told about domperidone. I was on that for months and I'm not sure if it was all the herbs and domperidone or that is was my 2nd ds, who was a voracious eater, but I produced twice as much. Before you get too excited that meant I produced 1oz. per boob per pumping: . So soon I'll be placing another order of domperidone and trying one of the new motherlove concoctions that I think I can begin taking before I give birth. I'll also be looking for some donated bmilk since I can't afford the organic formula this time. I'm happy to offer up all the trials and tribulations I've gone and will be going through, if I can help another mom get through this then maybe the guilt will lessen someday. And if there any new brilliant ideas please post!!!

[basset]

I am so happy to see this thread. I posted my story a few weeks ago. I would do anything to be able to not have to supplement. I hate buying formula but donor milk is out of reach for us. My average day's worth of production is 7-9 oz. I see it this way.... It is better than none at all. There are millions of germ fighting antibodies in the 1 bottle my LO consumes everyday. I put my LO to my breast and he punches my chest because it is his way of extracting milk from mama. So, we pump. I pump 5x's a day. I used to pump 12+ x's a day to no avail and I got to the point I was losing my sanity! My supply never increased. I took dom, goats rue, special blend... nothing. My LO lost so much weight in the begining. I don't have PCOS. I don't have tubular breast, but LC noticed that the shape of my breast indicate that I am IGT. I never had any changes in my breast during pg and after I only had an hour or 2 with mild engorgement.

I agree with the pp re no info on LLL web-site nor info in the book "womanly art". There needs to be more studies done on this. I just get so mad knowing that had my dr. not been an LC my baby might have been labeled FTT.

Anyways, all of you are awesome!!!!!!!

[thepeach80]

I'll bump a way old thread. lol I guess I'm just curious what links there are other there about this. I've looked at the one site w/ all the breasts and I'm having a hard time seeing differences between the one that has tubular breasts as opposed to some of the 'normal' breasts. Is it just one of those things where if you don't make enough milk despite busting your butt, you probably have tubular breasts? I mean my breasts look like the tubular one, but I never thought anything of them. I'm a B cup normally, never got any bigger while pg or bfing, never got engorged at their birth, and have had to supplement all 3 of my kids, the last one being almost FTT by the time the DR suggested I better try it (she was happy to starve). I have been engorged before, specifically a week after (yes, it took a week) Ilana decided she was done bfing at 9 mos and I was too tired to fight w/ her still about it. Does that mean anything? Thoughts? It doesn't really matter now as this whole bfing thing is one reason we're not thinking about more kids, but I guess inside it would make ME feel better to know there was a reason I couldn't ebf my kids and I feel like knowing would make it so I could help others.

[MaryJaneLouise]

Is this the site you are looking at with different pics of breasts?

http://www.leron-line.com/IGT.htm

ETA Sorry that link doesn't work I'll look for more.

Here's from Riordan's BFing & Human Lactation:

http://books.google.com/books?id=-Xh...EU&output=html

[bumblebeej]

The first link isn't working for me. The second one I've never seen before, so ty very much for posting!

[ruhbehka]

Originally Posted by basset

I don't have tubular breast, but LC noticed that the shape of my breast indicate that I am IGT. I never had any changes in my breast during pg and after I only had an hour or 2 with mild engorgement.

Can you give me more info about this???

I am suspecting this may be my issue, too. Or very mild tubular stuff.

Mine have always been kind of underdeveloped-looking, a bit conical. Similar problems with milk supply, little to no engorgement, no breast changes, etc. Peaked at about 20 oz per day with insane pumping/SNS/domperidone/oatmeal/MMP regimine.

[lyterae]

I have insufficient glandular tissue and was diagnosed as having hypoplastic breasts. It was heart wrenching to discover that I couldn't make enough milk to feed my daughter. I was taking Reglan, fenugreek, blessed thistle, on top of all the oatmeal, water ,etc... The most I was able to pump on any given day was 2 ounces ( I was pumping after every feeding as well as every two hours if she hadn't woken to eat.)

I couldn't understand how no one had thought to mention that there might be a problem, and I didn't think there could be any way I couldn't make enough milk. At one month my dd hadn't gained any weight, she was 7 oz less than her birth weight... A friend of mine donated breastmilk for a time while I tried to increase my supply. I have pictures of my daughter from that time and I wish I had noticed earlier... She is sickly looking and I didn't see it.

After a very trying 7 weeks of nursing and pumping 24/7 to no avail, I was so exhausted, stressed, and heart broken from the ordeal that I quit nursing and went to formula full-time. I am in the process of preparing now... We are hoping to TTC this summer, with a hopeful HBAC, and I plan on making it to one year with as much of a supply as I can manage.

[khanni]

I believe I have insufficient glandular tissue as well. I tried everything with my last baby, and did not have enough milk. I'm 7 months pregnant now, so have been re-researching, and this is my conclusion.

I'm posting two websites, I think one of which was posted earlier in this thread (it has the pictures). But the other one just made me feel better. I was really made to feel that I had failed, and NOBODY seemed to believe that I couldn't produce enough milk and that I just wasn't trying hard enough (save my LC, midwife, husband, and family). I caught a lot of flack, and I love the last sentence in this, which I'll just quote here:

"Preserving the 'every woman can nurse' myth contributes to perpetuating a simplistic view of lactation and does a disservice to the small percentage of women with primary causes of unsuccessful lactation."

http://pediatrics.aappublications.or...tract/76/5/823
http://www.007b.com/breast_size_breastfeeding.php

[JANmom13]

I don't know anything specifically about this issue but after my 3rd pregnancy I have found calcium supplements (not the chocolate chewy kind with vitamin D but the round white tablets) make a big difference, as does taking B complex. After my 2nd I used Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle. I just didn't like the smell or gagging down pills so I switched. I also eat oatmeal.

I have more of an energy issue, though- working full time with 3 kids age 6 and under. But maybe this could work for you as well...

[svmaine]

There is hope mom's with IGT, tubular and/or hypoplasia!!! I posted earlier some of my trials and tribulations and do need to correct one thing I said. I did not use Goat's Rhue with DS #1, I took it the last month of pregnancy with DS #3, who was just born in January. I continued with the goat's rhue after the birth along with Domperidone and am now on More Milk Plus and a reduced amount of Dom.

I don't know if the difference is just child #3 or the additional supplements this time, but I actually felt my milk come in about a week after birth, and about a week and a half after his birth during a late night feed I actually heard him gulping! I'm still getting engorged(FYI my boobs don't get any bigger, just uncomfortably hard), especially if he goes more than 2 hours between feedings, and I've actually seen my milk dribble out of his mouth at a few feedings, again! Unfortunately I do still need to supplement during the day and since I haven't started pumping yet I don't know how much I'm producing, but I know he's getting so much more of my milk than my other two DS's and that just warms my heart, again sometimes your body can change for the better, there is hope.

[meenajo]

Looks like there's not a ton of activity on this board, but I am enjoying reading some of the older stories.

I *think* I might have IGT, though I'm not sure. They don't seem terribly insufficient, but are kind of widly spaced and when you take my large size into account they are disproportionately small. The "obese" pic from the first page looks more like it.

I had so much trouble w/ my daughter and feel like I'm still carrying a lot of baggage around. I had no breast changes during pg, no engorgement when I gave up and when I tried pumping to increase supply, I was lucky if I got enough drops to cover the bottom of the bottle. All this time I've felt like I just didn't try enough to build my supply. I was one of those militant-about-bfeednng-types before dd and I guess it was an important lesson for me to learn.

I was quite depresed about my inability to feed my baby and I have to admit that that's played into our decision to adopt this time around.

So, fast forward 5 years and I'm in the middle of an open adoption. Baby is due in just a few weeks and I'm trying to relactate.

Am I crazy, or what?!

I'm taking tons of herbs/domperidone and even saw some significant breast changes after taking goats rue but after 6 weeks of pumping around the clock, haven't made a drop. I'm trying not to get discouraged and not giving up. I'm planning on using a SNS with donor milk but am starting to wonder if it's worth the trouble to keep this up if I'm not making any milk

I'm feeling pretty caught up in trying to figure out if it really is IGT or if there might be something else? or if relacation is just tougher than expected? I don't want to go through this again

[Mimi's mom]

Hi MEENAJO

Hello!

I know exactly how you feel about bf!
I have IGT and until now that I found this forum I could forgive myself and know, as a fact, that I did enough.

I learned that the most important thing is to LOVE and feed your baby in your own possible way.

I had pd after the first 8 weeks trying to bf my dd. It was so bad that I'm still on therapy... 2 years later. Now that I forgived myself I think I can handle it better.

The only advise that I have for you is to do your best and find what fit your family.

Do your best, use the SNS and do not feel bad about not producing enough milk. ENJOY the baby, hugh him, touch him, kiss him. I know bf can be an obsession (BELIVE ME) but is not the most important part. Babie's need to feel safe and you need to be in your right state of mind to provide it.

Good luck!

I'm also found out that I'm pregnant and knowing that I never be able to produce enough milk for my baby makes me feel sad. I'm planning to use a SNS and see what happens!
Also if someone want to give me some advice what to do to at least have more than 1/2 to 1 oz milk it will be GREAT!

I' so happy to hear there's a little hope for IGT from svmaine!

I just find this site and it is WONDERFUL! Peace of mind and encouraging!
http://www.mobimotherhood.org/MM/article-lms.aspx

[HeatherWong]

NotEveryoneCanBreastfeed.com

Hi All,

This thread helped me back in 2006 when my first child was born and I was bewildered by what was happening. I started a website to share my story and spread the word: http://www.NotEveryoneCanBreastfeed.com

I hope it helps some of you in the same situation.
Heather