How well did Domperidone work for you?

[JillyD]

I'm really curious what the experiences with Dom have been. I've been on it a week now and am totally seeing a difference though not huge. What's your experience? I am trying to decide whether it is worth it to be on it.

[Sk8ermaiden]

I had no improvement at the max dose (4, 4x a day), which I hear is really rare. I strongly suspect that I have IGT.

[caiesmommy]

I LOVED IT! It took awhile to kick in, so I used the Dom and nursed more, and pumped more and it worked great! I even have some stashed leftover from my ds just incase for dd

[Vegan Princess]

It has helped me but I still need to sup. She used to drink 3 ounces every feed and now it's 1-2. I used to be able to pump about an ounce and now I can get 3. So it has definitely helped. I tried to start weaning off the dom (only dropped 2 pills) and my supply immediately dropped back to less than 2 ounces when pumping so I am back on 4x4 until she is 1 (3 more months). Though I suspect getting a cold may have impacted a bit too (and baby has a cold so her nursing isn't so fantastic right now).

Cindy

[Caittune]

It took a while, but I ended up being able to ditch supplementing completely.

I was very lucky though, my MIL took us in for about 3 weeks and all I did was nurse, pump or sleep. I was taking dom, fenugreek and blessed thistle though. I don't know if it was the combo or if I just could have gotten away with dom.

I'm going to try with just domperidone if I need to this time. I'm pretty sure my lack of supply might have been due to a medication that I have to take (nothing else works) so it is likely I'll need to supplement this time too.

[MissyLissa]

Originally Posted by Sk8ermaiden

I had no improvement at the max dose (4, 4x a day), which I hear is really rare. I strongly suspect that I have IGT.

This is me too. The IBCLC I was working with actually mentioned that she thought I might have IGT before I even tried domperidone just because she noticed my breasts were wide set. Turns out she was right. I worked up to the max dose of 160 mg a day and was on the drug for a total of 6 or 7 weeks and never saw a single drop in increase.

[bjorker]

It was the only thing that made a lick of difference for me, but I'd still only give it the "good" rating. I stayed on it for months.

[April Dawn]

nm!

Edited by April Dawn - 7/5/11 at 6:46am

[mambera]

The most relevant study I've seen found a response in four out of six mothers of preterm infants who took dom for milk supply. (I.e. no response in two out of six.)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18507654

Dom did work for me somewhat; I'm not sure exactly how well it would have worked bc I never gave it a fair chance - I wasn't willing to take enough. I took 20 mg for a week, which did nothing. I edged up to 60 mg, and started to see an increase with that. However I only took that dose for 2 days because I got scared of being dependent on the dom - afraid my supply would tank for real if I ever needed to get off it - and decided I'd just rather live with the supplementation.

(I didn't vote on the poll bc like I said, I didn't really give it a chance. It definitely would have worked to some extent.)

I'm just barely low-supply though - I think I could possibly EBF if I were home all day , maybe with 1-2 oz formula on low days, but as it is I have to supplement about 5-7 oz/d mostly due to pumping.

[gurumama]

It has doubled what I can pump (1 ounce vs. 2 now), and the baby is full and sleeping better from night nursing.

I'm only on 2-10 mg tablets 3 times a day. When I was taking 1 table 4x/day it didn't help. I'm slowly working up to 3 tablets 3x/day.

I found this article helpful for buying domperidone as well: How to Buy Domperidone

I got 500 tablets and hope, at 6-9 per day for 2 months, to have a solid supply by the time he is 5-6 months (he's 3 months now). I had a breast reduction and we're currently giving him about 1/3 formula per day and would like to cut that down.

[starling&diesel]

I was at the max dose of 160mg per day for about 7 months ... and what do I think about that? Hmm ... not sure. I still had to supplement about 10oz over the day, and now that I've weaned off the domperidone, my supply is the same as it was when I was on it. But I do think it helped to ESTABLISH my supply. Does that make sense?
I'd definitely go on it for the next baby (if there is a 'next' baby) and I would likely do the same dose for the same amount of time. I also did all the herbs.

[marielizabeth]

Hi, new here.

I have IGT (widely-spaced breasts, as well as an ovulation disorder that isn't quite PCOS), and dom worked *great* for me. Went from a total production of 4-6oz/day to 16-18oz/day, but it took 8 weeks of 80mg a day plus pumping and lots of nursing. For me, it was totally worth it. I won't even think about going off unti we're ready to wean.

[Latte Mama]

Dom worked wonderfully for me. Long story short but I started out EP'ing which did not establish a good supply. I also didn't respond well to the pump and had to supplement. With the Dom I saw a significant increase. Once I started nursing, I was able to wean off the dom but then unable to pump more than an ounce so still needed to supp. a bit for the 1 bottle DS took while I was working.

[dachshund mom]

I said good. I was able to go from 8-10oz of supplement a day to none, but I still get drained fully when DD nurses. I'd love to be able to pump a little extra. Also, she's been slowly dropping in the weight charts and I'm not sure if that's from low supply. The dr says it's fine, but you know how it is. I still worry.

DD is 8 months and eats a ton of solids, but I can't seem to drop below 4 pills a day.

[leigh09]

domperidone doesn't work at all for me, and even though i know that i still tried it with all three babies (it's free for me in Canada so i figured why not).
what does work well is fenugreek, blessed thistle, goat's rue, and following the dietary advice in the book "mother food"

[NoCalMomOfTwo]

I said good -- it doubled my supply, but since I have suspected IGT or hormonal problem, that wasn't enough to give me 100%.

I'm going to try it again with this baby and I'm assuming it will do the same. I have my fingers crossed!

FWIW, fenugreek and blessed thistle did absolutely nothing for me, even when I took tons and tons.

I also had a full Thyroid panel done this time in order to rule that out (am waiting on the results) and the endo may put me on a low dose (not replacement dose) of Synthroid to see if it helps.

[Eli's mum]

I have been so pleased with my experience with domperidone. I started taking it less than a week ago, and after the second day my supply was back - plus some. Also, I am only taking 40 mg per day.

My son wasn't even a week old and my supply was dwindling rapidly for no apparent reason - I was sleeping fine, eating well -but I was so discouraged that I had to supplement with formula so soon - especially when I was so set on BF-ing. I was only getting maybe a quarter of an ounce during a pumping session.

Now, I'm getting 3 oz. per session - in addition to whatever he gets nursing. I'm not sure what will happen if/when I stop taking it but the results have been amazing. Prior to obtaining the prescription from my OB (don't even try from a regular family doctor - the lactation specialist from the hospital talked to my OB as well about the dosage) I had tried More Milk Plus, Goat's Rue, Mother's Milk Tea, and fenugreek to no avail. Domperidone was the only thing that worked for me, and almost immediately.

It is expensive - I received 90 10mg pills for $40 from a compounding pharmacy nearby. But I figure I'd spend more than that on formula in a months time - so for me it's worth it. Hope this helps.

[dollyanna]

I did notice an increase, but my supply was so low it didn't really make much difference as far as what I had to supp. I was also too freaked out to up my dose beyond 20 x 4 (my LC's rec). Between dom, more milk special blend, oatmeal, still the most I ever pumped was 1.5 oz (instead of .5-.75oz). I have PCOS & IGT. If I have another baby, I will consider taking it again, mainly because I've heard that the 2nd time around you are more likely to have more supply. But I would certainly not expect to not supplement.

It seems like dom is most useful for people who need a medium boost in supply. My friend who had a breast reduction was even able to wean off of it. Probably if you're starting from almost nothing like me, even doubling your supply is not going to get you very far.