gallbladder and breastmilk

[zofranland]

i have been having this horrible pain for a couple weeks. i thought i had an ulcer from the hyperemesis during pregnancy. turns out i am having gall bladder attacks. i had my gallbladder removed. yesterday OUCH! now i am having to pump and dump for a couple of days b/c of the anesthesia and pain meds. i am afraid my milk supply wont hold up strictly pumping at 5 weeks PP. i went back to work with my first @ 6 weeks and pumped and i dried up.. i have supply issues... i am soo pissed and i am in pain... i just needed to vent about my bad luck!

[hipmummy]

You do not need to pump and dump. That is a myth, the doctors say this to cover their behinds. Mothers who have general for c-sections breastfeed as soon as teh wake up. Please go to www.kellymom.com. (Thomas Hale has done extensive research on this topic). It will tell you the class of the drug and how it effects the baby. Hopefully you have not thrown any milk out yet. Save it for when dc is older. Good Luck, you can do it.

[hipmummy]

As for the pain meds adjust them to something bf friendly like tylenol or advil.

[zofranland]

i do know that it is not as harmful as they play it up but i am still not comfortable giving my babe the milk when i have plenty in the freezer. it is more about the bonding i am missing. i can barely lay him on my tummy b/c of the incision. advil and tylenol just dont cut it when you have a 6 inch gash under your ribcage. i just know that my babe can sense my discomfort and how guarded i am when i am holding him. it has just bummed me out. thanks for your link.

[MiamiMami]

I had my gallbladder out at 3 weeks postpartum. :

I was hospitalized 2x and ds was with me the entire time. I only had to dump for 48 hours after surgery due to a dye used. I was on major antibiotics and pain meds for the pancreatitis and everything was run by the IBCLC at the hospital. The doctors were useless. They will tell you not to breastfeed to cover their butts.

Please call you nearest lactation consultant and run the meds by her. You don't want to deal with supply issues or nipple confusion if you don't have to.

[spedteacher30]

i talked to two separate LCs who both told me to ignore the anesthesiologist who told me to pump and dump.

My boy was back on my breast as soon as I got home from the outpatient surgery center. That night, my partner brought him to and from the crib rather than have him co-sleep like normal. But, otherwise, life was back to normal.

[Momsteader]

So sorry about your gallbladder! I had supply issues this time as well, but I'm exclusively pumping at 5.5w post babies and doing well. If you choose, a few days of exclusive pumping shouldn't wreck your supply! But, I also agree w/ the PP'ers that it's probably safer sooner than you think to nurse your little one.