Goat's Rue????s

[Carobie]

Hi... I am a LS mama who has been BF and SNS feeding with the occasional bottle since my baby was born. She is now just over 3 months old. I have tried most everything to increase my supply. I've been on Domperidone since she was 7 weeks old and my supply has increased a little, but not enough to wean off the supplement. I'd guess she gets about half of her nutrition from me now. That is a success in itself! But I'm just not ready to say this is it. I've been reading threads for a little while now and see a lot of people mentioning Goat's Rue for IGT issues, which I believe I have.

Here's my question - is it too late for me to reap the benefits of Goat's Rue as my baby is already 3 months old?

Is there a difference in resluts from the liquid extract versus the capsules?

How long does it take to see any difference in supply in your experiences?

TIA for the support and advice. I appreciate the community on here as I never would have made it to 3 months BFing without the advice and communitiy I've seen on MDC.
Carol

[mrstripp]

I didn't have much luck with goats rue and am starting dom. I would definitely recommend the goats rue capsules...the liquid is HORRIBLE and hard to get down

[justthinkn]

You can expect the Goat's Rue to take at least 2-3 weeks, and the LC I spoke to recommended doubling the dosage recommended on the package. I've used Motherlove's More Milk Special Blend, which has other herbs along with the goat's rue for the same price, and then a bottle of Goat's Rue on its own for the double dosing. My supply increased by 50% (baby got 60mL in 20 minutes, where before it took over hour to get just 40mL), my breasts got a little bigger and had more vascularization (veins, supporting the increase in tissue).

ETA: You're doing awesome

[Nate'sMama]

Coming in from another thread!
Thanks!!

I want to second second the you're doing a great job sentiment.

My LO is 3 weeks and Goat's Rue sounds like just the thing for my low supply as well. I'd like to try it before moving on to Dom.

Thanks ladies.

Anyone use the vitanica lactation blend?? My local WF sells this kind...

[Mommy2Haley]

You've already got good advice on the goat's rue so I'm going to pose some other questions.

What dose of domperidone are you taking?
Have you tried/considered the following herbs: fenugreek, blessed thistle, alfalfa, nettle leaf?

LO is calling. Will check back later.

PS - You're doing great!!

[Carobie]

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice...

One more question - are you able to wean yourself off the Goat's Rue after you see results or do you have to keep taking it indefinately?

Mommy2Haley - I'm taking 90mg of Dom per day now - i upped to 120 for a little while but didn't see any difference. I'm down to having just over 100 capsules left and am wondering if i should try to wean myself off of the dom or not as I'm not going back to work and trying to cut out on extra costs... but it's worth it my suppy is going to plummet if i stop taking it. I know there is info about weaning yourself from the dom and was hoping to be able to do that - do you have any advice or experience with that?

I tried fenugreek and blessed thistle with little to no results. I also ate lots of oatmeal and drank a beer a day for about a week (yuck! I'm not a beer person!) Haven't tried alfalfa or nettle though. I went for the dom instead.

Justthinkin - Those are some great results! But how did you measure how much your baby was getting from you? I may have to try the double dose as you are. I'm heavier so I was going to take the larger of the recommended doses listed - are you doubling the higher dosage?

Thanks Ladies! I appreciate you all!
Carol

[BF124497]

I had a great experience with Goat's Rue! I had tried everything (beer, oatmeal, More Milk Plus, alfalfa, nursing/wearing baby constantly...), but without much increase in supply.

When DD was 4 months, I decided to try the capsules, and it really made a difference. After about 10 days, my supply went up pretty dramatically, and I was able to pump more than before. I've reduced my dose, and now take maybe one capsule daily. It seems like the the initial dosing was just the thing to increase my supply, and it's just sort of stayed there. Of course, it's different with everyone, but I responded really positively to it.

[justthinkn]

I think I just took double the lower dosage - I'm pretty average sized, I guess.

And you supposedly do need to keep up with the Goat's Rue - apparently, if you went cold-turkey off of it, you would see all the changes disappear in just a few days. But it's pricey, so I gradually decreased the dosage and watched to see if DD seemed less satisfied at the breast, needed more supplementation... For months now, I've been taking half the recommended dosage, and just in the last few weeks, skipping every other day. (We're approaching a year, so I'm starting to feel more low-key about it. Not that I want to wean, but she's eating other things, too, you know.)

I knew how much DD was getting b/c I worked with an LC for months, and we did weights before and after nursing. (It was really cool - the HMO let the LC set appointments up as "health classes," which are free, by having 4-6 women all come in together for an hour - a little nursing circle )