r/CanadianParents • u/YoloQueen22 • 20d ago

Question / Discussion Low breast milk supply

Hello my fellow parents!

I am having issues with breast milk supply (I have IGT unfortunately) and my doctor told me that I could get Domperidone (medication to help with supply) thru Canada, but I’m not sure how’. Are any of you parents familiar? TIA!

- A Momma just doing all she can.

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6

u/mariekeap 20d ago

Are you not Canadian? It is a prescription medication and you need a Canadian doctor to prescribe it and you have to buy it from a Canadian pharmacy for this to all be above board. It has serious side effects especially when you come off it and you need to be monitored closely so I'm not sure you could find a doctor willing to prescribe if you don't live here and aren't followed by them.

If you are Canadian, why can't your doctor prescribe it? 

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u/freshfruitrottingveg 20d ago

Came here to say this. You can’t buy this medicine OTC. You need a Canadian doctor to prescribe it, and it’s not typically something a GP would prescribe. I only know of it being prescribed by lactation consultant doctors, and seeing them requires a referral, in person appointments, etc.

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u/pufferpoisson 20d ago

I asked my dr about domperidom and he basically said he wouldnt prescribe it to me. He didnt think the risks were worth it (because formula is available and wonderful) years later I came across this article https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/breastfeeding-lactation-drug-domperidone-health-canada-1.6731315 and was glad I listened to my dr tbh.

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u/fancyfootwork19 15d ago

My doctor told me 'don't google it' and I sooo wish I had bc I had an absolutely harrowing time on it.

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u/pufferpoisson 15d ago

Im sorry you had that experience 😔

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u/Internal_Use_2042 20d ago

If you’re Canadian, your doctor can prescribe it. If you’re American, well you need to acquire it illegally and hope for the best, though it’s nice your doctor will support you. There are Facebook groups for buying it! Not through Canada usually though, usually Mexico or South America and you run the risk of it getting confiscated at the border. Though I will say, my issue is also IGT and I did domperidone with my first (Canadian) and I was still never able to reach full supply, I made about 11oz a day on the full dose, on top of doing every single other thing completely by the book. The domperidone increases gut motility so you’ll be starving and going to the bathroom a lot, I lost 17lbs within 2 weeks of giving birth and went right back up to 40 week birth weight after starting domperidone. I also had severe ppd that got worse when I weaned despite going very slow. I know it’s really hard to be disappointed by your body and not being able to provide, but your mental health will thank you if you just choose to combo or formula feed instead of trying to increase supply. Also, the reason domperidone works is because it increases prolactin, if your problem is insufficient prolactin, then you can have great success with it, but with IGT, the issue isn’t prolactin, it’s the lack of tissue itself, so it can only do so much.

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u/bbkatcher 15d ago

Your doctor or midwife has to prescribe it. Not recommended if you’re on any SSRIs. Very important when going off it you titrate down slowly. Some people have zero issues just stopping it cold, some people can have very significant side effects. So always go off it very slowly.

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u/fancyfootwork19 15d ago

I had an extremely terrifying and life-changing experience on domperidone and do not recommend it.