I need a colonoscopy but am nursing and worried about how the sedative will affect my supply and being able to breastfeed..... I think the sedative may be in the milk for a while.
Does anyone have any experience? My doctor recommended I call MotherRisk but they couldn't help as I didn't know the exact name of the sedative that will be used, and I won't be able to get that info until I find out where the procedure will be.
cantaloupe / 6206 posts
Yes! I had to have surgery on my ear while I was breastfeeding (general anesthesia). I'd call an LC to confirm, but I think the deal was pump and dump for I think 24 hours? Either way I pumped while I was in pre-op waiting to go in, and kept that milk in the nurse's fridge to take home later. Then pumped and dumped after the surgery and until the end of the time frame (LO was 7 months old at the time and got pumped milk from the freezer). I picked up BFing as normal the next morning.
pomegranate / 3411 posts
@travelgirl1: i am sorry to hear this, it doesn't sound pleasant 
I had to get my gallbaldder removed while I was breastfeeding. L was about 15 months so i wasn't nursing more 2 - 3 times a day then and I can't remember now if i called motherisk or not, but i remember learning that it was okay to breastfeed after maybe 12 hours or something like that? I was up early the day of the procedure and nursed him then, and then again by the evening and it was fine. Will you be able to pump some milk if you need to skip a session?
cantaloupe / 6630 posts
@californiadreams: He has never had a bottle, but I do pump and dump daily as I have more milk than he drinks and thought there was no point freezing it because of the move.
So I guess I will start freezing milk and hope that on the day he takes a bottle. The whole day before the procedure I will be on a liquid only diet and taking a laxative, which will probably screw with supply too. Urgh.
cantaloupe / 6630 posts
@JoJoGirl: 24 hours? That's longer than I hoped. Did your LO do okay with a bottle?
nectarine / 2797 posts
I had a d&c while bf my toddler and the anesthesiologist suggested pumping and dumping that night.
apricot / 320 posts
I had a colonoscopy when my DS was just a year old. We were still nursing 3x/day at that point and they also told me to pump and dump for 24 hrs post-procedure. Honestly, the worst part was the prep...you do spend some time in the bathroom and are pretty dehydrated before the procedure so that could affect nursing too.
I was definitely groggy after the procedure and got to go home and sleep it off - is it weird to say it was actually kind of nice? We had family in town so DS was more than occupied and it was the first break I'd had in a while. I hope all goes well for you!
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
I had surgery 10 weeks PP and the anesthesiologist and nurses recommended I pump and dump.
However, my OB said that was outdated advice. She said I was getting Propofol (probably what you're getting, too) and it would be out of my system really quickly. I called the lactation help line at a nearby hospital and they told me that when i felt alert, I could breastfeed again. I felt normal within about 15 min. They had some manual they compared everything to.
So yeah. Did not pump and dump:
http://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/meds/sedation/
cantaloupe / 6206 posts
@travelgirl1: Yeah - she'd been in daycare since she was 14 weeks so she did fine.
grapefruit / 4455 posts
I wasn't bf'ing but we were ttc, so I asked about how long it took to get the drugs out of my system and was advised about a day, in line with what I see others have also wrote.
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
@MoreCoffee: "some time in the bathroom" is putting it mildly, LOLOL. I had one about 7 years ago 
cantaloupe / 6630 posts
@MoreCoffee: I've had two before, both were really painful as apparently I am a weird shape down there, lol!
@blackbird: the reading I have done today suggests that you can nurse when you feel alert too. I'm hoping I can get a LC to tell me the same as 24 hours without nursing is a long time, even with pumping and dumping.
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
@travelgirl1: Yeah, that's what I went with 
Honestly, I didn't even feed T until I was all the way home, so it had been awhile since it had worn off. 24 hours is just...yuck. No.
cherry / 121 posts
I had a colonoscopy 16 weeks PP and was told to pump and dump... but I wasn't breastfeeding so it was a non-issue. Hope the prep goes well, that's the worst part for sure.
apricot / 320 posts
@blackbird: I don't want to scare her! I did mine the night before and basically slept in the bathroom.
cantaloupe / 6630 posts
@MtnBiker: yep, the prep sucks. Last time it tasted like sugar and cigarette smoke, yuk!
So I also texted a mum friend I have who is an anesthetist. She said there is no need to pump and dump, that the amount of sedative in the milk will be minimal and that women have general anesthetic and breastfeed too! She said the 24 hour rule was outdated! I will speak to MotherRisk and a LC too but this gives me hope!
apricot / 320 posts
@travelgirl1: Then you are an old pro. I hope it goes better this time!
cantaloupe / 6630 posts
Just coming back to update in case anyone else googles this later.
I had propofol so was asleep (bloody lovely after a sleepless night with the baby) and both MotherRisk and the anaesthetist said I could breastfeed again right away.
MotherRisk said the other drugs commonly used for colonoscopy (fentanyl and versed) would also have been safe for breastfeeding. They said anything under 10% getting into the milk, they class as safe.
And, my results were all clear 
pomegranate / 3858 posts
@travelgirl1: Oh, I'm so glad everything's clear, and you got the added "bonus" of sleep!
cantaloupe / 6630 posts
@LovelyPlum: @2littlepumpkins: @tinyperson: Thanks guys 
My supply is time today but was low yesterday during the prep. I did end up giving T a bottle last night that I had pumped the day before to try fill him, but he ended up wanting to nurse all night so probably helped my supply (although I wasn't too grateful for it at 3am )
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