For the last month I've been having a weird flash of light on the left side of my vision in my left eye. I had my eyes checked & they're fine, so I went to my PCP & she wants me to have an MRI of my head with the contrast dye.
When I called the hospital to schedule, I mentioned that I'm nursing & asked how that would work. They told me that I would have to pump enough to feed him for 3 days & also pump & dump for 3 days because that's how long the dye would take to get out of my system.
DS still nurses all day long & barely has any solids, so it's still his main source of food. Plus he nurses to sleep for all of his naps & to go to bed as well as several times throughout the night on many nights. He used to take bottles when he was in daycare from 2mos-4mos & will occasionally take a bottle now if my mom watches him for a couple of hours, but he's really doesn't eat great from them. Plus he's a huge comfort nurser.
I'm really nervous to have this done because once I do it, I CAN'T nurse him for those 3 days at least (and I want to do more research on this to make sure that 3 days is long enough). What if he's inconsolable & feels like I refuse to comfort him? He can't understand "Mommy can't for 3 days, honey, but then things will go back to normal." What if those three days pass & he no longer wants to nurse?
I'm just really nervous here & am dreading thinking of 3 days without nursing my son. I don't want to see him so upset & have him feel like mommy won't help him. Yet my doctor really wants this MRI done to rule out something major, like a brain tumor.
Anyone have any experience with something like this or have any suggestions?
Re: How can I make this as easy as possible on DS?
I've learned that the scheduling people sometimes d on't have the correct information. I would check with an LC or your pedi. But it looks like if I'm reading it correctly it won't be a problem at all
https://www.kellymom.com/store/handouts/concerns/contrast-media.pdf
I would call and get the name of the dye they are using and then do some research. One of your local La Leche League leaders should have a book with what meds are safe.
Many hospitals use the 3 day rule as a CYA kind of thing. There may also be alternative dyes that are breastfeeding safe.
I have no personal experience with this but have read of other people having the same situation.
https://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/index.html
If you get the name of the med you can look it up there as a place to start.
HTH
This might be a good place to start, but that pamphlet is specifically referring to oral contrast, which is used for checking the digestive tract.
OP, check with your MD to see whether you'll be getting oral or injectable contrast. IIRC, the injected kind takes longer to get out of your system (I just had one of those last week and they joked that I was going to glow in the dark for 24 hrs).
Maybe this might help:
https://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/radioisotopes.html
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that I'd be getting an IV of the dye. Or that's what I assumed anyway. I'm going to call tomorrow to find out for sure & find out what the specific drug is.
I'll also check with OB, pedi & pharmacist.