Those who have taken fenugreek

ohashlet · August 2011

How long until you noticed a difference in supply?

LemonBlush · August 2011

It didnt work for me. Are you worried about your supply right now though?

ohashlet · August 2011

He's not gaining weight, isn't satisfied after eating, wants to eat for hours. Yesterday I nursed from 1:45 (when I got home from the LC) to almost 6, straight.I was glad for the stimulation on the breast but he's obviously hungry.

They have me taking a Mother Love fenugreek tincture plus Mothers Milk Tea and pumping to try and up my supply.

boxermama24 · August 2011

I haven't been there yet, but domperidone, fenugreek, blessed thistle, and eating oatmeal at least 3 times a week have all shown improvements in milk supply.

ToshaGirl · August 2011

It didn't work for me really, only the domperidone did.

ohashlet · August 2011

The tincture is a combination of fenugreek, blessed thistle and like 5 other things. I'm eating oatmeal, drinking a ton of water. I won't think about the domperidone until this doesn't work.

mrs_kelly1014 · August 2011

I took 6 pills of Fenugreek (but I can't remember if I did that once or twice a day). I would say that it took about 2 days before I started to see an increase in supply.

mrs_kelly1014 · August 2011

Also, Reglan worked really well to boost my supply. It probably doubled it (but I had a crap supply to begin with). I never did try Doperidom since my OB prescribed the Reglan, but it was a huge improvement in production.

Emie28 · August 2011

I tried everything listed above to help my supply and none of it worked except the domperidone. I wouldn't still be nursing today without it. I didn't even have to take it for long, just a 30 day supply boosted my supply and it stuck.

fabbate13 · August 2011

I took Gaia (brand) Lactate Support and noticed a difference within about a week. I really liked it. I only stopped taking it because I was preparing to donate milk and you couldn't be on any supplements.

Much later, like a month or so ago I started taking just plain fenugreek and broke out in a rash.

magdalina.h · August 2011

24 hours

ETA: I had to post my first reply because my boss was walking by. I took a total of 9 capsules a day and noticed an increase the next day. I kept taking them for a couple of weeks until I felt my supply was up and stable. I also ate oatmeal like it was going out of style.

ohashlet · August 2011

I guess I'm just more aimed towards establishing a good supply, he's only 3 weeks old. The dop seems like a last resort for everyone. Maybe I'm wrong?

ConnieRob · August 2011

I took fenugreek pills from GNC and drank fenugreek tea that a friend had given me (in a cute little breasfeeding gift pack). It did take a few days for it to start working though.

Good luck!

Mrs_Liberto · August 2011

Not to downplay your worries about supply, but it's possible that he's just going through a growth spurt (there's a big one around 3 weeks) and is still getting enough due to more frequent nursing sessions.

https://kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurt.html

Obviously I have never been there but I seem to remember SIL having this same issue w/ my nephew right around 3 weeks as well. He wanted to do nothing else except nurse.

ohashlet · August 2011

Hey Lib, the problem isn't the constant nursing (IMO I'm home all day and don't mind nursing him), it's that he's not growing. He just made it back to birth weight this week and weighed 2 ounces less yesterday on two different scales than the he on Tuesday.

Combined with his diarrhea (green, mucusy, nearly every half hour all day and night) something is clearly off somewhere in the supply line.

I wish it was a growth spurt but I really don't think it is.

magdalina.h · August 2011

Lucas had an awful time gaining weight and still does. I was going to BF support group until I decided to just EP. I would weigh him before I nursed him and then after. He was only getting 3oz max, but usually around 1.5-2oz. I stopped nursing him because of his inability to latch correctly and I was in so much pain even at 13w.

Didn't you think you had an oversupply and that's why he has green mucusy poop? Have you tried pumping a little bit before nursing him to get some of the foremilk out so he can have more hindmilk?

ohashlet · August 2011

Mags, I don't know. Honestly, this whole thing is stupid confusing. I am certain I do not have oversupply. I'm rarely engorged, don't spray milk, he doesn't sputter or choke or break latch while eating. His poop indicates that the food is moving through him too quickly, and in essence he has calories in his diaper instead of his tummy (ew, but true).

I just pumped for 45 minutes and got an ounce which to my understanding is about normal and not an oversupply so I don't think pumping before latching woul help.

Mrs_Liberto · August 2011

I'm sorry. I keep Googling for answers or anything that would be helpful and I'm not finding anything.

magdalina.h · August 2011

It really really is stupid confusing! Lucas always pooped 20 minutest after he got done eating and it took until he started really gaining to weight to stop doing that. could you pump after nursing him? I know it sucks to do that because you nurse for hours on end and then get attached to a machine and then nurse again for hours on end.

andrew's wifey · August 2011

ohashlet:
Combined with his diarrhea (green, mucusy, nearly every half hour all day and night) something is clearly off somewhere in the supply line.
I wish it was a growth spurt but I really don't think it is.

Have you read this poo article? https://drjaygordon.com/pediatricks/general/poop.html

Is there any way he could have picked up some kind of virus?

ohashlet · August 2011

andrew's wifey:
ohashlet:
Combined with his diarrhea (green, mucusy, nearly every half hour all day and night) something is clearly off somewhere in the supply line.
I wish it was a growth spurt but I really don't think it is.
Have you read this poo article? https://drjaygordon.com/pediatricks/general/poop.html
Is there any way he could have picked up some kind of virus?

That's what the pedi we saw thinks but I'm not convinced. For one, we're not sick and we've really been at home for the last 2 weeks without visitors. The green mucusy poop has been going on since last Friday, so a week seems kind of long for this.

I don't know if that would cause his weight loss / slow gain.

horizon1322 · August 2011

We went through this exact same thing. He had plenty of wet and poopy diapers, but he would not gain weight. I took 9 pills of Fenugreek a day, pumped after every feeding, did everything the LC and my LLL leader suggested. At a month, we had to add formula supplements because I just cannot produce enough milk. It's hard, but it's not the end of the world if you aren't able to exclusively breastfeed (not that you won't be able to, but just to reassure you if you do end up needing to supplement).

I honestly didn't see much of an increase in supply with the domperidone. Granted, I'm just going off of pumping, but I never was able to pump more when I was taking it, so after 2 months, I decided to not spend the money anymore. However, I have seen a decrease in pumping output since I ran out of Fenugreek, even though I'm taking the More Milk Plus still. Thankfully, my Fenugreek came in the mail today so I'll see in a couple of days whether the lack of Fenugreek is the reason for my drop in pumping output or if it's just a coincidence.

Hang in there! No matter what, I know you'll do what you need to do to feed your child.

ETA: And we had the green poops, too. The LC originally thought I had oversupply and prescribed block feeding, which was a big mistake in retrospect.

jkish22 · August 2011

I just started taking Fenugreek yesterday and so far I am not sure I have seen a change yet, maybe a tiny bit.

andrew's wifey · August 2011

ohashlet:
andrew's wifey:
ohashlet:
Combined with his diarrhea (green, mucusy, nearly every half hour all day and night) something is clearly off somewhere in the supply line.
I wish it was a growth spurt but I really don't think it is.
Have you read this poo article? https://drjaygordon.com/pediatricks/general/poop.html
Is there any way he could have picked up some kind of virus?

That's what the pedi we saw thinks but I'm not convinced. For one, we're not sick and we've really been at home for the last 2 weeks without visitors. The green mucusy poop has been going on since last Friday, so a week seems kind of long for this.
I don't know if that would cause his weight loss / slow gain.

If it's a sign of malabsorbtion, it would have a lot to do with weight loss/slow gain.

mmkaye · August 2011

I am taking 4 pills four times a day of fenugreek and 3 pills 3 times a day of blessed thistle. I noticed an improvement within 2-3 days of starting it and within a week my milk supply had increased quite a bit. I had gotten mastitis and was having to give at least a bottle of formula a day and by the end of the week on them, I was back to only breast milk and even pumping a small amount extra.

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