Re: Pregnancy, breastfeeding and LDN(Katrina)

[Guest guest]

Hi Katrina,

Just popped into read the post topics to scan posts that were of interest of me (don't get time to read them all anymore with a baby now) and your post was of great interest to me.

When I was pregnant I came here alot trying to find anyone who was going to breastfeed and take LDN and couldn't find anyone and found very little information on the topic even though I searched so many forums and talked to so many poeple. I gave up LDN when I found out I was pregnant at 6 weeks gestation as didn't think it would be safe to continue it during pregnancy and in the end I decided I wouldn't use it postpartum either until I stopped breastfeeding. My baby girl - Ava is now four months and I'm still breastfeeding and with no relapse thank god. Maybe I'm just lucky , I did real well in pregnancy which happened for many with the hormones and then postpartum I was on a high pretty much for the first ten weeks too and then things caught up with me. I thought I may get a relapse but thank god I kept things at bay and I put it down to being as strict as possible on the Best Bet Diet (http://www.ms-diet.org) and also the supplements I take. I did reduce my intake of a number of supplements during pregnancy when I researched it but most I could continue to taking..most importantly I took lots of omega three( i swear by Eskimo 3 oils) and zinc and B complex and then I took a multi-vitamin to keep vitamins in balance. I also took calcium and probiotics(acidophilus) . Postpartum I stuck to the same routine and around a month ago I found a great company in London called Zita West who specialise in supplemetns for pregnancy and breastfeeding, I found out this through a Nutritionist and was delighted cause they have a supplement called Revital Essence which has the max of all vitamins plus ginseng which is totally safe in breastfeeding and since I 've been taking it I've got a further boost. There website is at http://www.zitawest.co.uk if anyone interested. I'm even thinking of continuing this product after I finish breastfeeding as it has alot of the nutrients at doses close to that advised on the Best Bet Diet and i can top up the remainder with a seperate products.

I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad relapse and after reading your story I wonder does LDN postpartum cause more damage then good when taken too soon after the birth as I have another friend who started taking LDN a few days after the birth of her second child and she had an awful time and ended up having a very bad relapse too. Maybe you and her were just going to relapse anyway but in a way now I'm glad I decided not to go on LDN postpartum till I'm finished breastfeeding. I'm going leaving well alone till I'm happy to finish breastfeeding. One other thing did you find out from someone that LDN was safe in breastfeeding and what sort of research then they do in Stanford, I never heard on it and I searched everywhere..is it on PubMed? I couldn't find much info on this , I was talking to Dr. Gluck who works with Dr. Bihari and also talked with Dr. Lawrence and other friends who'd know alot on LDN like myself and no one could guarantee it was safe. I was told that the best way would be to take it at night after I fed baby around 9pm , then pump for next few feeds until around 4 am at which stage it should be gone form my breastmilk and I could feed by breast again till following night. This would not have worked for me an dI doubt many women since baby feeds so regularly first few weeks that pumping for that many feeds at night would probably disturb my milk supply and then end up engorged for the hours I wasn't feeding. I could do it now seeing that my baby goes most nights from around 8pm till 3 - 4am but it's not always guaranteed as sometimes she wakes earlier. I can't wait to get back on LDN though when I'm ready and will look forward to it when that time comes.

anyway it was nice finding someone who'd gone through alot of what I have the last while. Having a baby with MS is very hard isn't it? I never ever thought I would be this tired. Most days I don't get much break but then again I'm very stubborn and there's so much I push myself to do for my baby..like any Mum I just want the best for her. She was born 5 weeks premature and weighed 5lb 10oz she's now 4 months and 14lb's and is really thriving. Breastfeeding really helped her come along. I also discovered cloth nappies which I find fantastic. I sue these pocket nappies(so differetn to the cloths in my mothers day) they come in all different colours and are washed at 60 degrees in washing machine..I also use washable wipes and my own wipe solution and Ava has never had a nappy rash. sorry for going off topic but thought if you didn't know about the cloth nappies now adays you may be interested. They are a godsent for night time as are so absorbant, actually I rarely have leaks ever day and night and disposables used drive us cracked that way. I'm happy I'm using something more natural on my baby and being more environmentalyl friendly , plus we are saving so much money this way :) We use mainly Wonderoo and Fuzzi Bunz nappies, have a look on google for them and you'll be surprised at how nice they look and how easy to use. Most nappies I have should do my daughter till she's around 32lb's some last till 25lb, depend on brand but it's great as we have same size for probably a year or so.

Anyway nice meeting you. Hope you are doing well now!

Take care

http://edwina.sail.to

Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 15:37:12 -0000

From: "katrinaarchibald" <katrinaarchibald@...>

Subject: Re: Pregnancy and LDN

I'm probably the best one to answer this question. I've been on LDN

since 2002. Became pregnant in 2004 and stopped taking LDN after the

first trimester because everything you take freaks you out especially

when you have everyone telling you you're doing your baby harm. I had

Holden in September - started back on LDN and within two months had

the worst attack of my MS career. Actually, I'm just now recovering a

bit. I have been breastfeeding and taking LDN at 4.5 then 3.0. then

6.0 then 2.5 and now finally I have settled on 1.5 (it seems to be

working). My disease has most definitly progressed; I assume because

I could not get the right dose. Either way, I'm out of the chair and

using a cane. Hopefully will be able to get some muscle back and keep

improving. My son is eight months old and about 27 lbs. He's as

smart as a whip, as big as a tank, and has the most beautiful soul I

have ever met. I know in my heart I have not hurt him by taking LDN

while breast feeding. Actually I believe we were blessed to have had

the opprotunity to spend every hour together because of my illness.

So basically, do whatever your heart tells you to do. Good Luck,

Katrina P.S. I had my baby at Stanford and the research there found

no contraindications of 4.5 mg of naltrexone and pregnancy.