RAI and breastfeeding- Sharyn

December 28, 2002

Sharyn,

I must admit I have only read 's response to you- and I haven't

gone back to read your original post- but I think I have some info

that may be of interest to you and others on the site.

I had my TT last March, just one month after the birth of my second

son, and the dx was pap cancer. I was told that I would need RAI

within 6 weeks, and that I should stop breastfeeding ASAP. I too

read about breast uptake of RAI- and found varying opinions and

experiences with cessation of nursing prior to RAI. With my first

son, I had nursed for 15 months- and I recall that I could still

express milk 6 months later. So six weeks didn't seem like much time

to dry up!

I am hesitant to recommend anything since I am certainly not a doctor-

but I can tell you what my doctors did for me. My surgeon and endo

suggested that I take a drug called bromocriptine. It used to be

prescribed to " dry up " women who chose not to breastfeed. It is not

prescribed for that anymore, given the SMALL chance of side effects

like high blood pressure and seizures (I think). However, I am young

(33) and in very good health (other than the thyca!), and my docs

felt that taking bromocriptine was a good choice for me.

What a wonder drug for me. I was dried up in about three days!

Apparently it works by blocking prolactin production. So any milk

you have in the breasts can be expressed, and the body will not

produce any more milk. Thus- you dry up. I took bromocriptine for

two weeks prior to my RAI, and my scans post treatment showed no

unusual uptake of RAI in my breasts. I also had no pain in the

breast after treatment (which I believe some recently lactating women

have had with RAI). The only side effect from the drug for me was a

bit of dizziness. The hard part was weaning- which I hated. I

really wanted to nurse my son, but at least I got two months worth in

him.

Hope this info helps- at least suggest it to your docs. It might not

work for everyone- and your docs may disagree with mine- but for my

particular situation, I feel it worked for me- and I was glad to have

had this site so I at least knew to discuss the problem with my

docs. I was the first lactating thyca patient they had encountered!

)

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