BFing and Surgery

[kristenk]

I'm going to have surgery on my nose/sinuses on Thursday and need some advice. DD is almost 9 months old, will take a bottle, and really enjoys solids (as long as you stick to fruits, cereals, and non-green veggies, that is!). I've been working on a freezer stash of EBM and I know that I'll have enough to make it through the day of surgery for her but not much longer than that.

I've tried to check my post-op prescriptions against a list I found on Kellymom.com, but I couldn't find all of them (there are 3)- especially after the pharmacy went through and exchanged them for their generic versions. I printed out the list and took it with me to my pre-op appointment, and the doctor changed my pain med from Vicodin to Darvocet b/c the list showed that Darvocet is safer. I'm hoping to rely on Tylenol instead of the prescription med for most of the day at least, but I think that I may take the more heavy-duty one at night. Enough rambling...

Anyway, does anyone know where a comprehensive list of nursing-compatible meds is? Also, I'm planning on exclusively pumping for the first few days after surgery to avoid flailing arms, and does anyone know how I should time pumping and taking my meds? I'm guessing I should pump right before I take meds to minimize the amount that DD gets. Is that right? I'm just getting nervous about the surgery and I'm trying to make sure that I have an idea of what I should do about pumping, etc.

[psophia17]

hen DS was 4 months, I had an emergency appendectomy.

I didn't have any EBM at all, and was on morphine, so BF was out of the question. While in the hospital, he got formula and I pumped and dumped, but once he saw me at home, he refused the bottle (no matter what was in it).

Except for when I was on the morphine, I only used Advil for pain, just like I did after my C-section 4 months earlier. While in the hospital for the C-section, I was alternately given Percoset(sp) and Advil, so I figured those are all okay for while BF.

Sorry I couldn't be more help with facts, hopefully someone out there has them for you.

Recover quickly!

[missym]

Of course you should do what you think is best, but neither general anesthesia nor morphine would contraindicate breastfeeding (see links below).

I had surgery when DD was 5 months and breastfed as soon as I felt up to it. I was given morphine immediately after the surgery but switched to Vicodin because the morphine was making me sick. I did pump twice in the hospital when DD was at home, but I'm glad I decided to breastfeed when she was there because it was calming for both of us.

I had another surgery when she was 13 months and again breastfed as soon as I was awake enough to hold her. Both times, I took Vicodin for several days to help with pain. We noticed no effects on our DD at all.

Here are a few helpful links I found when researching this subject prior to my surgeries:
http://www.perinatology.com/exposures/druglist.htm
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20010701/119.html
http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/Profs/PUa.../lactation.htm

Good luck with your surgery! I had sinus surgery as a child, and it's no picnic but the results are SO worth it.

Missy, mom to Gwen 03/03

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbo...merald_18m.gif
20 months and counting!

ETA: I have a bunch of other links I can send if you're interested. I really over-research things! ;)

[caheinz]

Yikes -- I had sinus/nose surgery maybe 8 years ago. Cleaned out my sinuses, and fixed a deviated septum. Didn't think recovery would be that bad... well, it was... (I didn't understand why it would take more than a few days...) The deviated septum was pretty bad. Felt like someone had broken my nose, and, well, that's probably what they had to do to fix it!

Anyways... Thomas Hale's Medications and Mother's Milk is the most up-to-date and complete list of medications. I don't have a copy, but maybe someone here does and can look things up for you?

His web site is here: http://neonatal.ama.ttuhsc.edu/lact/

The forums there contain a lot of information, but there are some meds that are only in the book. You can't post in the forums unless you're a medical professional, but you might be able to find what you're looking for!

Good luck!!!!

[kristenk]

Oh, dear! That's what I'm having done. As it gets closer and closer to surgery, I'm sort of thinking that it would be a lot easier to do the surgery next summer. Too bad it's scheduled for tomorrow morning! Do you remember how long your recovery took?

[caheinz]

Hope it went well! Sorry I didn't see your post last night -- I'm fighting a nasty bug this week, and have been going to bed early!

I think it was pretty much right what they told me, but I don't remember what that was. Two weeks? Six weeks? Whatever it was sounded like longer than it should be, but it turned out to be right!

On the bright side, it did bring a dramatic improvement to my general state of health. Prior to the surgery, I was getting bronchitis multiple times a year (like 4-6!). After, I'm not sure I've had it yet! I'm still a little prone to sinus infections, but not as bad as it was!