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Lyme's Treatment and Relactation

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  • Lyme's Treatment and Relactation

    I was diagnosed with Lyme's disease about a year ago. I was pregnant at the time and had the bacteria in my system for years before, so my doctors decided not to treat me and told me to come back when I wasn't pregnant and done nursing. Three weeks postpartum l developed neuro-Lyme (the bacteria spread to my brain and was affecting my cognition greatly). I was put on an aggressive regime of antibiotics and told I had to stop nursing if I wanted to be treated. I managed to push through those first few weeks and feel a lot better now, although I still have some die-off symptoms and get feverish some nights.
    My family has a history of food allergies, including dairy, gluten, and soy, so I have been avide about breastfeeding and not using formula. The nursing moms at my church have been donating breast milk to us, but I still have 2 months of treatment. I started researching breastfeeding and Lyme's disease and found that it is generally considered safe once I have started antibiotics. However, I cannot obtain a definitive answer whether or not the meds I am on are safe for breastfeeding. I am assuming my doctor said it wasn't safe because there is not a lot of research on the meds he prescribed.
    I have been taking omnicif 300mg 2x a day, azithromycin 250 mg 1x a day, and fluconazole 100mg 2x a week. **I am stopping fluconazole as it was too hard on my liver, so it would just be the two antibiotics. My son is 2 and 1/2 months old.
    Are these meds okay for a few months, a few weeks?
    If I cannot switch medication, could I nurse on this medication for 2 months?
    I almost dried up, so for the first week he wouldn't be getting too much milk from me.

  • #2
    Happymommy, thanks for posting,

    I spoke with Dr Hale about using these medications long term and he believes it is probably ok.

    Omnicef is given an L1 rating-safest. Milk levels are virtually undetectable. We recommend observing the infant for vomiting, diarrhea, rash, thrush and changes in the gastrointestinal flora.

    Azithromycin is given an L2 rating-safer. Only 5.9% of your dose transfers into the breast milk. The predicted daily dose of azithromycin to a breastfed infant is around 0.4 mg/kg/day (therapeutic level is 5.0 mg/kg/day). This level of exposure is probably not clinically relevant. We recommend observing the infant for vomiting, diarrhea, rash, thrush and changes in the gastrointestinal flora.

    If you and your Dr are concerned about the amount of medication the infant would receive, or about possible side effects you could try breastfeeding every other feeding and supplementing the other feedings and see how the infant tolerates the medication, if the infant is not symptomatic you could slowly increase to full breastfeeding as an option.

    I hope this helps, if you have any other questions please call the InfantRisk Center at 806-352-2519. Thanks.

    Sandra Lovato R.N.
    InfantRisk Center

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