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Abilify Blood and/or Milk Test?

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  • Abilify Blood and/or Milk Test?

    Hello,

    I am currently taking Zoloft 150mg for postpartum depression that initially presented during my third trimester. Just following the birth of my son, the reproductive psychiatrist whose care I am under prescribed a very low dose of Abilify (1 to 2mg) that I took for 17 days (date of last dose was 12/18/2017). I have been pumping and dumping my milk since the beginning of December, as the pediatrician (and myself as well) are not comfortable with me breastfeeding on this aforementioned medication. This is, in part, due to the fact that my son was born at 37 weeks gestation and had a brief stay in the NICU where he experienced difficulty regulating body temperature and coordinating the sucking while breathing. As a result, he experienced several brief episodes involving oxygen desaturation; however, none of the episodes qualified as "apnea" and they resolved after the first week of life. He is 6 weeks old and has exhibited no issues since discharge.

    I plan to obtain a blood test to determine if the medication (aripiprazole) and the active metabolite (dehydroaripiprazole) remain in my system at all, as the half lives seem to have a very wide range (e.g., 74 to 165 hours) depending on various factors. I have two questions:

    1) If the results from the blood test come back with undetectable levels in my plasma/serum, can I assume that since the medication and its active metabolite are not in my blood that they are also NOT currently in my breastmilk? Or, is it possible for medicines to be stored in areas of the body (e.g., fat cells) other than the blood stream and therefore pass into the breastmilk?

    2) Do you know of any labs that are capable of testing breast milk for the presence of specified medications? My lactation consultant and pediatrician stated that this would be the most direct way to determine whether the medication was present in any capacity before I attempt to begin nursing again.

    Thank you very much for your time and attention to my inquiry.
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