ritilin

[samsmom]

Hi
I am taking 10 mg of ritliln. I know it would be best to feed after 4 hours, however is there more risk of the baby receiving more of my dose 30 min to an hour after I take it or at 3 hours and 15-30 minutes?
2. When you say there were no adverse effects noted in the infants studied, how old were the infants? what did they weigh? when were the doses of ritalin administrated? Is there anywhere I can read these studies?
Thank you again
Best

[admin]

Dear Samsmom

The time when Methylphenidate (Ritalin) concentration would be the highest in your breastmilk is the first three hours after your dose. When the drug's concentration is highest in your plasma, it is more likely to pass into breast milk, hence we suggest you try avoiding that time frame. By 4 hours, half of that medication would be cleared from your system, hence lesser amounts will pass from plasma to milk.

Below is a list of references of studies done on breastfeeding mothers using Methylphenidate (Ritalin),

1-Hackett LP, Ilett KF, Kristensen JH, Kohan R, Hale TW. Infant dose and safety of breastfeeding for dexamphetamine and methylphenidate in mothers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Proceedings of the 9th International Congress of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Clinical Toxicology, Louisville, USA, April 23-28, 2005, Therapeutic Drug Monitoring 2005; 27:220. (Abstract # 40).

2-Spigset O, Brede WR, Zahlsen K. Excretion of methylphenidate in Breast Milk. Am J Psychiatry 2007; 164(2):348.

3-Hackett LP, Kristensen JH, Hale TW, Paterson R, Ilett, KF. Methylphenidate and Breast-Feeding. Ann Pharmacother 2006; 40(10):1890-1891.

Hope this helps!

Tassneem Abdel Karim MD
InfantRisk Center