2 month old EBF baby and XR Adderall

[Danach09]

Hello,

I recently met with my physician and he felt that the benefits of me starting Adderall 20 mg XR again would outweigh the risks posed to my 2 month old EBF daughter. I took the medication yesterday and today and have not noticed any issues.

I am very concerned about taking this while breastfeeding. Do you think that taking the IR instead of the XR would be better? She is feeding every 3-4 hours, so how would you suggest I dose the medication. Do you feel it is safe to take the medication?

Thanks!

[admin]

Dear Danach09,

Dextroamphetamine (Adderall) apparently transfers into milk avidly. Of the 6 infants studied thus far, no untoward effects have been reported in any infant. Nevertheless, monitor your infant for agitation, and poor weight gain. With continuous release formulations, plasma levels are virtually identical to the twice daily dosing system. Thus if a patient is using XR 20 mg, plasma levels are identical to the 10 mg twice daily.

Take the medication when you are done with the feeding, that way when it is time to feed the infant again lesser amounts are going to be in your system. This medication reaches its maximum levels in your system 1-2 hours after you take it.

Tassneem Abdel Karim, MD
InfantRisk Center