Home Forums Induced Lactation aka Adoptive Breastfeeding Medical Interventions to Induce Lactation/Increase Milk Supply Breakthrough

I'm starting week 7 of the regular protocol, dom & Yasmin. I was diagnosed early menopause over yr ago, and started with some bleeding that has now lasted 9 days. I understand from some posts occasional 3-4 day is not uncommon. Is this long normal. It never was for me.

Any thoughts?
Thanks
Laura

its my understanding .. Lenore bleed on and off through the entire protocol last time. I don't think its real uncommon.

It was common for me, especially towards the end. My bleeding was pretty light, though, until the end, also.
DawnL in WA

I have had absolutely no bleeding at all for the last 6.5 months, except for 3 days when I switched from the Diane to the Yasmin. But as the others have said, bleeding is quite common during the protocols. It does seem that if it is 9 days of heavy period like bleeding, you should e-mail Lenore just to make sure it is ok. take care, Cathy

Hi Ladies,

Well this varies from individual to individual. In my case I've been bleeding on and off since day 20 on the Regular Protocol. I have fibroids and tend to have breakthrough bleeding anyway. Last time on the protocols I bled all the way through until I stopped the birth control pill portion of the protocols and started pumping, about 5 months.

On Saturday I increased the domperidone from 10 mg 4 times per day to 20 mg 4 times per day and noticed an increased amount of breakthrough bleeding that corresponded with the increased prolactin due to the domperidone.

Then I was a really bad girl and checked my breasts. I am able to express one clear drop from each. I promptly soaked a tampon. This was most likely due to the oxytocin that is released from the pituitary in response to nipple stimulation. When I felt my uterus contract I went to check things out in the bathroom...sorry if this is too graphic for some...but as the resident guinea pig...all bets are off. I'm here to tell it all.

Ok, so I went to check, this was before bed, passed a clot the size of a quarter and the tampon was soaked. I replaced the tampon and it was fine. Didn't need another change until the next morning.

So, I'm going to take my own advice and leave my breasts alone until it's time to pump. I'm also scheduled for a visit to the Thrombosis clinic because I'm 43 and on the birth control pill. I have to do quite a bit of flying back and forth to see our wonderful surrogate mom and the baby and so I want to be sure that all is well.

I've also scheduled an appointment with my MD to check that fibroid. It may very well have to come out if it causes any more trouble. This would be my 6th fibroid operation. I am inclined to leave things as is since I'll be going through menopause soon but not if it's going to cause me all sorts of pain and suffering.

So there you have it. If your bleeding is just spotting, it's a rather inconvenient side effect that may or may not continue all through your time on the protocols. If you're soaking a tampon every hour on the hour...please see your MD ASAP.

Ok so having said all that you may ask is it worth it? Well I can tell you that any time my son has the sniffles I have peace of mind because he was breastfed. I know that no matter what may happen to him in life, I did my absolute best to give him the best possible start. My new baby deserves no less than the best either.

If I were in the position where I had no choice but to formula feed my child I would forever worry about every sniffle and every stomach ache and kick myself and say, darn, I wish I could have breastfed. Thank goodness for Dr. Newman and his protocols. We now have the same opportunity to breastfeed our babies with our own milk supplies as that of biological birth mothers. Halleluiah!!

Fondly,

Hi Lenore,
Yes I agree it will be worth it to breastfeed our babies. I was fortunate that although my son was fed formula,,,he never once had an ear infection and was very healthly and rarely sick. He had perfect attendance 4 years in a row in school. It just depends on the kid also. I am wondering why I am not having any bleeding at all...I seem to be one of the lucky ones.
Good news,,,I went to the Guatemalan Embassy in Wasington D.C.,,took several hours to get there and I finally got my dossier back from them after six weeks! Now all I have to do is mail everything in and in a week or so I should have my referral of a newborn girl! Yeah! Now, the 4 month wait until she is ready to come home. Yuk!
Thanks for sharing your experience with us Lenore...Cathy

Hey Cathy,

This is great news!!! Your daughter is almost home.

I hope you don't feel left out of all this bleeding and such. Consider yourself LUCKY. Most of the moms we've worked with experience "something" but a lot of moms don't experience any symptoms except being able to bring in a milk supply. I don't think Dawn had any bleeding did you Dawn? I don't think she had much in the way of breast changes either but here she is, pumping a full milk supply. If I could get away without any symptoms, great, but even if I didn't do the protocols, just the action of breastfeeding would be enough to send my uterus into fits. So if it's going to misbehave anyway, it might as well do so with breasts full of milk LOL.

Hang in there. Looks like we'll be expecting our little ones at around the same time. We're due about a month after your baby comes home.

Fondly,

Lenore,
I do feel lucky to not have all that spotting etc...I know our babies will both be with us around the same time. I would love to go to Canada and have them meet each other.
I will let you know how the pumping goes, I will start in a couple of weeks. Thanks, Cathy

Cathy, you are most welcome anytime dear friend. I'm actually going to be in Texas when the baby is born and then Florida. I only plan to be back in Montreal sometime in December depending on how the finalization of parental rights goes. Are you near Texas? Florida?

Fondly,

Cathy, I am so excited that they finally finished that darn paperwork! I can't believe you had to actually go there to get it!

And Lenore, I did have breakthrough bleeding. It's not fun! It wasn't bad until the end. I had a couple of heavy days, were it was more like a period, but mostly just light, breakthrough bleeding. That's why I quit the protocols a week earlier then I intended. It was heavy enough that I thought it was my body telling me it was time to stop, and I figured a week wasn't going to change anything. Mostly it was light, though, and would go for maybe three days at a time, then taper off again.

I'm so excited for everyone, that it looks like a lot of us will have our babies soon!
DawnL in Wa