Success W/post-Op Breastfeeding

[Singlemama 21]

I know some people have wondered, and I know I was wondering pre-surgery, so I'll put my input and experience out there. I am now 2 1/2 months post-op, 50 pounds lost, and successfully breastfeeding without issue. I don't know if I'm lucky, or if the womans body really is such a wonderful thing, but we've not had any set backs and it's been smooth sailing. That is all :]]

**I know this post only applies to a small number of ladies, but I was looking for a post like this pre-surgery!

[VSG AJH 499]

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience! My youngest will be about 6 months old when I'm planning to have the VSG, and I'm hoping to continue our nursing relationship. His pediatrician supports breastfeeding after surgery, and says I should have no supply issues as long as I'm religious about my Vitamins, Water, and Protein. I'm so pleased to see you were able to continue nursing successfully!

[gamergirl 4,609]

Out of curiosity, how do you get in enough calories to breast feed? Or does it just mean you will lose the weight that much faster?

[VSG AJH 499]

Replying to this thread again because this was a topic I was very interested in pre-op. Just wanted to update that I'm two weeks post-op, and I'm still successfully nursing my six-month-old baby. I cleared my plans in advance with his pediatrician, and I was told that I should have no problem continuing to nurse since my Protein and Fluid levels would be that of (or better than) other nursing moms. I nursed in the hospital parking lot pre-op, then waited 24 hours post-op to let anesthesia totally clear my system. I did take pain meds foo about 4 days when I came home, but I took liquid hydrocodone, the same pain med they sent me home with after my c-section. My PPI (Protonix) is also fine for nursing moms. I noticed about a two-day dip in my supply, but I was constipated at the same time, so maybe a little low on Water. Since, I've been extremely careful to get all of my water in, even if I'm still sipping at bedtime. I take both Multivitamins each day, and I take in 75-100g of protein daily.

[mommyluv6 2]

I too am nursing and plan on nursing after my surgery on 1/14, however my doctor says I can't nurse the day before surgery while doing my bowl prep and I can't for several days after because of dehydration mine and my daughters not because of the meds. Infect he says I have to increase my Water intake for this reason. Did you out your son have any problems with dehydration. I call my daughter the booby monster and think she is going to have a much rougher time then me having to go without.

[VSG AJH 499]

I too am nursing and plan on nursing after my surgery on 1/14, however my doctor says I can't nurse the day before surgery while doing my bowl prep and I can't for several days after because of dehydration mine and my daughters not because of the meds. Infect he says I have to increase my Water intake for this reason. Did you out your son have any problems with dehydration. I call my daughter the booby monster and think she is going to have a much rougher time then me having to go without.

I didn't have to do a bowel prep, and I've had no trouble taking in fluids from immediately post-op, so no, neither of us became dehydrated. (Cold fluids immediately post-op made my stomach cramp up, but I drank a whole lot of broth and warm tea.). He's never stopped having very wet diapers, and he's pooping regularly. I'll be three weeks post-op on Tuesday. Still taking things day-by-day, but so far, so good.

[CrystalW 35]

My son was 19 months old when I had my VSG but he is still a very active nurser. I was able to nurse him within 12 hours of surgery and he did great. I have had no dehydration or supply issues at all. I did a bowel prep (mag citrate) but was never told I couldn't nurse him. For the record, he didn't have any poop issues afterwards.

[mrsbailey921 117]

thank Goodness for this post and all of your experiences, nursing mamas! my little bean will be about 8 months old when I have my VSG, and I am NEUROTIC with anxiety over not being able to breastfeed. I LOVE our time together and can't imagine going 24 whole hours not breastfeeding, let alone even away from her in the hospital. i'm hoping that she is well into her solids journey by surgery time and that a bit of juice, frozen milk (which she doesn't like because she does not like to drink from bottles) and food holds her over while I am away.

i'm trying to prepare myself mentally for the challenge now. my surgeon has been super supportive and said he will do whatever he can to help make my transition back to bf'ing after surgery as smooth and quick as possible. he said he has had one other fully breastfeeding mother undergo VSG and was able to nurse once surgery was over and she was home. he said he is certain that I will be able to maintain supply afterwards despite my weight loss.

I am rooting for myself, because I have lost weight extremely fast (50 lbs in 3 months) in the past while exclusively breastfeeding without any problem to my supply.

my biggest concern once I am home is, what pain medications can I take while breastfeeding her? while pregnant with gallbladder disease a few years ago, I was on Vicodin AND Percocet, (not together but interchangeably) and for a while I was also taking Tylenol 3...trying to figure out something that could help me cope with the pain. the ultimate medication that helped was liquid Demerol. it did not hurt the baby and I was on it for 1 week straight.

i'm hoping to be able to find a pain med that does not interfere with our nursing experience.

again, im thankful to have found this post. any updates are certainly appreciated!

[VSG AJH 499]

thank Goodness for this post and all of your experiences, nursing mamas! my little bean will be about 8 months old when I have my VSG, and I am NEUROTIC with anxiety over not being able to breastfeed. I LOVE our time together and can't imagine going 24 whole hours not breastfeeding, let alone even away from her in the hospital. i'm hoping that she is well into her solids journey by surgery time and that a bit of juice, frozen milk (which she doesn't like because she does not like to drink from bottles) and food holds her over while I am away.

i'm trying to prepare myself mentally for the challenge now. my surgeon has been super supportive and said he will do whatever he can to help make my transition back to bf'ing after surgery as smooth and quick as possible. he said he has had one other fully breastfeeding mother undergo VSG and was able to nurse once surgery was over and she was home. he said he is certain that I will be able to maintain supply afterwards despite my weight loss.

I am rooting for myself, because I have lost weight extremely fast (50 lbs in 3 months) in the past while exclusively breastfeeding without any problem to my supply.

my biggest concern once I am home is, what pain medications can I take while breastfeeding her? while pregnant with gallbladder disease a few years ago, I was on Vicodin AND Percocet, (not together but interchangeably) and for a while I was also taking Tylenol 3...trying to figure out something that could help me cope with the pain. the ultimate medication that helped was liquid Demerol. it did not hurt the baby and I was on it for 1 week straight.

i'm hoping to be able to find a pain med that does not interfere with our nursing experience.

again, im thankful to have found this post. any updates are certainly appreciated!

I'm eleven weeks post-op and still nursing my guy. He doesn't drink juice or Water, anf though he's taking purées twice a day now, he's still nursing several times a day. Still having good let down, and when we've been separated for several hours since surgery, I become engorged and begin to leak. All of that to say, I am having ZERO supply issues, and I honestly believe my milk supply is far better than I've had in my three prior nursing relationships. I believe it's because I'm so focused on water/nutrient/vitamin intake, and I think even with a smaller intake, I'm much more well-nourished now than I've ever been.

I had Demerol injections in the hospital post-op, and I came home on liquid Vicodin, which I didn't need to take as often as prescribed. I had the same medications in the hospital when i had my c-section, so no concerns there. At four days post-op, I switched to regular ol' OTC liquid Tylenol, and I was fine. Verify with your doctor or hospital nurse that whatever you're being prescribed is safe for nursing moms, and you'll be fine.

[mrsbailey921 117]

thank you for your reply VSG! what did your little one's diet look like while you were away for the surgery and hospital recovery? that is another concern I have. being away from her during the surgery and recovery, and even before that happens, being away from her for my sleeping test.. the separation anxiety is overbearing right now, even the 8 hour test has me a bit jittery (im going to go as late as possible and come home as soon as possible lol). I am scheduling my sleeping test until the last possible date also just to give her another month and a half or so to be into her solids journey so daddy can handle her while im away.

what course of action did you take to make the separation easier and keep his diet normal until you returned home?

[VSG AJH 499]

thank you for your reply VSG! what did your little one's diet look like while you were away for the surgery and hospital recovery? that is another concern I have. being away from her during the surgery and recovery, and even before that happens, being away from her for my sleeping test.. the separation anxiety is overbearing right now, even the 8 hour test has me a bit jittery (im going to go as late as possible and come home as soon as possible lol). I am scheduling my sleeping test until the last possible date also just to give her another month and a half or so to be into her solids journey so daddy can handle her while im away.

what course of action did you take to make the separation easier and keep his diet normal until you returned home?

My little guy was five months old when I had surgery, and he was nursing exclusively at that time. To prepare for surgery, I pumped a lot in advance, and I had Dad feed him from a bottle a couple of times in the three months leading up to surgery just to be sure he could/would. He didn't love it, but I knew he could do it. We also had empty syringes on hand from a prior little one who needed supplemental feeding during our nursing relationship, so worst case scenario, I knew Dad could pull those out and dribble milk into his mouth. I also purchased a can of organic formula and put it in the pantry just in case my stay in the hospital was longer than anticipated. My little guy came with me to the hospital, and I nursed him in the car before checking in for my surgery. I nursed him, checked in at 10:00 A.M., had surgery at noon, and was ready to go be dismissed by 8:00 A.M. the next day (though I did wait to leave until a little after noon so Hubs could put our other small ones down for a nap before coming to bring me home).

Since your surgeon is supportive of you nursing post-op, I do not think it entirely unreasonable for you to have your little one brought up to the hospital once you're on the floor and settled, particularly if that makes you feel more comfortable. You could have some gas pain and belly tenderness, but I used a My Brest Friend pillow (well-placed regular pillows would work) or did a side-lying position to nurse comfortably post-op. I will say for myself personally, I was pretty loopy that first day and focused just on drinking and walking. I did not nurse at the hospital, and I felt totally comfortable that my little one was being well cared for at home. By the next day, I was fine physically, and fine to care for my little one. (The lifting restriction prevented me from carrying him around, but someone could hand him to me, and I could take it from there.)

As for your sleeping test, keep in mind that you will really just be away from her for one, maybe two, feedings. Practice now with a bottle or cup so you can feel at ease. My guy is eight months old now, and his eating routine looks like this: nurses at 7:00 A.M., purées at 9:00 A.M., nurses to sleep at 10:00 A.M., nurses at 1:00 P.M., nurses at 4:00 P.M., purées at 6:00 P.M., nurses between 7:00-8:00 P.M. Sleeps through the night. I would like to add more food at lunchtime, maybe a a snack in the afternoon, but he still prefers nursing and would rather I didn't.

I don't recommend necessarily regulating a child's eating schedule, particularly when they're nurslings, but I do encourage you to take note of the schedule your little one has laid out. I'm big on nursing-on-demand, but a couple of children ago (we have six kids), I noticed that my kids really ate at pretty regular and predictable times each and every day. Once I became aware of each baby's habits, I was able to plan and schedule my day accordingly. Maybe if you know the precise times when your baby wants to eat, you can outline those times and feel some measure of control even when you're away.

Edited February 20, 2014 by VSG AJH

[mrsyogid 0]

I'm so happy to see this thread! I'm planning my surgery for when my daughter is 10-12 months old and I would like to continue bfing until she decides to wean. My nutritionist wants me to wean before surgery but I don't think it's necessary. I'll have to do a high Protein liquid diet (one food meal per day) for 4 weeks pre-op. This thread gives me hope!!!

[VSG AJH 499]

I'm so happy to see this thread! I'm planning my surgery for when my daughter is 10-12 months old and I would like to continue bfing until she decides to wean. My nutritionist wants me to wean before surgery but I don't think it's necessary. I'll have to do a high Protein liquid diet (one food meal per day) for 4 weeks pre-op. This thread gives me hope!!!

I'm 6 months post-op tomorrow, and my little guy turns one of the 13th. We're still going strong re: nursing (3-4 times daily, and additional sessions on demand), and have no plans to wean anytime soon. Best of luck!

[Angel444 2]

I'm so happy to see this thread! I'm planning my surgery for when my daughter is 10-12 months old and I would like to continue bfing until she decides to wean. My nutritionist wants me to wean before surgery but I don't think it's necessary. I'll have to do a high Protein liquid diet (one food meal per day) for 4 weeks pre-op. This thread gives me hope!!!

I'm 6 months post-op tomorrow, and my little guy turns one of the 13th. We're still going strong re: nursing (3-4 times daily, and additional sessions on demand), and have no plans to wean anytime soon. Best of luck!

I'm so happy I found this thread. My daughter is almost 11 months and still nursing. I started my liquid diet today and I'm so nervous that this will impact my daughter. I've read things about toxins being released in the milk while on a liquid diet. Does anyone know anything about that? My doctor told me that as long as I'm producing I should be fine nursing my daughter. I'm a little concerned. She eats a ton of food and usually has 2 bottles of pumped milk during the day along with nursing at night and in the morning. I'm so glad I'm not alone here!

[mrsyogid 0]

I've heard about toxins also, but I can't find anything concrete. I'm going to discuss with the pediatrician to see what she says. I don't usually ignore my doctor's suggestions but if they are insistant, I may omit the truth until after surgery.