[Anonymous February 27, 1997 at 12:34 am Post count: 93172]

#1164417

I have a 2 month old and was always told that while on anti-thyroids (I’m on PTU), I absolutely could NOT breastfeed. Supposedly, it’s very harmful for the baby.

[Anonymous February 27, 1997 at 3:31 am Post count: 93172]

#1056795

Hi, folks, finding you is the nicest thing that’s happened to mesince I got a diagnosis (and found out I wasn’t going crazy afterall). Sorry if this has been asked recently–my software makes it awkwardto read too far back. I’m on PTU while I continue to breastfeed. Ihear different things about the safety of this medication for thebaby. Does anyone have any information? Also, what’s the deal with PTU and sore throats as a possiblesign of your immune system being suppressed–do I really have toget a blood count for ever slight sore throat? (I don’t mind theneedle, but the cost is rough–no health insurance). Thanks, Abigail

[Anonymous February 27, 1997 at 6:28 am Post count: 93172]

#1164418

Abigail:

Re – PTU and nursing. Both PTU and methimazole pass into the breast milk. The methimazole is does so more freely and in higher concentrations than the PTU, though. According to the drug reference that I have, whether you should breast feed or not when you are on PTU depends on the level of your dose. From the reference book: “However, your doctor may allow you to continue to breast-feed, if your dose is low and the infant gets frequent check-ups. If you are taking a large dose, it may be necessary for you to stop breast-feeding during treatment.”

RE – sore throats. It depends on the severity, apparently. If it is sore like you may have experienced with a strep throat or tonsillitis, you have to sit up and take notice, and get checked out. If it is a mild, irritation-type sore throat it is probably OK. I had one of the latter while on PTU and my endo said not to worry. It’s best to check with the doctor, though, I think, because this side effect (immune suppression) is serious, even though it is rare.

Bobbi

[Anonymous February 27, 1997 at 9:50 am Post count: 93172]

#1164419

Hi Abigail, ask your doc to clarify when a test is necessary. My doc says fevers.
But in his office there is almost always a nurse practitioner ready to take
questions. Also, my GP is current on the treatment and can advise as well.
The additional backup is, I was given a lab request to carry if I travel
or for weekends so that what tests are needed is already spelled out/ All this made me nervous at first
but I haven’t had to use any of it. Now it just seems comforting that
the 0.05 outsdie possibility was well covered. Hope you get info
re: the nursing .
Jeannette

[Anonymous February 27, 1997 at 10:32 am Post count: 93172]

#1164420

Looks like you’ve gotten a couple of good responses already, but here’s
my two cents. My wife was breastfeeding when she was diagnosed. The endo
basically insisted she stop, although he asked if it would be a problem
so maybe there were so other options (less effective?) he might have
suggested. My impression is that some anti-thyroid meds are more harmful
than others. PTU seems among the more benign (I think its what they’d use
for pregnant patients), but it probably does depend on dose (your
doc should be the best one to judge). I also think the beta blocker my
wife was prescribed (atenolol) would have been a possible problem.
My wife also got a sore throat (she said it seemed like a bad cold) and
the endo had her come back before her appointed check-up and prescribed
antibiotics. He had said that one of the less common side effects of
the anti-thyroid meds is that your white blood cell count can get really
screwed up and it’s possible that you’d end up in intensive care to
resolve it. As much as my wife wanted to continue breastfeeding, she did
not have much problem stopping for the sake of the baby. Fortunately we
had also been supplementing with formula anyway so the transition was not
as bad as it could have been. It seemed my wife missed breastfeeding
(closeness, emotional benefit, etc.) more than our baby.

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