# Help! Any experience with meclizine (Antivert) while BFing?



## mimie (Mar 7, 2003)

I have an inner ear infection which has caused dizziness, vertigo, nausea and vomitting (fun - not). My doctor prescribed a drug called meclizine (Antivert) to help manage the symptoms. She checked to make sure it was okay with BFing. Like an idiot, I just took my first dose before reading the drug information from the pharmacy. Here are the warnings:

-Breastfeeding while taking may result in drowsiness, jitteriness, or decreased feeding in young infants.

-Premature, low birth-weight or infants less than two months old may be at increased risk for side effects while breastfeeding.

-This drug can decrease breastmilk production.

I'm FREAKING OUT! I can't really pump and dump - haven't had much luck with the pump, so I have no milk to feed my baby if I do that. I'm especially worried about decreased milk production. Has anyone taken this drug? What were your experiences - did it work out okay? Can someone look it up in Dr. Hale's book for me?

I guess I have to wait and see what one dose does. I'm probably not going to continue taking it.


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## peilover010202 (Nov 1, 2005)

Here's a link directly to "meclizine" on Tom Hale's forum:

http://66.230.33.248/discus/messages...tml?1051644809

"Meclizine has not yet been studied in breastfeeding mothers. Of the antiemetic/antivertigo medications, meclizine and diphenhydramine are generally preferred for vertigo. I would specifically avoid Phenergan and other phenothiazines due to risk of SIDs.

I would suggest that diphenhydramine(Benadryl) is probably safer...and probably works as good. But meclizine could be used as long as the infant is stable, not premature, not subject to apnic episodes, and does not show symptoms of sedation while the mother uses it.

Another alternative is hydroxyzine(Atarax), but it too produces significant sedation."


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## mimie (Mar 7, 2003)

Oh God, I'm so not taking it. It's totally not worth it unless this illness gets worse again (it was awful this week - I couldn't move without throwing up, which makes caring for a two-month-old very not fun). I'll stick with Benadryl - don't know why my doctor didn't recommend it.

Hopefully the one dose I've taken will be okay.

And Phenergan is linked to SIDS?!? You've got to be kidding me. Now I'm really freaking out - I took half a Phenergan before I knew what the nausea and vomitting was, figuring it was safe if I took it while pregnant.

OMG. I'm so upset.







Am I just a total idiot? What is wrong with me? I'm never taking anything again.


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## peilover010202 (Nov 1, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mimie* 
Oh God, I'm so not taking it. It's totally not worth it unless this illness gets worse again (it was awful this week - I couldn't move without throwing up, which makes caring for a two-month-old very not fun). I'll stick with Benadryl - don't know why my doctor didn't recommend it.

Hopefully the one dose I've taken will be okay.

And Phenergan is linked to SIDS?!? You've got to be kidding me. Now I'm really freaking out - I took half a Phenergan before I knew what the nausea and vomitting was, figuring it was safe if I took it while pregnant.

OMG. I'm so upset.







Am I just a total idiot? What is wrong with me? I'm never taking anything again.

Oh, don't feel bad! I just learned that about phenergan too (and my dr prescribed it for me when I had a bad case of food poisoning when ds1 was 4mos old. Geez, reading that made me ill. (I then went on to the phenergan thread and he seemed a little less apprehensive about it, stating that the levels found in breastmilk are low enough that it should be fine, but that giving it to a babe would be completely off limits.)


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