The other side of the PCOS coin: oversupply

Does anyone have any experience with managing oversupply? According to what I've read, oversupply is just as likely as undersupply with PCOS. If you dealt with the issue of having too much milk and would like to share your story, please e-mail it to breastfeedingwithpcos @ gmail.com (take out the spaces, of course!) Related subjects include mastitis, plugged ducts, overactive let-down, hindmilk/foremilk imbalance - whatever it is, we'd like to hear it. Please let us know if we can publish any or all of your story and what you would like us to call you.

A twin mom's breastfeeding story

This twin mom, who wished to remain anonymous, has discovered there are sometimes benefits to using galactagogues beyond increasing milk supply! Thank you for your contribution.

I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 18. Although the doctors didn't put me thru a battery of tests, they were sure it was PCOS because of all my symptoms. I didn't think much of it then but when I started trying to conceive 12 years later I realized the rough road ahead. We tried on our own for 2 years with no success and sought fertility treatments. Before we started our program the doctor conducted all the necessary tests and confirmed the PCOS diagnosis. We were successful with injections and IUI after only 3 months of trying. We delivered beautiful boy girl twins just 12 weeks ago. Unfortunately I was unaware of breastfeeding complications associated with PCOS.

I breastfed in the hospital and pumped every 2 hours for 3 days after a C Section delivery. However, I was barely getting 2 drops of milk when I pumped for 15 minutes. The nurse came in and told me I had to start supplementing with formula because the babies had lost more than 10% of their body weight. I was devastated. I had envisioned breastfeeding our twins for the first year exclusively. The lactation consultant recommended I try SNS- supplemental nursing system rather than using bottles due to the risk of nipple confusion. The lactation consultant was sure my milk hadn't come in yet due to my C section delivery. So, we started finger feeding the babies formula every two hours and I pumped after each feeding only getting 2-3 cc's of milk each time. After two weeks of this routine, my milk still hadn't come in so I decided to call the lactation consultant. She recommended I start Fenugreek immediately- 4 pills, 3 times a day. I also did some research online and found Goats Rue to be successful for PCOS moms. I ordered it immediately and started taking a 1/2 teaspoon 3 times a day. Unfortunately I started using bottles after 2 weeks, as finger feeding the twins every two hours was leaving me with very little to no sleep.

Within 10 days I was pumping 30 ounces of milk and it grew to 40 ounces and unfortunately has not increased since. I continue to pump rather than breastfeed as the babies have forgotten how to latch, however, they are still getting breastmilk. Although 40 ounces isn't enough for both babies, they are getting 2/3rd's breastmilk in every bottle.

I wish my fertility clinic had warned me about the potential breastfeeding complications with PCOS so I would've been prepared. Luckily, I was lucky enough to find Fenugreek and Goats Rue before I gave up giving my babies breastmilk. I know all these hours of pumping will benefit my babies.

The upside of this story is that I have also lost 80 pounds since delivering the twins 12 weeks ago. I am convinced the Goats Rue has helped my blood sugar and has aided in this weight loss. I plan on staying on Goats Rue long past I am done breastfeeding.

I pray other PCOS women find this story before they deliver their little ones so they can be educated and prepared for the potential challenges that lie ahead with breastfeeding.

~A PCOS Mom Of Twins

Deanna's story

Deanna is a mother who initially wasn't sure she wanted to breastfeed, but tried it and then fought to keep her breastfeeding relationship even when it was difficult. Thank you for your contribution to this blog and congratulations, Deanna.

Deanna’s Story

My Breastfeeding with PCOS Journey

When I first discovered I was pregnant I was torn over whether or not to Breastfeed. I knew the many benefits of Breast milk, but at the sometime I was concerned that it would feel weird and icky to me, and that my breasts would look like deflated tires after I was done, and since I already had enough issues with my body image I didn’t want to add another one. As my pregnancy advanced I began to read more and more literature about breastfeeding, how it worked exactly and of course, more about how wonderful it is for baby and mom.

I finally decided around 4 months into my pregnancy that I would at least give it a try. By the time I was eight months I had set a goal to try for six months – the minimum recommendation by the AAP. I had talked with a breastfeeding consultant and she mentioned that I might have supply issues due to my PCOS. She gave me some information to read and told me if I had any problems once the baby arrived to give her a buzz.

My daughter was born at 36 weeks following an emergency c-section at 11:46 PM. I was in the recovery room for more than two hours and when I got back to my room she was sleeping. I just nestled with her for a while. The nurse came into check on me and asked if I had fed her yet, I was like no, I don’t know how to do this. She promised to come back and help me. An hour later she still wasn’t back (the maternity ward was so full that they were shipping women all over the hospital, even for deliveries) so I tried on my own with limited success. I couldn’t get DD to latch on correctly. When the shift change occurred the new nurse came on and I asked for her help. She came in and with her help I got DD to latch on pretty well. I kept trying with limited success. I finally asked the hospitals lactation consultant to come in and she gave me even more tips and tricks. Over the next three days that we were in the hospital DD and I kept at it. I won’t lie it was hard for me and her to figure things out since we were both new at it. I had read that it shouldn’t hurt if we were latching correctly so I knew that when I was in pain something wasn’t right. I was lucky in that even though DD had to wait so long to start, she had a pretty strong sucking reflex, it was just a matter of getting her to take the whole areola and not just the nipple.

By the second week PP we were doing much better and I fell in love with BF’ing. By the end of the month we were doing even better and had it pretty well figured out.

I started trying to pump around this time since I had to go back to work at eight weeks PP. I wanted to build up a stash for her to use when she was in daycare. I rented a hospital grade Medela Lactina. I had a terrible time pumping. I was totally stressed because I figured that the second I pumped DD would want to eat and there wouldn’t be enough for her. I barely pumped a half an ounce the first time I tried. By the time I went back to work I didn’t even have enough for one day’s worth of milk. So my provider had to feed DD a bottle of formula by the end of the day, all I had were samples from the hospital since I didn’t really want to give her any.
At work I did better with pumping since I was away home and the stress of caring for a newborn. Also I didn’t have to worry about having enough for her next meal since she wasn’t going to see me until the end of the day. I think I managed to pump 4-6 oz over the course of 4 pumping sessions that first day. That was the most I had ever pumped in one day. I had high hopes that soon I would be pumping 6 ozs at each session.

Alas I soon discovered that pumping was not enough. In spite of all the adjusting I did to it, and all my attempts to relax I was only able to pump 6-8 oz a day and DD was taking almost 4 oz at each bottle feeding session. So basically I had enough for two feeds each day and that was it. I tried everything I could think of, got all sorts of great tips from the Soul Cysters Breastfeeding support thread. I even tried some herbal supplements to see if that would help. Nothing did. So we ended up supplementing with formula during the day and I exclusively breastfed whenever I was with DD. It seemed like DD wanted to breastfeed non stop when I was with her, even as she aged. I often wondered if it was a supply issue, if I wasn’t feeding her long enough for her to get the hind milk, or if it was just due to growth spurts. I now think the issue was that I couldn’t get the pump to work properly for me, and that affected my supply.

I kept up pumping at work 2-3 times a day for almost 11 months. By that point DD was taking an eight ounce bottle and I was struggling just to get 6 oz out in the course of a day. I decided that since the pump was no longer effective for me I would just stop pumping at work. We went over to formula feeding only during the day and exclusively breast fed at night. About 2 weeks after I stopped pumping I noticed DD getting fussier when I would try to feed her. She just popped on and off and seemed like she was constantly wanting to eat. I attributed it to her age at first (she was getting more active and I figured she just didn’t want to stop at whatever time to feed, she wanted to play ), or a growth spurt of some kind, or her attempting to up my supply. Then I was only able to breastfeed her when she was sleeping, she refused when she was awake. Over the course of the next week DD began to outright refuse the breast even when she was sleepy and my milk supply began to dry up. Three days before DD’s 1st b-day she stopped breastfeeding all together. I never felt any pain or engorgement as part of my supply going away so, looking back I think it’s quite clear that I was one of those cysters whose PCOS affected her supply.

I am so thankful for the help of all my cysters on the Soul Cysters Breastfeeding support thread and those who keep up this blog. I wouldn’t have even come close to bf’ing as long as I did without their help advice and support. Even if you make it just one day you are giving your child tangible benefits, and the longer you go the more they multiply.

If you have any questions or issues at all please ask for help!

A helpful link from reader M

If you need or want to take a particular medicine and you're wondering if it's safe, look at this wonderful site: Dr. Hale's Forum. You can post there if you are a lactation consultant or LLL leader or a medical professional, and anyone can read there.

You can also purchase his fantastic book, Medications and Mother's Milk, updated yearly, at his other website here.

Breastfeeding on Sesame Street

To those who have submitted their stories

I fully intend to get going on publishing them ASAP! Please forgive the extended delay. It's been a heck of a few months. Expect to see your stories published shortly. We all appreciate your efforts.

The problem with breastfeeding

What if doctors discovered a substance so potent, it could prevent dozens of diseases and even reduce the risk of cancer? What if these benefits extended not only to those who partake of this amazing substance, but also those who serve it? If a pharmaceutical company had developed it, it would be a billion-dollar industry. Breast milk, though, is free. Without a visible profit stream, it also lacks a marketing team.

This is an interesting read even if you don't consider yourself a "lactivist."