New doctor, bone density, breastfeeding, etc
Just so you know I'm covering a plethora of stuff here. ;) I saw a new family doctor yesterday and he was super-nice, I think I'll be with him for a good long while. We talked about my usual list of health issues, asthma (under control), depression (under control) and bone density--kind of hanging here, not sure what we're doing. As mentioned, I have osteogenesis imperfecta. I have low bone density. It's always been low, but it was quantified two years ago when I had a bone density scan. Why didn't a doctor suggest that I get one sooner? I don't know. Maybe I could've been on a bone-building drug a long time ago and not be worrying about this now. Or maybe not. I've had some indications that it's not good to be on one of those and get pregnant later. But I'm not sure about it. It's all so confusing. I'm sure it's not safe to take Fosamax (the most likely thing for me to take) while pregnant. What I'm not so sure about is whether it's okay for me to take while breastfeeding. I saw an OI specialist in Baltimore (Dr. Jay Shapiro at Kennedy-Kreiger, great doctor), and he felt that because of the high molecular weight of Fosamax, it wouldn't pass into the breastmilk easily and should therefore be safe to take while breastfeeding. It's also eliminated from the body within 6 hours of taking it. So, since Fosamax is only taken once a week, it seems logical that all I would have to do is get up in the morning, nurse my daughter, take the medicine, and not nurse her again for 6 hours, at most. She's 11 months old now, and goes longer between nursings (sometimes). Plus, she'll be eliminating the morning nap before too much longer (she nurses before napping). This should be okay, right? Well, my new family doctor, my old one, my GYN, all don't want to prescribe it for me because there's almost no research on a breastfeeding woman taking Fosamax. And no wonder, it's mainly for post-menopausal women. I wonder what the 37-pound woman who just had a baby takes and if she's breastfeeding. Probably not since her baby was so early.

So...here's another slightly crunchy conundrum...what do I do now? For many women, this would be a no-brainer. Wean her. She's almost a year old, no big deal, right? It's not that easy for me. My 3-year old son just weaned a little over a month ago. I want to nurse my daughter for awhile longer, too. I don't know how long, but I really, really want to keep nursing her. She loves nursing and it's so good for her. My sister has already hassled me about "doing what's best" for me. I DO want to do what's best for me, and maybe that includes continuing to breastfeed my daughter. Well, to be continued...
- posted by Anne @ 7:42 PM