I spoke to a mum the other day who has ulcerative colitis and is taking
asacol (mesalamine) 400mg twelve times per day, this for the rest of her
life, and has recently been prescribed flagyl at 250 mg three times per
day for a month. Her doctor was not concerned about the asacol but
recommended she wean for the flagyl. She does have info from Hale about
the amounts transferred into breastmilk and is also aware that babies do
recieve this drug directly. Most of the info about flagyl is with
shorter term durations of 7 to 10 days, so does the fact she'll be
taking it for a month (and possibly longer) change anything? She's
heavily leaning to weaning permanently, the baby has already weaned for
about a week. The baby is two months old. She's concerned about the
combination of drugs and that no one can say it's safe or not safe. And
yes, I have mentioned to her that breastfeeding provides benefits and
formula carries risks, but it seems she's willing to go with the known
risks of formula as opposed to the unknown risks of breastfeeding while
on these medications.

Any suggestions?

Donna Hansen
Burnaby, British Columbia
Canada

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