I had a client tonight who has hyper thyroidism. She is bf a 14 mo old, and
is being told by her endocrinologist that she must wean in order to use PTU,
as this is what Eli Lilly says on their package insert. After reading her
all my sources, etc, and info, she then told me that she had called The
Thyroid Society's 800 number, at
http://houston-interweb.com/thyroid/contributions.html, and their nurse had
told her that she must wean in order to take the PTU medication.
I wrote the following letter to the Thyroid Society. I hope that they will
respond in a way which indicates that they are willing to consider recent
recommendations and research and incorporate this into advice given out over
their 800 number. I will let you know what they say. I am *not* suggesting
that anyone else write. I would like to see what they say, and have the
greatest faith that they will respond by admitting their error, and asking
for further references. One can hope.
Kathleen
Dear Thyroid Society personnel:
I had a client this evening who I spent a considerable amount of time with.
My client is a breastfeeding mother who has hyperthyroidism, and is very
concerned about PTU use. She called your 800 number, and received what she
felt was an adamant response from the nurse, stating that it was necessary
to wean in order to use PTU. This information does not agree with the
current AAP guidelines as I understand them. The AAP regards PTU as an
approved medication for breastfeeding mothers, as long as proper
followup/microanalysis is done on baby's thyroid levels.
I gave the client information I had regarding PTU use, from Thomas Hale's
Book, Medications in Mothers' Milk, 1997, (he is a pharmacist and an
acknowledged expert in the field of drugs and human lactation) and from
Briggs and Freeman's book Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation, both of which
state that PTU is approved for use by lactating women, with adequate
followup. I would appreciate a response on this, as the advice and
information given out over your 800 number can be very helpful to
breastfeeding mothers. If it is not accurate, this could be very
detrimental. I thank you for your time and attention to this matter, and I
also suggest that you have a Hot Topic on Breastfeeding and
Hyperthyroidism/Hypothyroidism. This could be easily written, and would be
of great use of both professionals and to mothers who have thyroid
disorders. Lactating mothers look to you for accurate information, and I
know that you will wish to provide such accurate information.
Many thanks, and kindest regards, (from a professional who also has first
hand knowledge of thyroid disorders...)
Kathleen B. Bruce BSN, IBCLC
Board Certified Lactation Consultant
Owner, LACTNET-listserv list for lactation issues/professionals
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Kathleen B. Bruce, BSN, IBCLC co-owner Lactnet,TLC, Indep. Consultant
mailto:[log in to unmask]
LACTNET Archives http://library.ummed.edu/lsv/archives/lactnet.html
Emily's Mothering Project- http://together.net/~kbruce/proj.html
For LACTNET quilt raffle: http://together.net/~kbruce/kbblact.html
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