Hello All...I haven't visited the boards for quite some time, but hoping someone might be able to help me out a bit.
I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroid. I originally had my thyroid function reassessed due to the fact that my milk supply had decreased dramatically. I have felt terrible for quite some time, so the diagnosis is actually a relief.
Anyway, I saw an endocrinologist the other day who checked a prolactin level to make sure it was just the thyroid that was messing with my supply and nothing further. Well, I got my results back today and it fell in the normal range for a non-pregnant, non-nursing woman. It seems this is bad news for me as I attempt to make it to 1 year with my second. (I haven't heard from the endo office yet, I looked up my results online)
I made a call to the lactation consultant at the hospital and had to leave a message. She returned my call at work during one of my pump breaks (go figure) and they were closed by the time I got back to her. From her message she said that for someone who is 9 months pp should would hope to see the level above 25. I believe mine was 5. I found a little bit of information on Kellymom, but was wondering a few things.
1.) Does Fenugreek increase prolactin levels? How successful has this been for others?
2.) Anything else I can look into to increase my levels?
I rented a hospital grade pump a couple months ago and pump after I feed at home and manage to get 3 pump sessions in during the 3 days that I work. I've seen no increase from pumping alone. My daughter is breastfed only when we are at home (2 days during the week, evenings and weekends) and takes 3 3oz bottles during her 9 1/2 hours at daycare.
Any information or personal experience you can share would be helpful! I have 100 or so oz in the freezer still, but it is quickly diminishing. I would really like to make it to at least 1 year, but it's looking dimmer by the day!
Thanks!