Fenugreek for Breastmilk

It helped me increase a little not a lot. It seemed to work best in the beginning and then i don't know if I got used to it but after a while didn't seem as effective. There were some other issues going on though. Everyone on here says it makes you smell like maple syrup - to me it was more like Indian food in a not-pleasant way, but I didn't care. I took the pills and also chewed on the seeds. I could not deal with the tea at all. For me, relaxing, finding ways to cope with stress, and bonding with my baby were the best remedies for low milk supply.

check out www.drjacknewman.com online - he's a pro with breastfeeding. I think I've read that you should take blessed thistle along with the fenugreek for best results. Good luck! Here's an excerpt:

Fenugreek: 3 capsules 3 times a day
Blessed Thistle: 3 capsules 3 times a day, or 20 drops of the tincture 3 times a day

The tincture container states that blessed thistle should not be taken by nursing mothers, presumably because of the tiny amount of alcohol the mother would get. There are some preparations of both herbs that are labelled “not for use by nursing mothers”. Don’t worry about this; these herbs are safe for the mother to take because so little gets into the milk. Teas also seem to work, but to take enough to make a difference, you will be drinking tea all day and night, since the amount of the herbs you get is much less.

Fenugreek and blessed thistle seem to work better if you take both, not just one or the other.
Fenugreek and blessed thistle work quickly. If they do work, you will usually notice a difference within 12- 24 hours of starting taking them. If not, they probably won’t work.
Fenugreek is often sold as a combination with thyme. Do not buy this combination, but try to get the capsules with fenugreek alone.
Herbal remedies are not standardized, so though the bottle of fenugreek, for example, may say that it contains 405, 505, 605 or 705 mg/capsule, we do not really know how much of the active ingredient you are taking. Fenugreek has a distinct smell. If you cannot smell it on your skin, you are not taking enough, even if you are taking three capsules three times a day. Ensure that the fenugreek is very fresh and gives off a strong odour when you open the container
Fenugreek and blessed thistle seem also to work better in the first few weeks than later. In fact they tend to work best in the first week. Domperidone works better after the first few weeks. (See information sheets Domperidone, Starting and Domperidone, Stopping for more information.)
You can take fenugreek and blessed thistle together with domperidone if you feel they are helping. If you take both the herbs and domperidone, take domperidone 3 tablets three times a day at the same time as you take the herbs.
If you are ready to stop fenugreek and blessed thistle, you can probably stop suddenly, or wean off over a week or so.
Fenugreek does not cause low blood sugar. Where this rumour came from is unknown.

I took More Milk Plus and it worked. Never brought me to the early super full levels, but enough to get 3-6oz bottles a day. However, I pumped A LOT!

I used the capsules and I think I was taking 6/day. I felt that they really worked well and my production increased. I was exclusively pumping so I felt I really needed it. I will say that my milk did slow down a lot after the first few months, which I'm sure had more to do with my body than with the fenugreek possibly losing effectiveness, but I suppose I can't be sure. The only side effect I had from it was that I smelled like maple syrup. It sounds weird, but it's a real thing! It doesn't happen to everyone, but it did me. It was a good smell though and my husband didn't mind! ;)

I also wanted to add that I had also taken Reglan, a Rx pill, that my OB had given me to increase my milk as well and it was horrible! It made me seriously nuts. I would not take it! Once I was off it I heard other stories from moms that had the same issue. I just wanted to let you know in case you were looking at other options that you might want to steer clear of that one!

Take it with Blessed Thistle... it ups the response from the body and supports the increase.

I used actual whole fenugreek seeds, boiled and made into a tea. It definitely did help my milk production, but not overwhelmingly so.

Surprisingly, avoiding dairy also helped my milk production a LOT. I think that may be an individual thing though, because I've always suspected my body doesn't do well with dairy.

I used it with my first and I think I was taking 4 pills a day. I noticed a decent increase not a ton. Get ready to smell like maple syrup! LOL!

I took 3 or so a day.. worked great production increased a lot.. another great way to increase production is put the sleeping baby ont he breast.. let the baby suck for 20 or 30 minutes while they are sleeping that will increase productuion .. drink water lots of it..

I did smell like maple syrup..

It worked for me.. 3 of them 3 times a day. Then wean yourself off.

I also drink a lot of water, and have lots of peanut butter N Jelly sandwiches on Whole wheat bread.. The water is a big difference, I think the sandwiches are as well for me.

If you are trying to increase your supply .. keep pumping for a few minutes after the milk stops coming. I get a second wave of milk, I keep going for a few minutes after that. I nursed my son until 16 months, and worked full time. Going for the same with my daughter.

I'm not sure it increased my supply but I do feel it helped me maintain my supply, I took 2-3 every meal

I tried some vitamins with it in them don't know about an increase I think it helped but it caused really bad gas pocket problems for my ds, as soon as I quit takin them things straightened out and after talkin to my lactation consonant I looked it up n found all the down sides research before u add anything out of the norm

I used the supplement (pill) form and noticed a slight increase. I think I took 3 pills a day.

It helped me A LOT when I hit a pumping slump around 6 months (a fairly common time to hit a slump-- right after starting solids)

I took 3 capsules 3 times a day. You know the dose is right when your sweat starts smelling like a really gross mixture of maple syrup and gym socks :(