Is Flutamide Safe in Breastfeeding
Question
I am a breastfeeding mother and i want to know if it is safe to use Flutamide? Is Flutamide safe for nursing mother and child? Does Flutamide extracts into breast milk? Does Flutamide has any long term or short term side effects on infants? Can Flutamide influence milk supply or can Flutamide decrease milk supply in lactating mothers?
Flutamide lactation summary
- DrLact safety Score for Flutamide is 3 out of 8 which is considered Low Risk as per our analyses.
- A safety Score of 3 indicates that usage of Flutamide may cause some minor side effects in breastfed baby.
- Our study of different scientific research indicates that Flutamide may cause moderate to no side effects in lactating mother.
- Most of scientific studies and research papers declaring usage of Flutamide low risk in breastfeeding are based on normal dosage and may not hold true for higher dosage.
- While using Flutamide We suggest monitoring child for possible reactions. It is also important to understand that side effects vary largely based on age of breastfed child and time of medication in addition to dosage.
- Score calculated using the DrLact safety Version 1.2 model, this score ranges from 0 to 8 and measures overall safety of drug in lactation. Scores are primarily calculated using publicly available case studies, research papers, other scientific journals and publically available data.
Answer by Dr. Ru: About Flutamide usage in lactation
Antiandrogenic drug that acts by blocking testosterone receptors which is used for treatment of prostate carcinoma.Not authorized for use in women although it is used for treatment of hirsutism with same or greater efficacy than Spironolactone (Erenus 1994 Cusan 1994, Moghetti 2000), androgenetic alopecia (Paradisi 2011). Also used for treatment of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (Gambineri 2006). At latest update no published data on excretion into breast milk were found.Its high plasma protein-binding capacity makes it unlikely the excretion of significant amounts into breastmilk. Not alterations on prolactin level have been reported. Be aware that an aniline-containing metabolite would appear, which can lead under certain circumstances to develop Methemoglobinemia. A known and safer alternative should be preferred until more published data on this drug related to breastfeeding is available within the first 6 mo after birth, especially during the neonatal period and in case prematurity.Exposure through breastmilk may be minimized by waiting at least 6 hours before resuming breastfeed after the last dose of drug.