Successful lactation after resuming methylphenidate in a woman with narcolepsy

Background: New mothers with narcolepsy face difficult decisions about medications and breastfeeding in addition to the more typical challenges of becoming a parent. Scant data are available to guide these choices.

Case: A 30-year-old gravida 1, para 1(G1P1) woman with narcolepsy with cataplexy fed her infant breastmilk for 7 months by exclusive pumping. She chose to discontinue her stimulants at delivery and restarted methylphenidate when her infant was 13 weeks old. The woman tracked milk production on an app geared toward new parents. Average daily volume was 751 ± 228 mL before and 822 ± 177 mL after restarting methylphenidate. Her infant's growth was appropriate and did not decrease after resuming medications.

Conclusions: In this new mother with narcolepsy, resuming methylphenidate did not reduce breastmilk volumes or negatively impact her infant. Tracking apps and other technologies can increase patients' confidence and provide data to address gaps in medical knowledge.

Citation: Bello G, Poirier J, Sharkey KM. Successful lactation after resuming methylphenidate in a woman with narcolepsy. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(7):1891-1894.