Is Dantrolene safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what LactMed, the Drugs and Lactation Database published by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), reports about Dantrolene. The text below is quoted from that source — it is not our own verdict.
Summary of use during breastfeeding
Because no information is available on the long-term use of dantrolene during breastfeeding, an alternate drug may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant. After short-term use, the drug would be expected to be eliminated from milk in 1 to 2 days.
Effects on the breastfed infant
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Effects on milk supply
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Levels in milk
Maternal Levels. Administration of several intravenous dantrolene doses were given over 3 days to a postpartum mother in divided doses. Total daily dosages were 720 mg on day 1, 320 mg on day 2, and 80 mg on day 3. A milk level of 1.2 mg/L was measured on day 2 after a total of 640 mg had been given. The milk level was 50 mcg/L on day 4 about 35 hours after the last dose. Dantrolene half-life in milk was 9.2 hours.[1]
Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Alternatives LactMed lists
“No published information” means the studies do not exist yet — not that Dantrolene is known to be harmful, and not that it is known to be safe. Your prescriber or pharmacist can weigh your baby's age and whether a better-studied alternative would do the same job. Worth asking before stopping a medicine you need.
Source: Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), via NCBI Bookshelf, record “Dantrolene” (LM435). LactMed on NCBI Bookshelf. LactMed is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Educational summary of an authoritative source — not medical advice. Never start, stop, or change a medicine while breastfeeding without confirming with your doctor.