I need help! My son is 6 weeks old and I've had mastitis twice (verging on a third dose now!). I was hospitalised the first time as it was so severe. My right boob is the only side affected and the tissue is rock hard
on the inside of the breast (as in the clevage side...) and on top of the breast. It just feels like one big hard mass. When DS feeds, the outter and under regions are soft and empty. I've had an ultrasound and it showed many blocked ducts and for two weeks I've used hot wet washers prior to a feed, massaged with olive oil during the feed and still I cannot for the life of me get rid of these lumps!
I've been on Flucloxacillin twice now and each time the dose ends (usually 10-12 days), within a day or two of finishing the dose, the redness and streaks reappear and the pain is awful, obviously because the ducts are still blocked. I've had a private LC visit and she said my attachment is fine. My bra's are fitted properly and I sleep on my back. He feeds between 6-8 times a day. I'm about to try physio ultrasound this morning but is there anything I'm missing? Will this ever resolve? It's really starting to affect me and I don't want to wean (as I fed my first DS for a year!) but I can't continue to be on antibiotics and be in agony all the time.
I'm clutching at straws here (and not an expert by any means) but is the blockage around where your seat belt sits in the car?
I had a couple of blocked ducts which took forever to clear. I found cabbage leaves in my bra worked well (no idea why). Also, if the blockage is still there when you're finishing the a round of AB's you should get a repeat and continue taking them until the blockage has cleared otherwise it will get infected again. From what I've heard the ultrasound treatment works really well for clearing blockages.
GL, you're doing an amazing job! Hopefully Barb or Manta will pop in soon and be able to offer you some better advice
Miss E - thanks for your reply. The seat belt sits well above the sore area and I've barely been driving lately as I live in walking distance to local shops, lake, beach etc. I'm also careful with my bra's that they fit ok and I go bra-free at night :-)
Do you feed lying down at all? Sometimes I find that drains the upper ducts better. I also found I would get blockages in my cleavage because my breasts were pressing against each other in my bra/clothes. Can you go bra fee? and wear loose clothes?
ouch - I feel your pain! I got mastitis 5 times in a matter of 2 months and was in agony. In the end I did wean but my DD was 6.5 months and there were many other issues too. I know how upsetting it is when you want to feed your baby but you are just in sooo much pain.
I found cabbage leaves worked well too - I resisted but once I did it was such relief - I literally cooked them on my BB's. Cause I was so hot the green leaves wilted and turned white very quickly. It didnt make the blockages go away but did provide relief between feeding. I also tried every different hold whilst feeding too and one night in desperation I sat on the pump for 2 hours and pressed on the blocked ducks and put hot and cold packs on me whilst I was reading bellybelly! For an hour nothing happened and then suddenly RELIEF!!! I had milk pouring out and this continued for about 45 minutes
Goodluck with the physio, I had heard bout it too but didnt know where to go. My GP said I would need surgical drainage or be on IV antibiotics in hosp if my last lot of antibiotics didnt help.
Last edited by Razzberry; September 24th, 2011 at 04:05 PM.
: added more
The nurse told my DD last week to do the hot face washer before a feed then a cold one after. Also buy a cabbage, wash the leaves then take a leaf, cut out the area that touches the nipple and place on the breast.
Thanks for the tips on the cabbage leaves. I used them to relieve the engorgement a couple of weeks ago and my boobs have certainly calmed down somewhat (whether or not this was the leaves or the magic of time!). I'm hesitant to use them too much as I know they drop your supply.
The ultrasound at the physio has certainly lessened the hardened area however the red streaks and pain (and heat) is still there. I'm wondering if I have an infection??? I finished my last antibiotics on Wednesday, so I've been off them for three days. Arghhhhhh
By the sounds if things it us still infected or has become reinfected. I'd go back to the gp for more ab's and keep them up until the blockage is completely gone. Also keep up the ultrasound, by the sound of it your blockage is quite large and set in so it will probably take a few treatments to clear it. HTH
Hugs hun - I feel your pain (mastitis x4 including a hospital visit). Don't forget your probiotics!
I had to go to physio 3 times to fully get the lump out. I was expressing full time so didn't have the help of a baby sucking the blockage. So hang in there, but if you think you're getting sick again get on to it quickly. Will the dr give you a spare abx script in case you get sick at a bad time?
Incidentally, I was told football hold can cause drainage problems.
Surprised you poor thing! I also went to hospital for a two night stay. Not much fun. I had a script made up and carry them close at times like this. I haven't started taking them though yet as I have no fever or flu symptoms. At the moment it's just the lump and red marks. Did the physio work for you in the end? Did you end up carrying on feeding or was it too hard? I'm getting physio on it again on Monday and hoping that is enough to break it right down. It's fun isn't it! haha
Thanks all for your replies. Very much appreciated :-)
Physio worked a treat in the end! And I carried on expressing - after the 4th time I gave up even trying to breastfeed and just stuck with expressing. Finished up just before DS turned one.
Hope this current lump/redness doesn't get worse!
And don't those IV abx hurt when they're getting pushed through?
When I had trouble with reoccuring blockages/mastitis I found the physio ultrasound was brilliant! I would go consecutive days, at around the same time each day (eg first thing in the morning) until the everything softened. I never needed more than 3 days in a row. Hope it gets better for you soo! :-)
I get blocked ducts several times a week. The only thing that works for me is to apply a heat bag. I'm not sure how this would work with and when attaching a baby because I exclusively express so I can just pop it on whilst pumping. I tried everything else to get rid of it to no avail.
Powelly - credit to you for persisting with the breastfeeding.
This is probably a long shot, but it's my expereince with a blocked duct. I had what I thought was a blocked duct on the outside of my right breast. I was getting knife like pain in my nipple when my daughter attached, and the ducts on the outside of my breast were engorged, painful and red. What it ended up being was a small blister on my nipple where the engorged ducts emptied. I found it by looking closely at my nipples for any dry milk and I noticed a small (1mm) clear abnormality. I used a sterilised pin to pierce the skin, and then sat braless with a cup under my nipple to allow it to drain. I collected about 5ml of clear fluid, and when it stopped, I then fed my daughter. The blockage was gone instantly (with much relief). It took about three days to clear up (drained the blister each morning) and for the pain in the nipple to go away. I have no idea what caused it and it's never returned.
Good Luck - I hope you get some relief soon, I admire your persistance.
Hi and well done for persevering. I had mastitis 8 times when BF DD1 (total of 23 months) first time being at 2 weeks because of a tongue tie. After that resolved I don't know why I kept getting it (I think working had a bit to do with some of it as couldn't always pump when I wanted to).
Anyway sounds like you are doing everything you can. Things that helped me apart from what has already been mentioned - feeding baby while being on all fours, baby lying flat on a bed or something. Gravity I think helped drain the areas that couldn't be fixed with massage etc.
Also using an electric toothbrush gently on boob while feeding baby, the vibration seems to help clear the blockages.
I'll come back if I think of something else. Hugs, hope you can sort it out you poor thing!
To clear a blockage you need to get that boob empty. This means feeding bub and then pumping or hand expressing until empty. Use a hot pack beforehand and a cold pack afterwards.
And don't let the other side become over-full either - hand express that one as needed.
The ultrasound works really really well. And weaning at the moment would be a very very bad idea - as it will only lead to more and more blockages.
Over the next month or so it should settle down as your supply settles down - at the moment you have more milk than bub can drink, but that should change over the next little while.
What you are suffering seems to be more in the realms of bad luck and management. Once you learn the ropes of preventing and treating it doesn't need to re-occur. There is no need at all to wean, and weaning in the midst of this is really not a good idea.
I think, at the moment, you might need to go back to the doctor for reassessment. And you might need another course of antibiotics now. And get your doctor to check that there is no abscess. Now don't be alarmed, it can be treated. it is important to keep your breast as empty as possible. Many mothers find that their milk supply in the early days is a bit more than their baby can handle. If your breast becomes uncomfortably full, then pick up the baby and feed him, but if he is full or asleep express some milk until your breasts are soft and comfortable
Continual Blocked Ducts
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you poor thing it sounds awful.
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