How to get milk to dry up FAST!

[Whenisitmysleepytime]

I'm done with bf. Too much pain from tt that keeps re growing. Stabbing pains from let down. Blisters. Etc etc etc.

I have gallons of milk though. I'm pumping off just enough so I don't burst ( although leaking LOTS).
How do I get my milk to dry up as now I've decided in done I just want the milk and pains to stop!

[RitaMorgan]

The advice is to drop a feed every 3-7 days so your supply adjusts without risking mastitis. Don't pump, just hand express off the absolute minimum you can for comfort.

[Whenisitmysleepytime]

Yeah I've been dropping feeds slowly- cold turkey would be awful!

I can't hand express tho- never got the knack.

Any other ideas?

[ThisIsYourSong]

have you seen this video re hand expressing? I found it helpful
newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/HandExpression.html

sorry for all your troubles

[monkey32]

I found good old savoy cabbage leaves beneficial. I kept them in the freezer as the coldness gave them added comfort. I believe the enzymes in the cabbage help the milk supply diminish (but I may be wrong - can't be bothered to google...) and certainly helped the hardness. Beware of the smell though - as the leaves are warmed by your body there is sometimes a rather unappealing smell of wee...!!

[naturalbaby]

isn't there a drug to stop milk production you can get on prescription from your gp? that sounds like an amazing amount of milk you are producing, i can't even begin to imagine how you are dealing with the pain!
i'm on my 3rd baby and for some reason my let down is really uncomfortable this time - it's taken a few months to ease off.

[japhrimel]

Drugs aren't usually available except in extreme circumstances such as when a baby is stillborn. There are risks of pretty horrible side effects with most of them.

Try to pump only to the stage where you are comfortable and your supply should drop gradually. I had to do this when DD suddenly started sleeping through and I was waking up in agony. I think it took about 10 days to drop the 1-2 night feeds.

[WentworthMillerMad]

Been there! My doc gave me some really strong codedine mixed with paracetamol. Not the over the counter crap! Really took the edge off as I went cold turkey. Cold cabbages really did help - freezer and v expensive measured bra. Hellish x

[SauvignonBlanche]

I was told to try to do without drugs after a stillbirth though I had really bad engorgement. Apparently there is a risk of DVT with them.
Try to avoid pumping if you can.

[Whenisitmysleepytime]

Thanks all! I wasn't really looking for drugs as after an elcs I feel I've had enough and I really don't cope well with pain killers. More home remedies IYSWIM.

It's actually a lot better today although I went without pads for 5 mins and started dripping so still leaky but not as full. Just wondering how long before it'll stop an I can go looking for nice new bras and go back to normal! :)

[nokissymum]

Green cabbage leaves dear! That'll do the trick.

[NorkilyChallenged]

am going through this now and echo cabbage leaf recommendatiopn

only thing that helped me let down to hand express was to boil kettle, pour water into big bowl, lean over it and steam helped let down so i could just drip into the bowl. nothing else had worked. cabbge really good and if you're giving up bf then replace leaves every 4 hours and keep on doing it for a couple of days

[Whenisitmysleepytime]

No cabbage I'm afraid.
Tried it once with ds after stopping bf then. The snell of warm cabbage boobs made me heave! (super human sense of smell another hangover from pg)

[NorkilyChallenged]

My hv said should take 2-3 weeks depending how you do it. Good luck, I had mastitis (not fun) so glad of cabbage - shame you can't use it

[sleepdodger]

Prob not the medically sound route but fwiw I was told not to take sudafed when bf as it can dry your supply, maybe discuss with hv?