Hi everyone,
I am just hoping to hear from someone else who might have experienced something like this
I have had mastitis for two weeks now - for the first 5 days (Tues-Sat) I tried to reduce the lump myself with warm compresses, lots of feeding, different nursing positions, warm baths, hand expressing, cabbage leaves, combing etc
On the Sunday morning I was in agony, so went to the out of hours doctor at the local hospital and received Amoxicillin antibiotic. I took a double dose on Sunday (8 tablets) and then 4 tablets a day until the Thursday, when I visited my local GP as there was no improvement (but no worsening at this stage)
He told me to stop taking the Amoxicillin and changed my prescription to Keflex.
The following day, Friday (10 days) I went back to the out of hours doctor at the hospital in agony. He was annoyed that the GP had stopped the Amoxicillin, took me off the Keflex and started me on 4 tablets of Flucloxicillin a day (all of these have been different forms of antibiotic, just to make clear). He reassured me it was not an abscess.
Monday (yesterday) I went to my GP surgery (but saw a new GP) who checked me again, as I was in a lot of pain - he confirmed that it was not an abscess and told me just to carry on with the Flucloxicillin. He asked me to come back on Friday for another 7 day course of the same drug. He also told me to take codeine & paracetmol for the pain.
Today I'm in just as much pain, even with some additional pain relief...the lump is very pronounced and very painful - even to put a soft cotton sleep bra on the breast is intensely painful.
I cannot hand express as I cannot bear to touch my breast. My baby will no longer latch on, unless coaxed from the other breast after the initial let down.
The skin is starting to split and peel on the lump (not on the nipple, although the lump is right beside the nipple). Also, where the skin is peeling, there is a dark spot like there is a little blood under the next layer of skin (but it is not bleeding on the surface, IYSWIM?)
I'm at a loss. I know that after 4 doctor appointments in 2 weeks that it is not (yet) an abscess, but the pain is huge and the antibiotics don't seem to be having any effect. Perhaps it is because they kept changing the type I was on? I know different doctors have different preferences.
I feel like I'm waiting for it to become an abscess, just so they can treat me and relieve the pain. Which seems so wrong!
Does anyone have any similar experiences? I don't know what to do with myself. I'm only just coping as my husband is at home at the moment, but he is going overseas on a business trip tomorrow and I don't know how I'll cope....I can only hold my 6 month old for a few minutes before the pain gets too much, and he's screaming with the pain of 4 teeth coming in at once (he has 4 already, and I can see the next four white in his gums!)
I don't know what to do, and I don't know what I'm going to do for the next two weeks of being the only parent at home
ARGHHH! help me, please x