Mastitis and stopping BF - am I messing myself up?

[TheUniversalsHere]

I'm currently on my third bout of mastitis, came on Thursday before last and have been given a second lot of antibiotics to hopefully clear it. I managed to feed off the effected breast for four days but it got more and more painful. Tried expressing to relieve too.

Ultimately I now want to stop breast feeding and start bottle feeding with formula ASAP, as I am obviously prone to mastitis and have just had enough. DS well over 5 months now and is a big boy so I think I've done my job ok.

DS feeds every 3 hours. First feed of the day is 5am (early risers as take dp to train station).
I'd say he's half bottle, half good boob at the moment. Bottles are at 5am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm and he has me at 8am, 6.30pm and when he wakes in the night.

My infected boob has not been used in about five days, feels like a sack full of stones and is v v painful. Am I doing the right thing just letting a few drops out in the bath? Will the hardness just disperse? Dp seems to think I should be pumping and keeps on at me about it but that will just keep production up (I think) and therefore prolong things? But he says I need to pump to get rid of infection? - I think the antibiotics should be handling that??

Also on a slightly vainer note am I going to end up lopsided? Trying to swap to formula and get him totally off good boob ASAP partly for that reason, also am being sedated for surgery on Tuesday and don't want DS to feel the effects. They say it just makes them sleepy but I don't like the sound of that...

Any advice would be gratefully received. I have looked at kellymom and LLL but it would be nice to speak to someone to figure out if I'm doing the right things given situation. Just looking for reassurance I guess...

Should have said surgery unrelated -teeth

From my limited expreance and the info given out by the BfN you should acutaly not stop feeding when you have mastites. The best way to clear the blockege is to feed and express as much as possible from that side.

www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/pdfs/BFN_Mastitis.pdf

The anitbiotics will clear the infection, but they wount clear the blocked ducks which is what started the infection in the first place. So in short yes you need to pump.

The advice for stopping is usealy to drop one feed a week, so stopping so soon unless you pump could casue you more problems if you have been prone to mastitis in the past.

It is fine to feed after an anatheic, gerentaly by the time you are awake you can feed.

I am currently on my 9th bout of mastitis (baby is 7 1/2 months) and came on here as I was thinking of posting about it. Again. I completely understand why it would make you want to give up, it's not only absolute agony, but it makes you so ill you're incapacitated too.

AFAIK, suddenly stopping BF can make thing worse and also more painful. I have only been affected on the same side each time and am now thinking I'll dry that side up. I'm going to wait until this bout has passed though as I don't want a) things to get even more painful and feeding or expressing that side is the only relief I get, despite it being agony, and b) I don't want to risk an abcess, which I understand to be even more painful.

Can you speak to a BF counsellor or ring one of he helplines about the best way to stop 'safely'?

Mrs - It may hurt but you really do need to clear the blocked duck's the most effective way to do this is feeding, although some can do it with just pumping. Massarge with hot flanels and comming the area can help to.

The possible alternative is a breast absess which leads to more pain and possibley needs draining not a plesent prospect.

Cabbage leaves work!

I stopped after only 4 weeks and gradually wound down the expressing. I did get some tenderness and fullness but just a few minutes expressing to relieve discomfort did it. It can take a few weeks but you can stop the BFing and just express, expressing less and less each time. I put cabbage leaves in my bra and they were brilliant. Straight from the fridge and I changed them every 12 hours. I was also on diclofenac for a c section and swear they helped too.