Awful nipping pain deep inside left breast during and after feeding 20mo DD

[farrowandballs]

Can anyone help me please? DD 20 mo still feeds A LOT. She's totally night weaned (so no nursing between 7pm and 6am) but feeds 5 or 6 times a day every day. I am not enjoying it. I feel under siege and I am psyching myself up to weaning her. (I'm saying this as background in case psychological causes might be possible).

Feeding has started to REALLY HURT. Deep inside my left breast, in the centre, under the nipple but deeper, I'm getting a feeling like I'm being nipped or clamped very hard inside. It causes me to break her off and change sides immediately but the pain persists for 5 or so minutes and I'm still getting pains now (an hour since I stopped feeding). Does anyone have any idea what this might be?

Any advice/insights would be appreciated. Thanks.

I am still feeding my 13 month old and get discomfort in my left breast too. Nothing like as bad as you describe though. I would go to the doctors and get examined, if I were you. If you have a cyst it needs sorting out. It could be totally innocuous too, but I think you should get it checked out. Hopefully someone with greater experience will come along and post soon.

It could be thrush, which is very very easily treated. Get the Breastfeeding Network's online prescription guide because alot of GPs don't give you the right dose of fluconazole to shift it. I had it with DS when he was about that age and it was agony. Never felt pain like it.

I second the thrush.I had it and the pain sounds very similar,I had shooting,stabbing pain deep in the breast,it was horrible.

I had a similar problem when DS was 4m old - I'm guessing it was a plugged milk duct - although I couldn't feel any lumps. I had the same pain again quite recently and this time I could feel a lump. It did resolve on its own after a couple of days. Although it really hurt (the pain was deep inside like you described), I always made sure that DS started from that side so he could suck the plug out and massaged the lump like crazy.

From what I've heard thrush can cause a similar pain too. Is there a local breastfeeding clinic you could go to for advice before seeing the GP. They GP's are not always up on breastfeeding problems.