?thrush

[SpannerPants]

Ds is 8 months, and for the last 5 days I have had excruciating pain inside my right breast after feeding him from that side.

There is no pain when feeding, it starts about 10 minutes afterwards and lasts for up to 3 hours. It is an intense burning feeling which is enough to keep me awake at night and isn't relieved at all by paracetamol, ibuprofen or heat.

Ds is fine, no signs of thrush in his mouth but his top teeth broke through the surface the day before my pain started so I put it down to friction from them to start with.

I rang the nct breastfeeding helpline who said it sounds like thrush and recommended a gp review. She said it would require oral fluconazole treatment to clear it up.

However we are due to go on holiday on Thursday for a week and I can't get a gp appointment until we get back. I can't put up with the pain until then. I talked to my dad about it (retired gp) who said he'd never heard of breast thrush and offered to send me some antibiotics instead (I presume for mastitis but I have no symptoms of that!)

Sorry for the essay, I'm very uncomfortable and don't know what to do :(

If it's only in one side then it is unlikely to be thrush.

www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/pdfs/BfN_Thrush_leaflet_Feb_2009.pdf

If it started when his teeth came through then a change in latch could be causeing problems. Also a blocked duck deep in the breast (do you have any hard areas).

Help with latch first would be the best solution to rule this out before medication. Do you have a local drop in group that you could get to or ring one of the helplines.

Oh and if the pain is that intense and latch doesn't help can't you get an emergancy GP appointment? We can always see a GP the same day if you go to the sit and wait clinic.

Helpline has told me its thrush. There's a local breastfeeding cafe tomorrow but I got one of the ladies from there to check my latch on Thursday because of his teeth and she said it was fine. I've got an emergency gp appointment tonight, fingers crossed!

I feel your pain. I have had thrush four times, twice with each child. The pain and burning was terrible. I too had it on one side much more than the other. With DS took the drugs twice but it didnt clear up so stopped feeding him at 4 months. DD again took the drugs twice (second time a much stringer dose) and that seemed to work. Fed her for 7 months, thankfully without the thrush coming back. My GP was very apprehensive to prescribe the fluconazole so I had to be a little firm. I too had been to the breastfeeding clinic to have latch checked etc. so make sure your GP knows you have done that. Neither my children showed signs of it in their mouths but I was given something for them too.
Thrush is horrid and many people don't think it exists in the breasts and it is a relatively new diagnoses, so maybe that's why your Dad hasn't heard of it?
Good luck and I hope it clears up for you and doesn't spoil your holiday.

Gp was insistent it wasn't thrush, after having a good look at me and DS. She said he would have it in his mouth if it was thrush, and that it's all very well breastfeeding helplines diagnosing it but they don't have any medical training. I don't want to give DS medication unless it's absolutely necessary so I'm just going to persist with the painkillers and hope for the best. I'm not going to feed from the right side overnight because I don't think the latch is very good lying down when we're both half asleep, so hopefully that will help.

I would pop along again to the breastfeeding cafe see if they can give you some more help/ support.

BF counciler's can't dignose they aren't medicaly trained they can only refurare you to your GP.

I had pain breastfeeding for the first 4 months, which eventually got so bad I saw GP and got fluconazole cos I thought it was thrush. Doctor also took swab and cultured staph aureus, so switched me to antibiotics. I'm not overall sure which did the trick but after 5 days fluconazole and then a week of flucloxacillin(antibiotic), things were much better. My little girl is now 6.5 months and I enjoy breastfeeding her (&some solids too now). My advice would def be to get swabbed if possible and in the meantime take some treatment for best guess diagnosis, cos pain whilst feeding -and after is absolutely miserable!!

Had the latch checked - its fine apparently.

My boob is still really sore so I'm resorting to just expressing from that side, along with regular ibuprofen. Just hope my supply increases on the other side!