In so much pain please help.

[stripeyZ]

DS is two weeks old. I've been breast feeding which thought had been going well in that he has put on weight, seems content & am getting lots of wet/dirty nappies. When feeding I do one breast per session. He feeds for approx 20mins every hour & a half ish, 3-4hrs at night.

I fed him at 2am on the left no problem. Woke up at 5am in huge pain on that side. Feed him again on the left & since then have been in constant excruciating pain which codeine hasn't helped.

My left breast is hard & really sore to touch, esp underneath & I'm really not sure what to do. Should i keep feeding on it or has that made it worse?

Any advice would be really appreciated.

You may have a blocked duct. Can you massage gently towards the nipple and try to express?

Is it red/inflamed?

Sounds like mastitis. I'd get to gp ASAP. Meanwhile, as said above can you bear to continue to feed on that side? Take some paracetamol. Put a cold flannel on it if hot. May help if you can massage in direction of milk flow.

It's doesn't appear red but is swollen & even moving around hurts J

ust had a shower & will massage / express. How long should I do this for?

DS will need feeding soon, which side should I use. Thanks for replying.

Just taken some paracetamol & will try & get a GP appointment today.

Massaging/expressing seems to be helping & i will try & feed DS that side when he wakes.

It's so painful I've been I tears. is there something i've done that has caused this?

ouch, its really painful isn't it

your breasts are still regulating milk supply and until its settled down, oversupply can cause ducts to block a bit. You may also have been lying on it, causing some pressure on the breast, making it prone to blocking.

feed and feed some more to try to unblock the duct. Get some frozen peas wrapped in a towel and put on the sore part to cool it down.

hope you feel better soon

if you start getting shakey, with chills and a temperature, then it could be mastitis, but sounds more like a regular blocked duct. Massage is also good.

check that its not a milk blister, with a layer of skin covering one of the nipple holes which causes milk to back up. Google milk blister .

Thanks for the info. It's definitely not a milk blister. I now have a temp of 38 so I guess it's mastitis. GP is going to call me back. Feel so gutted

You poor thing. Don't worry. It is good that the gp is getting back to you. It is just one of those things, can't blame anything you have done or not done. The temp indicates antibiotics will probably be required. That is the best thing at this stage and will hopefully kick in quickly. Won't have any detrimental effect on your baby so don't worry about that. Maybe just some runny nappies. More important for you to start feeling better and not feel you have to give up. You are doing the right thing feeding. Good luck.

stripeyZ - have a look at Kellymom.com here for lots of self help tips to help clear the blockage and clear the mastitis.

In a nutshell - you need to feed as much as possible (pumping 8-12 times a day until no more milk comes out if it is just too painful to feed from), breast massage going towards the nipple, warm compresses before feeding to help get as much milk out as possible, hand expressing in the shower if you are finding getting as much milk out as you'd like and ibuprofen is the painkiller of choice as it is an anti-inflammatory as well. Rest as much as possible too (if you can with a baby) let other people deal with the washing, cooking and housework you are actually ill!

Codeine isn't really recommended as some people are hyper-metabolisers and convert too much of the codeine to morphine (codeine itself isn't a painkiller but it's metabolite morphine is). There is no way to know with out testing to find out if you are a hyper-metaboliser so in general it's not rec. any more (a baby died in Canada before it was known as the mother was on codeine following delivery and no one noticed the baby getting more and more sedated as the morphine levels rose!).

Hope you feel better soon.

Sorry should have said the odd codeine isn't going to harm baby but taking it for days on end might (if you are a hyper-metaboliser).

Also only take ibuprofen if it's not contra-indicated by your medical history/current medication!

Kellymom has some advice on when antibiotics are indicated, and when it might be ok to self treat initially . If you would prefer to avoid antibiotics you could discuss whether this is an option in your case with your GP. Mine was happy to give me a prescription but said that as I'd got the symptoms under control with paracetamol, if it stayed that way, it was ok not to take them.

Poor you - it's terrible when you think everything is going okay and then something like this blindsides you.

Mastitis is treatable, I hope you get the support you need from your GP. Kellymom is fabulous, and any real life support you can get from local groups will also help you get through this.

If the GP doesn't prescribe antibiotics or you prefer to try alternative methods to shift it, make sure you treat yourself to a small glass of wine. It can give you enough of a lift in the evening to get you through the "witching hour" as my breastfeeding support worker used to call the evening cluster feeds.

Thanks so much for the replies. Temp is now 39 & I feel totally rubbish. Paracetamol doesn't seem to be working.

Still waiting for the GP to call back. I've only just finish two courses of antibiotics as I developed a temp in labour. My poor baby with all these drugs, he's so new

DH is just getting the pump out the box so will start expressing asap. Breast is so painful I'm dreading it. Luckily he's still on paternity leave.

Unfortunately I can't take NSAID's so was given codeine on discharge for the episiotomy - not sure I want to taken them now though

Feel so disappointed as the breastfeeding was the only thing that's gone well since the labour. And thanks for the sympathy, it does help!

Like I said not really a prob if for occasional use (and baby doesn't appear sedated/having breathing difficulties/not feeding at all) but if you want to check it out with your particular situation/age of baby/medical history then call Wendy Jones at the Drugs in Breastmilk helpline.

This is what LactMed has to say (LactMed is a database run by the US government for interested parties to check drugs compatibility with bfing) if you are unable to call the DinBM helpline.

Have you any paracetamol at home or is that also contra-indicated for you? (Asprin is also out for bfing mums just in case you have some of those at home).

As DH is at home rest up, cuddle up with baby and feed feed feed (or pump, pump, pump), BTW BM from a breast with mastitis (even an abscess) is fine for baby to drink it won't make baby ill.

Thanks_ truthsweet. Good to know the LO won't be affected. Would feel awful if he got ill.I'm try to take the codeine as infrequently as possible. If it gets too bad I may request some gastro-resistant NSAID & hope for the best.

They dont tell you this side of breast feeding in anti-natal classes.

The links were really useful, thank you.

How are things now stripeyZ?