In tears please help :(

[BuntCadger]

My breasts are so painful. It's been weeks now. I saw dr about 3 weeks ago and they said thrush. Since I noticed dd has lip tie and saw hv as despite antibiotics for thrush still in so much pain.

I've been giving dd extended latch and her latching on hasn't been painful. However she did bite me last week and drew blood and the wound is still open as right at base of nipple.

My aerola (sp) is itchy, burning, red, dry and oh so painful. The slightest brush of material hurts. I tried (stupidly) cream for fungal infection just incase (dakorat) and it made it worse.

I'm say here topless, have rinsed them and expressed a little and let air dry. I just don't know what to do.
Nipple shields don't work as she's 10 months and knows what she wants (she bits shield hard). I really don't want to stop as she still dependent and at least 5x a day. I also want to feed her till she's older.

I will go back to dr but tbh they seemed clueless. I'm so so sore :(

for everyone's ideas so far.

Breast Feeding Network recommends Daktarin (miconazole 2%) for mum, not Canesten/clotrimazole as clinical trials have shown it's far less effective in cases of nipple thrush. Baby must also be treated simultaneously using Daktarin/miconazole 2% oral gel. Daktarin for mum should go on sparingly after every feed - it doesn't need to be wiped off before next feed. Daktarin for baby should be used four times a day. Apply four petit pois sized blobs: one in each cheek, one on the roof of the mouth and one on the tongue, smearing over as much of the inside of the mouth as possible, especially at the back of the tongue where thrush really likes to hang out. Both of these are available over the counter but you can also ask the doctor to prescribe them. You were probably given fluoconazole, an anti fungal, but this has to be used in combination with the cream and gel as above, otherwise baby will just keep giving thrush back to you. I found applying the cream then leaving my boobs exposed to the air for as long as possible, while extremely undignified, was key to getting better. I also stopped using breast pads and stopped wearing a nursing bra at night. This took some getting used to but was a turning point in shifting a very persistent case of thrush. I also took acidophilus tablets. All of the above treatment advice is from both the Breast Feeding Network and my excellent breast feeding specialist and it worked a treat. GPs notoriously know very little about nipple thrush so ask for a referral to a breast feeding specialist if it doesn't improve.

CANASTEN saved my life when I was breastfeeding my DTs and had awful thrush in both breasts.

I can read what is written above but Daktarin did not work for me!

Put loads on between feeds and wash off with a flannel before feeding.

And daktarin gel for DC's mouth.

Hi. Can I ask is the part of your breast hard where it is red?
I had something similar but it was not on the nipple but on the side. If it is the same as mine the what my midwife told me to do was instead of feeding my ds in my lap was to have him facing the other. This way he was getting milk from a different part of my breast. This took a few days but it worked. It dose hurt a lot. I used to have to hold my breath until he had been on for a bit.

If you do have thrush wat I said above will not work. Sorry :(

ps it does sound exactly like when I had thrush. The stabbing, total tenderness, red flakiness - OW ow ow ow ow.

Hope you get it sorted soon!

mandinga I've stopped wearing a bra at night and breast pads too. Trying to give them air to breath. The daktaron stung like hell when I applied it so quite nervous. They never treated dd or gave topical treatment. I will go back tho. They are very dry too.

I am half expecting gp to tell me to stop. I'm not going to tho

gup thanks. It's horrid isn't it.

busymum dd only feeds laying down in bed, tummy to tummy. Can't feel hard lumps.

Now wondering if it's because I feed laying down mostly

Off to bed, dream feed time eek

Hey just checking in. Hope that last feed went OK. I can identify with stopping not being an option :) don't worry though, we'll get you sorted :)

I think a priority is going to be getting oral gel for your DD started today. If you can't get a GP appointment then take the factsheet to your pharmacist. In fact if you look in your DD's mouth you may see signs of white patches or a coated tongue. Clarting the areas with gel is the first step to stopping the cycle of reinfection.

Good luck :)

Hello, I went through something very similar when my daughter was around the same age. It just came on out of the blue. Seem to remember systemic anti fungal meds and daktarin topically for me and her. We boil washed everything my nipples and her mouth came into contact with for good measure. I remember it taking a while but it did get better and I fed her until she weaned at two. All the best.

Sorry don't have any advice on thrush, but my DS did bite and i can totally relate about the dread of feeding alongside wanting to BF. It can be horrible!

I had an open wound that wasn't healing, maybe this is something to try as it worked for me:
warm shower, followed by a cold one over boob area. Then try spraying with Dettol wound spray www.boots.com/en/Dettol-Antiseptic-Wash-100-ml_5512/ Try and do it right after a feed, remember to wipe spray off before BF again. Brilliant stuff, also helped me heal from stitches after birth.

Also speak to GP / pharmacy to see what the baby can have to sooth the pain. Every time my son bit, I use to take away my breast and pop him in his cot for a bit - enabled me to gather myself and he did learn even at that age that a bite ment no more milk. I put him down for less than 2 minutes.

Maybe a cooled toy to mouth might help too.

Hope you find a solution and get better soon!

Thanks :)

No appt available this morning, ds2 has teacher visiting us today do meant I couldn't make time offered therefore I "can" wait and call tomorrow

Olive oil has helped a bit I think. I can't see any white patches in dd mouth as much as she lets me look

You won't always be able to see white patches necessarily, especially if they're right at the back of the tongue/palate. If your GP has never mentioned treating your DD it doesn't sound like he/she is full bottle on how to deal with thrush anyway! You can get the topical treatments without the GP, so maybe get those today and start them and the GP might give you another course of fluoconazole to use in conjunction. I forgot to mention that you need to keep using the cream on you and oral gel on your DD for at least a week, if not two, AFTER symptoms seem to have resolved.

If your GP also tells you to stop BFing, that will also show that he/she doesn't really know their stuff. It might cure your thrush, but use of bottles can exacerbate your baby's, and she will have it if you do, even if you can't necessarily see it. Feeding her EBM would also make her thrush persist as well as it gets into your milk ducts and infects the milk. Thrush-infected EBM still has more health benefits than formula, however. Best thing to do is keep her on the boob and use the cream and gel religiously. Are you sure you're using DAKTARIN and not DAKTOCOURT on your nipples? Daktocourt has a bit of steroid in it as well which may make application more uncomfortable, although it can help with the inflammation. Daktocourt does also need to be wiped off before next feed, unlike Daktarin which can stay on. The reason Daktarin is recommended over Canesten is it penetrates better, but if Canesten is more comfortable and/or effective it's better than nothing. Good luck!