I'm still bf my 20 mo, but usually only before going to bed at night and the early morning feed. About 10 days ago I went out for the evening and my parents had DS to stay - so I missed a bedtime feed and the morning feed. The next day I felt tenderness in my left breast and thought it was a bit odd but possibly hormonal. When the pain didn't go away I eventually felt my breasts and found a large 'block' in the underside of my breast. Of course since then I have been panicking massively (not least because the friend I was out with that evening has had bread cancer, which she found when breast feeding.)
I spoke to my Dr on the phone who advised to keep an eye on it until after my period. She did enquire about mastitis which I dismissed out of hand as I had it (or a threatened bout) when DS was more like 3 months old. That time my breast was engorged and red as well so it seemed like 'typical' mastitis. This went away with some frenzied 'rolling' over the area with a baby bottle filled with hot water (wrapped in a towel!)
So, I'm just wondering if it's at all possible you can have mastitis without any redness of breast or fever? My symptoms are a throbbing, intermittent sort of pain and this harder 'wedge' or almost like a mass of fibrous tissue in the underside of the breast. It's hard to describe..
Feeding is no more or less painful.
It seems a bit unlikely but I thought I'd ask anyway.. Would be grateful for any thoughts.