Pain in breast

[stargirl1701]

Left breast is quite painful tonight. Bf for 4 weeks. Currently block nursing in 4 hour blocks due to forceful letdown & oversupply.

No redness but harder than right. No lumps I can feel. Engorgement? Or, mastitis?

I have had infective mastitis when I bf DD1. No nipple damage this time so not that.

DD2 has fed from the left for an hour now. Very soft but still painful. Like a pulled muscle.

Me too, my left breast feels like it's on fire. Could yours be a blocked duct? I've had that a few times, always in the same place on the left but this pain is different. I'm hoping it's not mastitis, I'm going away for the weekend so need this to get better quickly. Have you got a white spot on the nipple? If so it's probably a blocked duct. Keep feeding from that side to clear it and it should be fine in a couple of days.

No white spots. Feeding and pumping as much as I can.

If your baby is only 4 weeks it could just be engorgement due to a growth spurt maybe? My DD has just woken for a feed (on the sore breast) and it's so painful now. There is a red area next to the nipple and below that is a sore lump. Hoping this feed will clear it...

It's mastitis. I'm cold and shivery. Pain is worse. Damn.

Oh no, hope it gets better quickly, can you get to the gp today?

I'll phone at 8am.

Back from GP. She prescribed ABs but advised to continue with what I'm doing and take the ABs if symptoms get worse.

Mastitis is the pits.

I've had this numerous times over the years. Top tips are to take regular ibuprofen for a few days (if you can) to reduce the inflammation and allow milk to flow more easily.

Hand expressing in a hot bath to find and unblock the duct. lay on your side with the infected breast immersed in the water and gently express. I got a huge cheese string type thing out once but you have to do it 2-3 times a day.

A warm compress before feeding helps vasodilation and enables the milk to follow more easily. Popping a cold compress on after a feed helps reduce inflammation. A sanitary towel fits around the breast quite nicely and soaked in warm warm water/in the freezer works well or I highly recommend these

Hope it clears up soon.

Mastitis here too I think. Was no better this morning so I called the gp who prescribed ABs. I've had blocked ducts loads of times before but not mastitis, it's so sore! I'm going to the in laws for the weekend and a wedding tomorrow so really don't want to be feeling unwell. Hope you get better soon star and thanks for the tips superworm

I feel for you! I'm on my third bout in 3 weeks, currently got it on both sides . I've had some great advice and help on here. One thing that's helped is to stop wearing any bras. I switched to wearing my night feeding crop top so there's no pressure anywhere. I've also started taking lecithin granules. It's supposed to make your milk more viscous and therefore less likely to clog up in the ducts. My gp also recommend washing the area around the nippel with water before and after feeds to stop any bacterial build up.
I think sometimes these infections get the better of us because we're a bit run down and tired so do anything you can to boost your immune system and rest when you can. Hope everyone thats suffering gets better soon!

Sometimes - you poor thing!

Has your baby been checked for TT? It sounds like there is something not right there.

I agree about the bras. I ditched my night one three weeks in as I has really hideous mastitis. Some slings can put pressure in the breast too and cause blocked ducts.

Owainsmum - remember to feed as much as possible while you're away to prevent it getting worse or developing an abscess.

Mastitis can be brutal. It's in my top three of the most unwell I have ever been.

Superworm, I did the bath trick. I was able to hand express solid milk to the nipple. Just fed DD and those solid strands are no longer popping out of the nipple. Still a way to go though, I think.

That's good Star sounds like the blockage is clearing. I agree, keep it up to make sure the milk can flow properly. Usually takes a few days to get things back on track

The hardness is going today, just one patch left. A few more strands are popping out when I hand express. The pump isn't powerful to get them out so I'm relying on DD2! I phoned the midwife unit to see if I could pop in and borrow a hospital pump but they only have one left in the unit and it's being used. I'm at the BF group there on Monday so I might be able to use it if I still need it.

Red/ pink streaks are gone. Chills/shivers are gone. I've not started the ABs - hoping not to need them!

Brilliant news stargirl! Hope you manage to stay on top of it. Think mine may be on the way out now too, fingers crossed, but sat up with a streaming cold now. Bloody rubbish immune system!! Better this than mastitis though .

Good news for you too! I just can't face more antibiotics. I still haven't recovered from the last batch!

Hey can anyone help my baby is 5 weeks Tuesday and I have been given antibiotic over a week ago for mestitis it all cleared and finished course but started getting signs again this morning ... Weare also bboth being treated for thrush as he had it in his mouth and spread to my nipples they were also clearing but now sore again with slight inflammation my doctors not the best to see as he told me to not breast feed and to express and bottle feed

Can you feel a blockage anywhere in the breast? If it is coming back it suggests it's not been cleared so try the hand expressing in the bath trick. Take regular ibuprofen and feed as much as possible.

What antibiotics are you taking? Are you using nystatin for the thrush?

Na I can't find one there just really hard and heavy slight tenderness on breast but they feel better after a feed but still nowhere near as soft as last few days but veins are really noticeable again and baby on daktrin gel and I've got daktacort

I had it return on the same breast twice (had the same antibiotics both times) and then whilst taking the second lot of antibiotics I started a new infection on the other side. The doc then put me on a different antibiotic which now seems to have worked. You might just need a different type as it depends on the type of bacteria. Keep persevering, I hope you get it sorted. Mastitis is the worst thing!

I'm on amoxacillin forgot that one lol

and fair enough it's a nightmare feelslike nnature is against you sometimes but I really don't want to give it up I didn't do it with my first and I really enjoy it wish I did and thank you

How are things stargirl?

Cleared the left then, on Monday, the right became blocked. I think I've got them all. There was evidence of one this morning that DD2 had pulled out but not swallowed.

Just keep feeding, just keep feeding

DD2 is loving the blocked ducts, mind you. The flow had dropped dramatically. I hope this whole saga drops my supply.