Unable to breastfeed - One breast back to normal, one not!

[Secretlemonadehater]

Hullo all, I am a new mum looking for advice.
Due to medication I have to take I am unable to breast feed. Gutted.
But my various consultants agree that there is substantial risk to baby if I do.

So I’ve been bottle feeding for the 10!days since the birth. My milk came in last Thursday/Friday. One breast has dried up and feels normal. One is still swollen, warm and painful to poke! It is also still producing a tiny drop of milk every now and again.

Is this normal and will it dry up soon?

The midwife who visited this morning said to ring my gp in 10 days if I wasn’t normal by then. That’s a long time!

Thanks.

I developed mastitis in a lump under my armpit when my milk came in (who knew you could have milk glands there?)
Anyway my GP gave me the following advice:
Cold for slowing down milk production, hot for encouraging it.
She told me to put frozen cabbage leaves on my armpit, as well as regular ice packs constantly.
In addition to the antibiotics and icing it constantly, the lump went down.

I suggest icing your boob all the time. Frozen cabbage leaves work wonders as well.
Avoid expressing anything off, you don't want to encourage milk supply.
And if you develop any redness, or feel feverish, see your GP as soon as possible, mastitis can make you very sick so it's important to treat it quickly.

Hi @Secretlemonadehater it's really worth checking with Wendy Jones at the Breastfeeding Network about whether the medication you're on really does mean no breastfeeding. She is a pharmacist and an expert in drugs in breastmilk and I would take her knowledge and info over the doctors who are rarely informed when it comes to breastfeeding. Most medication is fine to take alongside breastfeeding.
You can message her via their page on Facebook and she's normally very quick to come back. If it turns out you are able to feed after all, it's not too late to recover your supply and start breastfeeding although it will take a bit of time to kickstart it.

@Chickchickadee555 it may well have been yourself who recommended I spoke Wendy Jones on my previous post where I expressed my disappointment about my meds. If so, thank you.

I did speak to her and she recommended alternative meds which I am pleased to say my consultant agreed to trial, much to my surprise, unfortunately the alternative meds which would have allowed me to BF gave me horrid side affects - I dared not stray far from the bathroom for several days and it was decided that the level of dehydration I was reaching was potentially damaging to my pregnancy so I had to go back to the original meds.

I was really glad to at least have had a suggestion and to have tried an alternative, rather than just give up. As it stands, my LO has taken to the bottle well, but I do feel guilty on occasions when the rioting begins and I haven’t got a bottle ready immediately.