Does breastfeeding pain get easier? 10 weeks in and feeling desperate!

[kittyz]

Hi all

As above, feeding my 10 week old daughter. Had lot of pain in beginning so advised to top up with formula by midwife. Still combination feeding but still with pain. Feel like I’ve tried everything. Had two lactation consultants out, am using nipple shields, tried different positions, balms, cream, compresses, angel cups, APNO cream. Also had my daughter tongue tie released. Everything! But still have pain.

Yesterday started getting shooting pain in my right breast as well as the usual nipple pain

Always wanted to breastfeed, ever since I’ve been young. And so disappointed that it’s been so hard for me.

I’m not worried that she’s not thriving, as she is with the combination of breast and formula.

Suppose I’m looking for positive stories. Some hope from others who experience nipple pain almost daily. Looking for positive stories that there will be an end to this!

Thank you.

I've breastfed a few babies successfully- but not without problems of sore nipples.
You most probably have THRUSH, i'm sure you know that?
with my first I was pain free for 9 months until the thrush hit and I got cracked and painful nipples, I gave up nursing not long after. With my second, I got cracked up right away with the 1st feed! I still had lingering thrush all along, pink nipples , weak skin. No creams helped.
Until I came across the one and only thing that helped (with advise from my breastfeeding counsellor) , and this will help you too! If the creams haven't helped you need INTERNAL THRUSH TREATMENT. Ask your doctor for FLUCONOZOLE (may have another name) ( IN UK they dont really want to give it- not been tested enough here for breastfeeding mums . Its been used in USA and other countries even given directly to tiny babies, so if some does leak into the milk it wont do harm to the baby- I had to show all the literature to my GP until he finally gave it.. talking 15 years ago- now they give it easier)
Anyway when i took the pill, I saw a massive improvement after 24hrs! nipples back to normal colour, cracks were healing! gone after a few days and pain free nursing ! (baby must also have daktarin oral gel while you are being treated even if you cant see anything in his mouth)
With my next babies, i was prone to get thrush again, (once you get thrush its always inside, the body tries to keep on top of it but finally the thrush wins ! keep on low sugar will help to keep thrush at bay, and other things) but now that its out- you've got to knock it on its head!
You need a double dose starting dose and then 1 a day for 10 days, dont do less than that (some GP's give just a single dose, i dont think that's enough)
you can PM me for more details!

Hi @ kittyz

So sorry u are struggling with the feeding. You are doing brilliantly to persevere.

I had lots of trouble bf my first dd and struggled again this time. Both DDs had tongue tie which went undiagnosed for a number of weeks despite several assessments. Is it worth still pursuing the possibility?

Also something that jumped out from your post is the shooting pain in your breast. This can be a sign of thrush (my dd and me have had a few bouts of this recently)

May be worth going to GP to check? I had lots of nipple and shooting pain when I had thrush. DD didnt have a particularly white mouth, and my nipples didnt look any different, but I had read about the symptoms and insisted i hot tested for it, and sure enough we tested positive. Maybe worth a shot?

I really hope u get to the bottom of what is causing the pain. X

X post @ESEMEF63

Yes the name of the pill is the same in uk. I have been prescribed ot 3 times now with no issue. The name of the oral treatment for baby we got given here is nystatin. As with u, all cleared up in a couple of days.x

Oh my god guys. Thank you for the replies, and yes you have given me hope! I will make an appointment to see my doctor on Monday. I am using APNO cream and apparently there is a thrush element to that compound? But maybe it’s not strong enough. Will pursue the thrush part though. I will try anything!

My nipples are always red (think they are even before BF tho). Babies mouth doesn’t seem to have white dots on it. Can my doc do a swab to confirm if it is thrush?

Spending a fortune on this BF journey too. As I’m so desperate for it to work out!

Thank you!

Definitely swab to check - I thought I had thrush but the swab showed a staph infection instead so I was given antibiotics. (Which resulted in thrush anyway! But caught early so treated with the cream and oral gel). They swabbed my nipples and the inside of DS’s mouth, results took a couple of days.

Yep they swab u and baby. If it is thrush you need to make sure you both get treated at the same time, otherwise you just pass it back and forth between you. Also make sure u complete the course of baby's drops.
In addition to this make sure u wash all clothes (bras obviously) and towels on a very hot wash to kill of the fungus.

Good luck.x

Thank you so much for replying. I really hope this will be the answer.

Have app with doctor in a few hours.

Thank You so much guys for taking the time to answer me.

If you have the stabbing pains, 99% sure its thrush- I not sure I would wait for swab results could take another week till your sorted with the medications, though your GP may want to take the swabs anyway but just ask for the FLUCONOZOLE & baby gel ASAP, ON MONDAY!
You will see major results so quickly, breastfeeding will become a dream! Say you've tried the creams and no results, its thrush INTERNAL so only internal treatment will help this.
In UK they definitely also do give DAKTARIN ORAL GEL for baby, ive never tries nystatin drops, and had good results from Daktarin oral gel. I can only recommend what worked for me.
And ive recommended this treatment (the fluconozole) to other suffering mums and they are blessing me till this day!
Good luck!

Oh good- doctor today!
Don't go out of there without the treatment!
Believe me.....

Me again:
By the way baby doesn't NEED to have the white dots to show thrush. Mine never did (in a few cases), but baby needs treating anyway.
Its you that is showing the signs of thrush.

Sounds like thrush. Hope they can confirm this.

For the general soreness, make sure your latch is optimal.

While holding the baby with one arm/ hand, form the other hand into a letter C, and use that hand to really squeeze your breast, with fingers underneath and thumb on top, well back from the nipple, so that you can place the nipple well back in the baby's mouth when she opens it. Your sore nipples are probably the result of too much contact between baby's tongue and your nipple.

I will try to find a diagram of what I am saying and post it later. I'm on my phone at work right now 🙂

I hope the doctor’s appointment goes well!

For me, the pain never got better, and there was nothing “wrong” with either DS or I. (DS had tongue tie, snipped at 8 weeks, but I think by then had learned to nurse in a way that was painful for me.) I nursed him until he was two and hated every minute of it. I wish I had combination fed, or just gone to formula. It made my relationship with DS very fraught, and I hated myself for hating feeding him . Nipple shields really helped. Pumping was a godsend and I did more and more of it as he got older.

If I could go back I’d tell myself that it’s ok to do what I needed to do day to day. Formula, bf, whatever whenever. Your emotional health, and your emotional connection with your LO matters too! So if you can cure it, that’s great. But if not, it’s ok to take it day by day and do what you (and baby) need.

Thank you so Much

Can I ask what dosages you got for this treatment? My doc is useless so I’ll need to practically tell him what to prescribe.

Thanks!

Absolutely second the internal thrush pill. Breastfeeding was hellish for me from the start and only got worse. First doctor I saw didn't test me but fobbed me off with canesten cream for nipples and nystatin for baby (which he hated). Then I got stroppy/desperate and saw a different doctor who took my word and immediately gave me the internal medicine and miconazole gel for him. I stopped using breast pads as well and became rigorous about heat treating anything that went near his mouth.

And did that work for you ginger beverage? How many pills did he prescribe for you if you don’t mind.

Thanks also thundernlightening. I will see if I can treat this nipple thing first, if I have no luck I’ll have to reevaluate it!

The treatment for me was a one off pull-out just zaps everything.
For baby ot was nystatin liquid. 0.5mls after every feed, max of 8 times a day. The idea for the baby is that it isn't a medicine they drink as such, but washes around the mouth to coat it and treat the fungus.

Hold on In there op!
After 12 weeks the pain stopped for me, because my nipples went numb!

They did come back again when I stopped feeding several years later, but it was handy while it lasted.

*one off pill that zaps everything

Hi OP - yes the pill worked really well. I also made sure we both took probiotics.
From what I can recall it was one pill 12 hours apart for a few days.
However I still have some pain from the fact that LO just does not like a deep latch and pushes the nipple out whenever he can. The difference is the pain is not deep inside the breast anymore, it's just on the surface.
We are almost 4 months in and I am happy mixed feeding.

Hi all

Just home from the doc - useless as I predicted but I pushed him to give me the oral Fluconazole 50mg - one tablet a day for 7 days and Mycostain for my daughter.

ESEMEF63 Thank you for saying about the cream, as initially he was trying to just prescribe canisten - I was prepped after your message

Thank you all again for your understanding and help.

Just popping in to say tongue tie can re-establish. It looks like a cross in the scar under the tongue.

I’d also get your latch assessed. And as everyone has said checked for thrush.

Finally are you changing up feed position so you’re getting some respite?

Are you 'doing it' right? First time around, my nipples were a war zone, but my 'lactation consultant' (yes, I know!) helped sort that via DS1 and I- getting a proper latch. And to take him off and re-do if the latch wasn't right (my little finger inserted into the corner of his mouth to break the vacuum). Initially several times per feed. Time after time. Til we both got it right.

Basically, he was sucking on my nipple, plus a bit of aereola. I learned he needed at least a quarter of my boob in his mouth to feed efficiently. It's like (sorry) squeezing a zit. You have to get behind it. His suck needs to happen up above and behind my nipple.

It was a learned technique. I'd take him off, his mouth would go searching but I'd grab my moment, his mouth wide, to slap my boob into his mouth, underside of my boob (held by me) 1/3 onto his bottom lip and pull him towards me in an 'up and over' motion, so his top lip hit my upper boob half way up, sort of swinging him in, 'hinging' on his lower lip position, effectively slapping him onto me, and then his automatic suck reflex drew my nipple deep into his mouth.

Also, once latched, I expected, and got, a sharp pain, momentarily, with - I think the term was 'let down'. The moment the stimulation of the baby's suck 'let down' my milk. A very short, sharpish pain in my breasts, moments after a good latch was established. That's a good thing.

I remain grateful that I was encouraged to persevere. Tho no one who doesn't is a failure! It can be bloody hard! Especially without expensive personal support. And social issues come into play, I know that. And formula can transform everything if it's all going wrong.

For the record, DS2 knew, at birth, immediately how to latch. Bang.

They're 18/20, now!

thegoodletdown.blogspot.com/2011/12/another-latch-technique-c-hold.html

The C hold - you have to squeeze harder than the picture here suggests. Your nipple shouldn't be floppy at all and it should be possible to direct it well into the baby's mouth for a good latch (baby's gums at or beyond the areola and nose right up against your boob).

Just a note - keep your own body in mind too. I did a lot of damage trying to get "all" or "most" of the areola in the baby's mouth. I have massive areolas! No one told me that made a difference - I hadn't seen enough other areolas of breastfeeding women to know!

There should be less areola showing below the bottom lip than above the top lip, though.

I hope the thrush gets sorted!