Calling VVVQV, ScaryLittleCarrot, and IamDaisy, ANYONE...blocked duct help please

[RoRoMommy]

Hello there! I posted about this a few days ago and Scary, you responded, which was great, but they are still plugged despite my efforts...baths every night, tweezers, squeezing, rolling, needles. Now my right breast is visibly larger than my left and my right arm is starting to ache, signs that an infection is impending. Oh, and my nipple hurts like HELL.

SO, two questions...first HOW CAN I UNPLUG THESE DAMN THINGS?!?! I managed to break the blister over one plug, so now they're both exposed, but I can only seem to get bits out at a time, little tiny bits, rather than strings or globules. Milk is flowing, though slowly, though one of them, but not the other (the one that had a blister over the top until last night's foray with a needle).

Second, should I start taking the antibiotics now, or wait until I have the redness, swelling, and fever of mastitis? I get thrush (down there; hey, we're all friends here, right?) everytime I take antibios, and am loathe to take them until absolutely necessary.

Please help. Losing morale and feeling helpless.

HELLO??

hi roro....I've just logged on. Sorry your having probs , and I'm not much of an expert really...just someone with recurrent blockages.

I've never had visible blisters though, and never needed to tweeze...yikes...should you even be soing that? Will that not open you up, as it were, to infection?

I've managed to clear things up with lots of massage as DD is feeding, coupled with hot flannels and feeding her on my hands and knees with her on her back on the floor or bed (poor mite must be scared witless by the sight of me advancing towards her in this fashion!)

Re ABs, i would wait until there was an infection there as taking them unnecessarily is never a good idea as it lowers your resistance to them. Also they may cause thrush in the LO and your breasts as well, which is a whole heap of other problems and pain to contend with.

I've read that combing (yup, with a hair comb) can help. Never tried it, but I think it's best done in the shower under hot water.

I hope things improve soon, poor you and that someone else is along soon ith more advice.

Bumping for you RRM...you need IamDaisy to come along! See her thread in this section to inspire you.

Good luck...not an expert on blocked ducts sorry. If you start the ABs then take probiotics at the same time to try and stop the thrush and ask the doc for a pessary presciption just in case. You need to whack the thrush as soon as it appears you DO NOT want it in your boobs - now that I am an expert on.

Crossed posts!

Yes, I've cleared mastitis with a wide toothed comb. Take ibruprofen too as it is anti imfammatory.

Oh, and have the fit of your bras checked. I have one bra in particular that seems to be the root of my problems, and I find that they can be worse if I express a lot. I've not expressed for over two weeks, and haven't had a blockage since then.

oh, I feel a bit now......MN infamy for blocked ducts....shucks

Eeek. Its not fun is it ?

massage, wide toothed comb stroking towards nipple, and feed feed feed from the infected side have all helped me in the past. I've had one visible blister and picked that off somehow

Have you got a pump you could used to try and express a little off ?

Sorry... cant be much more help.

Hi RoRo - just picked this up. I really feel for you. I'm definitely NOT an expert so I'm hoping someone else will pick up your thread and advise you properly.

Have you seen your GP? They will give you the best advice about the antibiotics.

Here's what I do:

1. Take anti-inflammatories NOW- Ibuprofen or volterol are safe to take whilst breastfeeding and they help reduce the swelling and give some relief to the pain, making the rest of the steps a little easier.
2. Warm damp compress, like a hot wet flannel onto the boob. I make this as hot as I can bear but without scalding the skin, obviously!
3. Massage. Not by rubbing the skin, but by pressing the heel of my hand quite firmly into the breast, starting at the ouside of the breast blockage. I hold this for a few seconds, or as long as I can bear, and then repeat, moving inwards towards the nipple with each press. The idea is that the pressure forces the blockage along. This can be quite sore and I have to grit my teeth to do it.
4. Put the baby onto that boob, and keep doing it, even if they can't get much milk out, it might just remove some of the pressure, and will continue to help draw the blockage out.
5. Hot shower. I continue to massage in the shower, and hand express in the shower too. I try to do both at the same time; using the heel of my left hand to put pressure on the hard blockage, and my right hand fingers trying to express milk (or vice versa, depending on whether you are a contortionist!) Just keep trying to get as much milk out as you can.
6. Keep working on getting those "bits" out of the plug. I find this too, in fact on Saturday I had to get 3 successive plugs out of one blocked duct...I would get one to pop out followed by a stream of milk, think, "hooray" as the pressure subsided, then realise that another plug had followed it up the pipeline and plugged the nipple pore again, which also had to be cleared. When you get one "bit" out, take advantage of it quickly, and use the heel of hand pressure and hand expressing to get as much milk out as possible.
7. Focus on the plug in the nipple. Sometimes when I pinch the nipple between my fingers I can see the plug bulge out a little with the pressure. I carry on pinching and rolling to try to force it to pop out. Some people swear by combing the breast towards the nipple using a wide tooth comb. I sometimes use the backs of my fingernails ( not scratching, though) to similar effect.

I have my best success getting rid of plugs in the shower. Try to relax and persevere. It's really hard not to panic when you are worrying that the clock is ticking re mastitis, but some blocks are really really stubborn. Keep calm and carry on working on it.

RoRo, I'd HATE it if you hurt yourself following my advice, so if you feel uncomfortable, please feel free to ignore it - I'm not a professional. You may be best to see your GP.

Keep posting and I'll have my figers crossed for you. Good luck!

Thank you IamDaisy, Laudry and Kats! Have tried feeding DS on all fours, he then begins to think that boobies are pinatas that he should smack at and watch wobble around. Ha ha for him.

I've been pumping three times a day, Monday through Friday, since I started back at work two months ago. Could that be contributing to the problem with the plugged ducts?

Re the AB, I still definitely not start them until fever strikes. CANNOT deal with possibility of thrush in my nipples, I think that would put me over the edge for sure.

Thanks everyone for the bumping, surely there is someone out there who has experience enough to offer some advice?

Re bras, mine have no underwire, just wide elastic that hits about an inch below the bottom of my breasts, so I don't think that's the issue.

Could be that I get four hours of sleep a night, work nine hours a day, and then deal with the stress of DH complaining that he gets no sleep? Hmmmm...

Thanks, Scary! I am leaving work today at noon, have an appointment with a lactation specialist at 1pm, then another appt with GP tomorrow morning. GP prescribed AB and I haven't filled it, she said wait to take it until I feel ill, which I don't yet.

I don't understand why GP can't take some tiny little spoon or needle or something and get them out, FFS, they can replace whole hearts!

Oh, and I will be buying a wide-toothed comb this afternoon as well.

LOL at the pinatas!

I am pretty sure that my ducts block up after I've been pumping, but no-one else seems to find this. My personal theory is that the pumping stimulates different parts of the breast that the baby perhaps doesn't drain as effectively.

Have you tried lecithin? I'm going to start taking mine as I've HAD IT with sodding blockages.

Can you find any anti-infammatories to take whilst you are at work? The sooner the better, really. They make a difference for me, not just in the pain relief, but as part of the whole clearing blockage regime!

anti-inflammatories. doh.

LOL at the pinatas!

carrot, I find pumping makes the situation worse as well, so you're not alone there at all

Good luck with the lactation consultant RoRo, and I hope you get some relief soon!

Which is the anti-inflammatory? Nurofen? Am American, so the names still confuse me. Going to try to find something now, as pain is becoming worse.

Thanks to both of you for the support and kind words. Sometimes that alone really helps.

Oh, re lecithin, does it have any soy in it? I was taking some kind of soy-containing-lecithin and found that DS is allergic to soy, he broke out in terrible eczema that cleared up two days after I stopped taking it.

Nurofen is a brand name RoRo and ibuprofen is the generic name. Boots and all the supermarkets do their own label tablets/capsules etc.

Yep - nurofen is the most popular brand of ibuprofen, but any brand of ibuprofen you can get hold of will do.

Oh - and unfortunately my lecithin says it is a soy product.

Got some nurofen from my secretary, hooray.

Apparently, according to wikipedia, lecithin can be derived from egg-yolk as well. I will see of Holland and Barrett have some of that kind as he's shown no sensitivity to eggs. Thank god.

I've never tried it, but on another board I've seen women swear by an olive oil "compress" over the nipple to draw the plug out. Can't hurt...

Re. the bra thing - I stopped wearing one bra after I got a blockage right under a seam. I've had the odd block since, but never in that place again.

Hope you can shift it/them soon.

Oh - and cold savoy cabbage leaves in your bra might help soothe things down a little.

How's it going, RoRo?

Well, I went to the breastfeeding clinic and I got the olive oil suggestion, which I plan to try tomorrow (not sure how DS likes olive oil, so am hesitant to try it tonight). I have a follow-up appt with my GP in the morning, hoping to ask if there is some procedure she can do with sterile materials to clear the blockage. Tried another hot bath tonight, and my own sterile-ish pin, but still just getting little bits. I tried to get some rest this afternoon because my arm started to hurt...still worrying about an infection, but definitely holding out on the AB.

So, by way of update I don't have much. Will try the olive oil and keep DS feeding, and, as always, try to get some rest.

Thanks everyone for your advice and support! Fingers crossed no infection...

I'll keep my fingers crossed RoRo. I'm gonna join your club too...I have a blocked duct starting on my left boob tonight.

ouch for you slc....

how does the olive oil compress work then?

would a bread poultice work just as well? I remember my dad putting them on everything from pus-ey splinters to ingrowing toenails