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.

hi nutella......I get an obvious small grape sized lump in the breast tissue and it can pretty much be anywhere, but is most often either below my nipple or to the right of it on my left boob, and towards my armpit on my right boob. When i had mastitis, it was the area to the right of my nipple on my left boob abd there was a massive swelling surrounded by lots of little pea sized hard lumps.

They're probably not as big as that in reality though as finger tips are very sensitive.

I've never hasd anything actually around the nipple itself on the aereole or any plugs in the nipple. Mine are always in the deeper breast tissue.

fingers crossed that you continue to remain ignorant of the subject

and it usually starts with mild stabbing pains that get gradually worse. extensive feeding at that stage usually sorts it out.

Hey Nutella! I get a little white spot on my nipple like a blackhead but with a white plug instead (so gross, sorry, but an effective analogy). Sometimes skin grows over the plug, this is called a blister, and I have to pull the skin off and away before I can even start working on the plug. Also, I get a swollen lump in my breast and can tell that it is not emptying as effectively as the other one.

I haven't sorted out how to get rid of them...trying the olive oil remedy at the moment, took a bath this morning, had DS nurse again, but then I got to work and pumped 100mls from that side, so I have no idea what is going on.

Hi

Can I join the blocked ducts group too? I've had two in two weeks and hoping this is not counting as recurrent (never had them with previous two BF babies so bit of a shock). Managed to get rid with combing, massage, heatpacks before feeding.

Mine felt like a firm little finger under the skin and one particular patch on the end of the nipple was very sore, though no obvious bits blocking it (though will inspect if it happens again and use all my best blackhead squeezing techniques not put to work since adolescence )

So where dja get lecithin then and does it work as a preventative technique?

Ta Very much
monkeybird

Hi Monkey! Sure, join the club, membership benefits include various descriptions of the release of said plugs (e.g., "ping!") and treatment (e.g., "boob brushing"). Hopefully you'll find something helpful here.

Lecithin...I am not sure if it works. DS is allergic to soy, so I am going to try to find some egg-yolk derived stuff. Has anyone noticed a difference after using the stuff?

It's pretty amazing that we have about as many symptoms as we have breasts on this thread...some people have nipple plugs, some have grape-sized lumps, some have pain...

Out of curiousity, are you pumping much? We've noticed a general trend toward more plugs with more pumping. Anything else different from the first two times around?

Anyhow, welcome! I hope you can unplug yourself soon!

Oh, as for the where on Lecithin, try your local Holland and Barrett or like health food store...

Have had a couple of bouts of mastitis - well I am pretty sure it is that - painful patch on boob (and red) but no blocked ducts. Plus crippling fever like flu - fortunately no infection and so pumped and expressed with major relief...... My gynae gave me some topical anti-inflammatory gel and anti-inflammatories. Don't know if this is the norm in England as am in France. Think it started when DD slept thru the night for the 1st time and boob filled up (seem to produce lots of milk anyway) so it felt like I was gonna POP!

Dear RoRo et al

Nope - not pumping yet as only 10 wks in and still at home in 'can I manage to have a shower and get out of front door before 5pm?' mode... But with previous two did lots of expressing and never had a problem at all (used one of those electric double pumps)

This time it seemed to start when I tried to feed lying down using a technique I had used with DS no.2, which is to feed from 'bottom' breast, ie the one next to the mattress first, then lean over a bit more and feed from the top breast while still lying on the same side. I was conscious of putting a bit too much pressure on the lower breast flattening it a bit and then next stay was feeling a bit bruised. Another day later and I had a blockage backing up and swelling up. So I haven't done the leaning over feeding since but the same duct got blocked again. Seems like this one duct might now be somehow prone to blocking again? Is that other peoples' experience or is it different bits?

Should also say the leaning over feed coincided with baby with a cold and not feeding well also so was quite engorged anyway.

Perhaps there's something in the pumping technique that is bruising the breast...? Are you pushing hard with the circular bits to get the milk to flow maybe. I dunno...

Anyhow hopefully if enough of us compare notes we'll work out both prevention and instant miracle cure!

monkeybird

for 'stay' read day . who was it said doh! must read previews...

Hey Monkey! The first time I got a plugged duct (which lead to DREADED MASTITIS), it was from engorgement after twelve hours of not feeding. Went on a girls' night out and forgot to feed on that side after I got home.

You know, it's been the same place in my nipple both times I've had a plugged duct, and now in another spot just below that point. And, funnily enough, I just started trying the over the shoulder feeding technique, like you describe above. It worked, but perhaps to my detriment?

SO, to sum up:
No saturated fats
No leaning over feeding
No girls' nights out
No pumping
EQUALS
NO BLOCKAGES!
(and no fun)

monkeybird, when I'm pumping, and the flow is starting to diminish i do tend to waggle the funnel bit around to get more out, so it is possible that this is causing the blockages.

This thread is good for making me think about what I'm doing more....cheers for all the goos advice

I just did the 10pm dream feed and my right boob still feels full! Ergh. Definitely moving through one of the plugged ones, but the other hasn't seen flow in days. It's like a water-filled baggy is buried in my boob!

Do any of you know how to flow of the boob works? I mean, surely it's not a one-duct to one-nipple hole ratio? Surely a single duct empties through various holes in the nipple?

There's a good diagram on Kellymom here that shows the physiology of the breast re ducts / alveoli etc.

I thought it was one hole per duct "tree"?

Couple of other things you could try:

Positioning: Convention was that you should point the baby's chin at the blockage to put maximum suction on it, but I did read that recent research suggested the plumbing in the breast wasn't that straightforward and ducts tended to wander around a bit. That would make it harder to predict where to position baby for maximum benefit, but if you nearly always feed holding the baby the same way, it might be worth trying something different.

Water: Are you drinking enough? I think you're recommended to drink a HUGE amount of water while breastfeeding - something like 4 pints per day.

Lastly, now it's the weekend, can you pass baby over to partner/husband and just spend a day really focussing on trying to shift the retched thing? Hot compresses, cold compreses, massage, combs...

Fingers crossed everyone still plugged up can get de-bunged soon

Hey girls- I just had a "proactive ping" !!!

I noticed a plugged pore in the shower this morning before I noticed a blocked duct, and after 10 minutes of fiddling (oooer)...

..ping!

Feel like I avoided another crappy blockage - hooray!

We should keep a "ping tally".

Tangle - you make a very good point, I never drink much at all and I suspect this may be related too.

HOORAY! Good for you verylittlecarrot! I have FLOW THROUGH BOTH PLUGGED NIPPLE OPENINGS! I noticed that the second one had opened this morning. I am free! Still felt quite full, but after a couple of feedings I think I am golden.

Tangle, must drink more water. Also had a constipation problem from not drinking enough, but clearly that's a whole different blockage altogether fit for another thread. Or not. Since DH gave me so much sleep last week during the mornings, and a good lie-in this morning, I think he deserves some of the credit. REST is critical.

Will check out the kellymom diagram, carrot, thanks for that.

I think I have a supply problem, though. When I first went back to work two months ago, I decided to pump every two hours, three times a day, so my supply wouldn't diminish, but I have at least 2oz extra a day and have stockpiled loads in the freezer. So I think I am going to pump two times a day and see if that solves the supply problem, which might be leading to the plug problem. Any advice on taking off on pump session a day?

xxRoRo

Yay for all the unplugged plugs

RoRo....not sure about the pumping, but I assume that if you drop one of the pumping sessions that will in turn lead to engorgement and the liklihood of more blockages? Can you maybe just pump a little less at each sitting? 2 ozs isn't a great deal of excess between three sessions, but dropping one session might cause big problems?

....maybe?

thankfully I'm not planing on going back to work till next September when DD will be about 15 months old. By then I'm hoping to be just on a night and a morning feed, so pumping won't be an issue.

Hi Daisy! on not pumping at work (and not having to go back until next September! Hooray for you).

I tried two pumping sessions yesterday, and it wasn't easy. Definitely started feeling v. full, then couldn't hold off on the 11am, 2pm schedule I wanted, ended up 10:45am and 2 something, which is fine, but still got the same amount of milk as if I'd pumped three times!

I guess that's bound to happen until the supply settles down...it was nice to only have to get my boobs out twice in a day, though