Painful left breast - please help!

[tummytickler]

Hi all,
I have been feeding my son for 11months with no problems at all, and plan to continue for as long as possible when i go back to work in September.
However, in the last 4 days my left breast is constant agony- it is a dull ache all the time with the odd sharp stabbing pain , and then sharp pains when i feed ds. This is also his favoured booby, which is a nightmare!
Why??? and what can i do???? It is so sore that i wake in the night , and i dont have time to go to the doctores or hv for another 2 weeks!!!
All help greatly appreciated - oh and the pain is sort of inside the breast , not quite the pain of initial bfing a newborn!

I have to go now, but i will check in later.

Thanks

Sharp stabbing pains during and after feeding might be thrush inside the breast. Have you had a sore nipple at all previously? Does your son have any spots or white patches in his mouth?

If you do think it is thrush, you could try one of the over the counter treatments (eg Daktarin cream and oral gel for your son - you need to both be treated at the same time even if he isn't showing symptoms) but they might not work if it is deep in the ducts. Your GP may be willing to prescribe fluconazole but if he/she can't see thrush they may not agree that it is in the ducts.

I have treated successfully with grapefruit seed extract - see www.kellymom.com for information on how to do this.

Alternatively you could also perhaps have a blocked duct: the dull pain certainly sounds like it could be this too, although stabbing pains don't sound like it. Do you have any lumpiness or thickness or hot patches? Treatment is just continued feeding but massage and 'combing' down over any lumpy patch and applying heat can help.

If it continues though you should probably see your GP too because I'm not one and it could be something completely different that needs treatment...

Good luck.