Mastitis - experiences please

[Pagan]

Especially any tips on how to 'firmly massage' when I can hardly bear to touch my boob

I found the massage thing really difficult and that the best way to get the milk flowing again was to grit my teeth and feed on that side until it moved. The other side may get heavy but shouldn't block iyswim. Think most blockages are caused during feed anyway due to position or latch not being good. The massage worked best (when it did work) when I was in the shower with the water as hot as I could bear it. Just gently (but firmly) use your thumb with the rest of the breast supported by the rest of your hand to massage and move the milk forward towards the nipple. Also, I used a hot flannel to do this sometimes and that worked too. I lost count of how many blockages I got as ds2 was rubbish at latching on properly. The only way I could be assured of not blocking up was to feed him lying down - not always practical!! I managed to sort out most blockages myself one way or the other, but still ended up on ABs twice.
Having said all that, I carried on feeding him until two weeks ago! He's 15mths now.
If you have no luck though, you must see a GP if you get symptoms like a high temperature, shivers and feel like you have flu.

Thanks aero shall give that a go. Waiting for GP to call back as I feel like I've been set about with a baseball bat and the sweat is dripping off me but I'm still shivering!!

Good luck - I do sympathise - you can probably find some of my threads from about this time last year (how I found mn - looking for advice too) if you do a search in breast and bottle feeding. I think you may well end up with ABs if you're at this stage. Get some rest too if you can! How old is your baby?

He's 3 months. I think what triggered it was I was horsing around with DD who is 20 months and she landed on my boob. It hurt for a bit but then I never thought anymore about it. However the next day it was engorged which is unusual, and the nipple was cracked, also unusual.

With my DS2 i had Mastitis every month for the first eight months of his life - Antibiotics were the only thing to cure it and the doctor said that some people "just get it" - there may not neccissarily be a reason. In the end i used to spot the symptoms really early (before i got to the Flu like stage) and just get straight to the doctors!!
You really need some AB's at the stage you are at - good luck!
BTW - i fed DS2 until her was 2 in the end

Message withdrawn

Once you've got to the shivering stage you will need ABs. I was like this the first time. With subsequent blockages I found standing in a really hot shower and firmly combing the breast towards the nipple really worked. I used a wide toothed plastic comb. I could never manage to shift a blockage by hand.

Yes, if you're getting the shivers etc antibiotics were the only thing that did it for me, and after the third time of that I stopped feeding on that side. I know it's not recommended but it was right for me. Much sympathy, and I hope you have someone to look after you all, don't know what I would have done without family to take care of ds while I got better, it was absolutely dreadful.

I had mastitis at regular intervals with dd2, having not had it at all with the older two. The massage thing can work in the early stages, but by the time you've got to the temperaturey stage, you need ABs fast. Also take alternating doses of paracetamol and nurofen at regular intervals. You will feel much better if you can get the temperature down. Ideally you also need dh to come back from work and deal with the baby so you can sleep it off -- people underestimate how awful mastitis can make you feel.

It does help to keep feeding the baby on the sore side, ideally with the baby's chin pointing to the blockage (this can lead to some interesting bf positions!)

By the 6th or 7th bout of mastitis, the GP just gave me a prescription for a couple of extra courses of flucloxacillin to keep in the cupboard for the next time. Once you've had it a few times, the early symptoms are unmistakeable.

That is what i did in the end - had the antibiotics "ready" for the next bout of it!!! (am due to give birth in a couple of months- cant beleive i will have to go through all this again!)

Oh my god, there's nothing like the pain of mastitis! Had it with first with dd. Had the first pains on Fri, by Sat I was in agony, went to Docs and he gave me antibiotics and told me to feed off it as much as poss as baby strips milk off most effectively, if you've got a red line I was told to put baby's bottom lip on the line (if that's physically possible!

Hot flannels work ok and quite comforting, but I found the pain started to subside when the antibiotics started to kick in.

Got the beginning of mastitis quite a few times, but as someone else said, I got the nurse at our practice to give me some antibiotics to keep at home, to use as soon as I got those first pains, otherwise if you got it on a Sat night you'd be a wreck trying to find some on the Sunday and it gets worse very quickly.

Fed both babies for about 9 months and everybody thought i'd give up - very nearly did, but glad I didn't!

Sorry frogs, didn't read your post before i typed mine, I second everything you've said there! those first pains are unmistakable!

It is so awful though isn't it? I got it just after my severely cracked nipples healed up!! My boobs are just crap! If they had their way i think they'd just want to be sex objects

Pagan, sounds like you need ABs all right. You poor thing, my heart goes out to you, its horrible isn't it? Try to keep feeding from that side, once the baby actually gets latched on its not so bad. Good luck!

Got some folks - after having pressed my GP for a quick appointment. Off to make myself a nice cuppa and put my hotties in the microwave. Did the hot shower this morning and nearly burnt my (erm) undercarriage with the water dribbling down!

Cue the song .....

"sometimes it's hard being a woman .."

pagan- ibuprofen is good for getting the swelling down (as well as the Ab's)
Also hot bath to help you massage

All my sympathies- I had it 3 times- horrid

Pagan: Please forgive me if you have already received this advice; I only had time to read 1/2 of this thread but felt compelled to post. I also suffered a 'toddler blow' to the breast that lead to mastitis that developed into an abcess partly because the doctor I saw did not believe that an injury could lead to mastitis.
I think that I read you are expecting a call from the gp I would be surprised if your doctor does not prescribe ab since you are already feeling miserable.
A good friend of mine owned a heating, vibrating massager that she was happy to lend me and I found that more bearable than manually massaging my breast. Hot flannels also helped as did feeding the baby on that side.
Take care of yourself. You really need to rest as mastitis is serious! No time for the super-mum routine, honestly.

Must run. Hope this is somewhat coherent. Will check this thread later.

pagan, I had mastsis with dd1 and it was awful, so lots of sympathy. With dd2 I started it, got the temperature but not the red boob and managed to feed through it. The blockage was at the top above my nipple, and I got dd2 to get rid of it by feeding her lying down on the bed with her tummy-down across me with her legs over my shoulder so her chin was on the lump. She didn't seem to mind and cleared it in two feeds. It hurt a bit but it was like a massage on a painful muscle type pain - I knew it was doing me good, IYSWIM! Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

I think the swelling is down a bit today but I can hardly tell as I've been left with such a stonking great migraine, I can't feel any other pain.

Arrrggggggg! And why are DH's such w**kers when it comes to being nursemaids.

My house is a mess. The builder has not started yet. He was supposed to turn up yesterday evening to discuss, no show and no call to say so - how fecking rude is that??

I'm cooking on a camping stove, have been since December. Half my belongings are in boxes in the basement. My shower is broken and I have to use a spanner to turn it on/off and adjust it.

DS has just puked all over me

I AM SO PISSED OFF I COULD SCREAM!!!

But I got a title thread on Mumsnet

hi pagan, sorry it's all happening at once! I agree with the others, and antibiotics helped once the shivers stage set in. You need a lubricant for good massaging and I used soap and showergel in the shower and body cream on my boob when out of the shower. Then you can get the 'comb' effect with your fingers without it hurting too much. Without using anything it was just agony. Plus I would sit with a warm to hot flannel down my shirt when not doing the other things! HTH and that you start to feel better soon.

hi Pagan, I too had mastitis twice with dd and am fearful I will get it with the imminent birth of the next one any day now! I found ab's effective but that they gave me insomnia ( just what you need with a tiny baby!) so the 2nd time I went homeopathic and it worked just as quickly.Phytolacca was the nake of the homeopathic remedy so you may want to look into it.Good luck

Why are DH's sooo insensitive when we are ill (or is it just mine)
Think how much better you will feel in a few days when the AB's have worked!!!

I'd just like to say thank you all for your support

x

Hot flannels worked well for me - but waht was even better was a microwaveable bag of rice or soemthing (think you can get them in Body Shop - it was my Mum's) which would hold its heat, could mould to my boob and also had a wee bit of granularity to help massage my boob gently.

Hi Prettybird. I've got a couple of microwaveable hotties that are fab. I can heat them up to more than is recommended and they sit nicely on me poor mammary.

They are just the best thing as hot water bottles go coz they don't get cold like normal bottles and you don't get that horrid feeling when your foot encounters a cold, blob in the early hours.

I luv em

(PR agent for hotties)

Having suffered from very bad mastitis to the point where it became impossible to feed and to this day my nipple is kind of half scarred and missing (sorry TMI). I had lanolin cream which I got from the La Leche League near me which helped a little but the best cure is an old fashioned one which is cabbage leaves soaked in hot water, put them on like flannels and you do get some relief. I can empathise I used to cry when feeding ds1 and my toes would curl as he latched on.