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Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

1 2

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Infant feeding

Mastitis - experiences please

35 replies

Pagan · 25/04/2005 09:31

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

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Pagan · 27/04/2005 16:32

LOL I can picture the scene with DH coming home and me feeding DS like a big coo! Shall give it a go

Feeling much better now as I think all the drugs have kicked in

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RachelsAunty · 27/04/2005 16:01

Good luck!

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RachelsAunty · 27/04/2005 16:01

You could try lying the baby on his back on the bed & kneeling over him on all fours when you feed him. This is uncomfortable & not possible to manage for long but it means your boobs will hang free so milk should not get trapped & cause mastitis.

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Pagan · 27/04/2005 11:10

Better today. DS feeding out of the sore one fine and it doesn't nip as much.

Still got headache and a cold coming on and both DD and DS have the cold. Sods law huh!

And the only break I've had so far this year is this weekend ........ a camping trip to Isle of Mull. Ha bloody ha!!!

The hotties seem to work wonders folks.

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rodeo1 · 27/04/2005 10:16

How are the boobs love?

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Homsa · 26/04/2005 14:00

I got two good tips from a breastfeeding counsellor that really helped me - I never got mastitis again after I saw her. The first one is, when you get the first signs of a blocked duct, take some Ibuprofen. As it's anti-inflammatory, it may get the swelling down enough so you can get the milk flowing again. The other one, if you get mastitis and blocked ducts repeatedly in the same place, there may be some kind of "kink" in your milk ducts that keeps the milk from being drained properly even if your breasts feel empty after a feed. So, after feeding, try to massage out the remaining milk (worked for me, there was always a bit left in the tissue next to my armpits). Also, I read somewhere that taking Lecitin can help, I tried it for a while, maybe it did make a difference.
Good luck!

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Pagan · 26/04/2005 11:42

Thanks Kelly - she thought it was a joke!! Seems a bit too obsessed with my sex life I think

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Kelly1978 · 26/04/2005 11:35

Don't listen to ur mum - what a horrible thing to say!! You have a 3 mnth old baby, I'm sure you're partner can wait for a while.
As for the mastitis, it is horrible - I had a bout the end of last week, with the fever etc. It did clear upwithout AB tho - I don't like taking them as I get thrush. I couldn't even bear water pressure on my breast from the shower - I found it better to sit in the bath and masssage it, and express loads to relieve it. You really need bedrest tho.

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Pagan · 26/04/2005 11:28

Fabulous, my lovely mum just cheered me up no end by saying that DH will go elsewhere coz he's not getting it at home just now!

That't great mum, thanks for making me cry

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pabla · 26/04/2005 10:50

Oooh this post is bringing it all back to me - this time last year I was enduring regular bouts of mastitis with my third baby. One thing I found out - if the antibiotics don't improve things in a day or two, you need to go back to the gp pronto to see if you need a higher dose. I would also advise speaking to a breastfeeding counsellor if there is one in your area. I was a bit blase about the whole thing, with it being my third baby, and I really wish I had seen someone for advice after my first bout of mastitis. Mine developed into an abscess in the end, I needed a hospital stay to drain it under a general anasthetic and I gave up breasfeeding on that side, though continued on the other side for a few months afterwards.

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HondaDream · 26/04/2005 10:28

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.

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Pagan · 26/04/2005 10:18

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)

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Prettybird · 26/04/2005 09:54

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.

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Pagan · 26/04/2005 09:30

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

x

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Tessiebear · 26/04/2005 09:04

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!!!

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donnie · 26/04/2005 08:54

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

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99redballoons · 26/04/2005 08:31

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.

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Pagan · 26/04/2005 08:15

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

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ionesmum · 25/04/2005 21:01

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.

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Cadmum · 25/04/2005 20:41

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.

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pixiefish · 25/04/2005 13:18

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

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Pagan · 25/04/2005 13:16

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 .."

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chipmonkey · 25/04/2005 11:07

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!

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rodeo1 · 25/04/2005 10:53

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

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rodeo1 · 25/04/2005 10:47

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!