recurrent blocked ducts/mastitis

[eachpeach80]

hi, just looking for a bit of advice... i am feeling very sorry for myself as have got mastitis again after having had it about 8 weeks ago. DS is 14 weeks old. it is in the same breast and came on really suddenly last night without giving me a chance to massage the blockage. i am now on antibiotics. since i had mastitis the first time i have also had blocked ducts on a couple of occasions in the same breast which i managed to massage out over the course of a couple of days.

i am feeling really dishearted about bf. i love bf my baby and wanted to keep going for one year but i'm not sure i can face another 9 months of this.

the nipple on the affected breast is an irregular shape and also quite flat and i am wondering whether there is also some irregularity in the ducts or something?

i have had my latch checked and it is fine.

has anyone had any success with lecithin supplements or anything else? should i be doing anything when i don't have symptoms? eg massaging anyway?

The massaging is always good, and helps you to get to know the shape of your breasts and to spot blockages early, which it sounds like you're doing.

Not sure why it has gone to full-blown mastitis infection again so quickly - hopefully someone more medical will be along soon. Are you certain it's infected and not just blocked? Do you have fever?

I had some success with varying positions to make sure DD was emptying the ducts all the way 'around the clock' so to speak - cradle hold, cross cradle, rugby hold, even lying down with her on upside down once.

My experience was that I learned to spot the signs and so after tricky early days, we got to a year and beyond without further problems. hope it's the same for you.

thanks lastyear - i will try changing positions when i dont have any blockages to see if that helps. my temperature was starting to go up this morning so got the antibiotics quickly - it did not develop into a fever so i suppose it might just be blocked again but i have to say its more painful than it was when i had mastitis before...

Not that I have any real advice to offer, but this happens to me too (especially going from blocked duct to full blown flu-like symptoms very quickly, it's a bummer!) so I wanted to sympathise [hug]. I'm not an expert by any means, but I have long suspected that certain people are just more susceptible to blocked ducts & mastitis than others.

If you have time, hot baths seem to help, and 'combing' the breasts not just during feeds but in the bath/shower as well. Obviously these both take time though, so not always compatible with caring for baby. BTW, I mean these all the time, not just when you have symptoms, although they are good then too.

If it does come back, I find expressing as soon as I notice a blocked duct, rather than waiting for the next feed, helps to clear it up. As I say, though, I'm not really qualified to say anything!

I had the same problem with both babys. The first one I stopped breastfeeding after 11 weeks and having mastitis 5 times. I am still going at 22 weeks with the second and have not had mastitis since about 12 weeks (but within first 12 weeks had it 5 times again). It just stopped suddenly without me doing anything. Just keep going - your breasts will somehow adjust!

Ack, that doesn't sound like fun.

Am a bit knackered, but can give some information ...

First of all, mastitis/blocked ducts are essentially caused by not all the milk getting drained. This can (essentially) be caused by two things: either the baby is not draining the breast effectively, or you are over-producing milk.

If the baby is not draining the breast effectively, this can be caused by bad latch (you say it's been checked - by a BF professional?). If the latch isn't as good as it might be, because of the flattish nipple, this may well resolve over time - breastfeeding tends to un-flatten nipples, unsurprisingly.

The breast can be badly drained also because of something pressing on the breast during feeds - for example, if you undo your bra, but leave it pressing on your breast, during a feed. In the feeds right before this attack, did anything like this happen?

Alternatively, you could just tend towards over-production of milk - just as some women struggle to make enough milk, some women tend to make too much. If you think this might be the case, then block feeding (I expect it's explained on kellymom.com) may be the answer.

Sorry, that was v analytical, you're doing v well to keep on with breastfeeding. Please do fiddle with position. As you know you are susceptible to mastitis, I would recommend feeding with the baby's chin to the lump, at the first suggestion of a lump, in future. (yes, the lump is always in a position that makes this inconvenient, but as uncomfortable as it is, hovering over your baby in a goofy position to BF them, trust me, it's worth it, a baby's chin will clear a lump like nobody's business, I swear!)

Well done for getting through the 1st lot of mastitis & those blocked ducts. I found that lecithin sorted out my recurrent blocked ducts & mastitis, so definitely worth a try (I got capsules from Holland & Barrett and took the maximum dose). Also, gently scraping any milk residue off the nipple in the shower or bath each day might've helped me, i'm not sure. Plus massaging, warm compresses, expressing, rest, plenty of fluids, and all the things other people have said. I had loads of problems in the first few months, but once i was on lecithin it settled down, and I kept breastfeeding till 15 months. The best source of info I found was here. Hope things improve!

Thanks for all the responses - I feel less on my own now and will definitely give the lecithin a go and start massaging every day. I think the cause this time was my baby's reluctance to feed (and occasional hysteria when I tired to feed) due to teething pain. Luckily he is feeding a bit better now.