Alright, this is getting silly.

[dramamine]

So I figured out I had mastitis in my left breast over a week ago. The reddened skin, feverish to the touch, and rather painful glands in the skin.

First off, I haven't found anywhere that talks about what the clot looks like. Imagine to my suprise that DD didn't just eat it, but rather decided to come out while pumping. An 8 inch long, slimly, gray-white boogery thing. If I had known what to expect, I don't think I would have been so sick to my stomach, so I hope leaving this here helps someone. ;)

Now that, I assume, the clot is gone that I should be back to normal. However, now I have a TERRIBLE pain in my breast. It feels like it's in the very core of the breast and throbs occasionally. I can barely BF out of this breast without screaming and crying because something around the nipple and under the aereola is wrong.

It feels like I have a swollen something under the aereola right under the skin. With my large aereolas, I can pinch it and roll it around a little before I can't take the pain any longer. On the tip of my nipple where the clot came out, there is a small bit of skin that seems... calloused. It's smoother and harder than any other bit of skin around it, it's whiter than any other skin, and is so much more painful than anywhere else.

To top this off, I have a sinus/chest infection that is now clearing up after a week. This has been utterly miserable, but here is my theory.

I got mastitis and the clot was 'removed'. A piece of the clot remained and is now stuck in the milk sinus from where everything originated. The sinus/chest infection is in response to the clot not being fully removed. I'm pumping my left breast and what's bothering me isn't pain then, but how much is coming out.

I'm only getting like... 1.5-2.5 oz. out of my left breast and my right seems to be the same amount, but I'm afraid to pump it and leave DD without something to eat to find out what it's making. She doesn't seem to want to take a bottle from me, DH doesn't want to help me because it's my job to feed her, and DD took a bottle from my Grandma when I visited her.

So.

What's wrong with my tit? How can *I* get DD to use a bottle so I don't simply waste this EBM? What meds are okay to help relieve pain while BFing? Is it okay for a 3mo to only be eating abuot 3oz. of BM every 3-4 hours AND sleep 8+ hours through the night?

[devoted]

ouch! my 3mo takes 4 oz every 3 hours and sleeps 9+ hours. I don't know what the norm is for bfing. formula babies get 4 to 5 oz every 4 hours. Sorry I can't help you more.

[Nipple_nectar]

Okay, assuming the clot is gone would be foolish, the boogie looking thing was more than likely clotted breast milk and there is plenty where that came from! It is representative that you have had milk pooling in the ducts and you need to be more diligent about emptying the breast.

Did you take antibiotics for the mastitis? I highly recommend a course of antibiotics as mastitis can be very tricky to get rid of and comes back pretty quickly if not treated effectively. It is very common to have decreased production following a bout of mastitis but frequently and efficiently emptying the breast should help get you back on track. Do let baby nurse on the affected side first until symptoms subside. I would also recommend frequent hot soaks, a minimum of twenty minutes, if you can't bathe, plop your breast into a bowl, followed by rigorous circular massage and finally see if you can hand express some milk from the affected area.

Using a moist, warm compress in between feedings will help, filling a disposable diaper with hot water makes for an excellent compress;-) You can safely take up to 800mg of motrin to help with pain and swelling.

Follow baby's cues for hunger and allow full access to the breast, growth spurts will occur and demand more of baby's time at the breast, just hang in there. Some babies never take a bottle, you could try a sippy cup.

[StillSingingMom]

If you know you had mastitis and a clogged duct, it's possible that another duct is blocked, as well. This blockage may be quite close to the nipple.

Try some warm compresses. Take some ibuprofen and see if you can tolerate nursing. Try some different nursing positions so that baby's mouth can drain all the ducts.

Likely what you see at the nipple is more dried up milk. Warm compresses may help remove it, and taking some lecithin may help prevent a recurrence.

Mastitis is nothing to screw around with. If you come down with flu-like symptoms or star running a fever, call your doc.

[tifttu]

Ibuprofen is safe while bfing as is tylenol. Other meds are safe as well, but those are the ones I usually went for.

[dramamine]

Oh well this surely isn't good news at all!

I have been trying to nurse on that side and I've used warm compressions, but I couldn't find anything on an estimate of how long mastitis went for. I've take Ibuprofen a few times at the begining, but haven't for a while because the need never really arose.

I'm not so sure about the whitish part at the tip of my nipple. I've had the warm compress directly on the nipple a few times and it doesn't seem to do anything beside make my boob hot and sweaty.

I understand that it's nothing to take lightly, but I have few options. I'm still waiting on my Medicaid papers to be accepted and such, so in the event I'm declined (unlikely) I'd rather not add to the $9k from birthing in the hospital. I would love to see a doctor and get some anti-biotics, but it just isn't possible. I've already had a fever that followed a bad case of chills, but that was weeks ago. The only thing that's bothering me now is the chest congestion that's trying to clear itself. Also, since it's hot here and I don't own a thermometer, it's extrememly difficult to tell if I'm just hot because our AC sucks or if I am running a fever. I hate living sometimes. It's too much a god damned hassle.

Though, the chest infection could be completely unrelated and poor timing, I'm just not able to do much for this issue. I'm pumping that breast as often as I can and it doesn't hurt to pump it. I think DD's suction is too much for the nipple, but the pump doesn;t localize right on the nipple to cause so much pain.

Thanks for the advice, I'm going to see what else I can do.