To: All Breastfeeding Moms! 🍼
This is about Mastitis, Plugged Ducts, and lumps in your breasts.
My son is 8 weeks, and he is a great eater. Haven't had a problem, even when in the NICU for 3 days. He will take breast or bottle. He has been feeding about 50/50 breast/bottle. Last Thursday, I started feeling some hardness in my right breast. I figured it was probably a plugged duct, so I did everything you're supposed to to get rid of it (massaging, hot compress, feeding more off the boob on demand and pumping after, hotter showers, etc). Well I noticed it the night before and more on Thursday, and we left midday Thursday to go out of town for the holiday weekend. Even though I was trying to get rid of it, it got progressively worse over the weekend and we came back on Sunday. Kaiser wasn't open on Monday because of the observed holiday, so I had to wait until Tuesday to be seen by a lactation consultant. She took one quick look at my breast and saw how bad it was. A large, golf-ball-sized, warm, red and swollen abscess that was so painful, the pain was even shooting into my arm at this point (and for those that think a golf ball is not large, I don't have big boobs. When I got pregnant and had my son, they grew to size 34C 😂 So it's basically half of my boob). She immediately said I need antibiotics, but since she's just a nurse, my OB has to prescribe them. Well she sent her an email and they didn't get back to me until Wednesday. My OB said I need to be seen by an OB before I get my prescription, but she isn't available (greattt 🙄). I called to schedule an appt with another OB and luckily got one a half hour from when I was calling! We zoomed over and saw the OB, and again, without even feeling my breast, she said "Oh my god you need antibiotics. That looks painful!" So I went and got my antibiotics and took them right away. Well, the story doesn't end there. Since this morning (in a matter of hours) I have developed almost all of the rest of the symptoms of mastitis: shuddering chills, a pounding headache, achey body and a runny nose. The full blown flu symptoms. This especially sucks because my husband has been sick since Saturday with the flu. I still asked him to watch our son for the evening though because I couldn't do anything except lay in bed with a 103 degree fever.
Moral of the story: Mastitis is no joke. It is not to be taken lightly. Even if you think you just have a plugged duct or any breast pain at all, go in to see a lactation consultant or your OB ASAP. I would suggest your OB just in case so you don't waste any more time like I did. It REALLY sucks. By the way, she said if the abscess doesn't resolve with the antibiotics, I need to come in immediately and have it drained.
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