Help! My Boob Hurts!

[jeanieande]

OK, so this just kinda came on today...what's going on? My right breast...up high and towards my armpit...just suddenly started to be really tender...then downright painful. Nursing is hell...and pumping is ...well..it's worse than nursing.

What do I do? What's wrong? And...to top it off...I just kinda feel lousy in general.

[8blessings]

sounds like you might have a plugged duct. nurse, nurse, nurse and well, nurse! rest also, drink lots of fluids, put cabbage leaves in your bra, dont wear a tight bra, put hot compresses on your breast, and you should be fine in a day or two. btdt . been nursing for 17 yrs,mama.

[jeanieande]

oh. my.gosh. 17 years! wow. you are nursing-est mom I've ever heard of. Kudo's to you! Thanks for the tips....

[cameransmommy]

I was just going to tell you it sounds like a plugged duct. You got good info! Make sure to REALLY rest, not just continue with your day as planned. That seemed to be what has worked for me in the past. I try to keep DD in the bed with me and just veg...read, watch tv, sing songs with DD. I tend to get clogged ducts when i am stressed and over-tired, so for me, the rest and nursing alot seems to do the trick! Feel better mama!

[rebeccah5]

Any other tips? I've tried 'em and they aren't working yet for me. I have the same prob. Even worse, when DS nurses on that side, he seems to get frustrated and screams and pulls off, so it's tough to get him to nurse. In the past I could relieve a plugged duct by pumping or nursing in a different position, but it isn't helping and I'm afraid of getting mastitis!

[8blessings]

This is from the dr sears site. I have done all of this and relieved a plugged duct in a matter of hours after suffering for days and not sure what I was going to do. Do these things religiously, and it will pass.

PLUGGED MILK DUCTS
Sometimes a milk duct leading from the milk-making cells to the nipple gets plugged, resulting in a tender lump beneath the areola. There may also be a wedge-shaped area of redness extending from the lump back towards the wall of the chest. Unlike mastitis, the pain comes and goes with a plugged duct, and unless the duct is infected, you will not feel generally ill. If left untreated, however, a plugged duct may become infected, resulting in mastitis, infection, or a breast abscess.

To unplug the duct and prevent subsequent infection, try these suggestions:

Continue to breastfeed on the affected side. By any means, get the milk out! This is the golden rule of preventing engorgement, plugged ducts, and mastitis. Use a breast pump or hand expression if baby is unwilling to nurse.
Breastfeed on the affected side first. Baby's sucking is strongest at the beginning of the feed, so he is more likely to dislodge the plug when he starts on the affected breast.
Vary the baby's position at the breast, so that all of the milk ducts are drained. Be sure the baby is latched-on well, so that he can nurse efficiently. Try the clutch hold or side-lying position. Before each feeding, massage the affected area by kneading your breast gently from the top of the breast down over the plugged duct toward the nipple.
Drain the affected breast better by positioning baby so his chin "points" to the area that is sore. For example, if the lump is around 4 o'clock, use the clutch-hold and position baby's chin around this point on the nipple clock. The lower jaw is often most effective at getting milk out of the breast.
Apply moist heat compresses for a few minutes before feeding or pumping, or soak the affected breast in warm water or in the shower as described under Engorgement
Rest. Lie down with the baby and nap-nurse.
If you notice a small, white dot at the end of the milk duct on your nipple, that is the end of a plugged nipple opening. Apply moist heat on this white blister and with a sterile needle gently pop the blister. If this pore stays plugged, it could block milk drainage and lead to a plugged duct and mastitis.
Try a pressure massage on the area of your breast that is swollen and painful because of a plugged duct. This may help to loosen the plug. With pressure massage, you do not actually move your hand over the skin as you would with a normal massage. You simply press more and more firmly with the heel of your hand to move the plug in the duct down closer to the nipple.
To do pressure massage, start at the edge of the lumpy area closest to your chest wall. Apply pressure to that area with the heel of your hand to the point just before it becomes too painful. Hold the pressure at that level until the pain eases off. Then increase the pressure again, (without moving your hand) and hold it until the pain eases. Continue to gradually increase pressure at that same site until you are pressing as hard as you can. Then pick your hand up, move it down toward your nipple about a half inch, and repeat the pressure massage in this area. Continue moving your hand a half inch and repeating the massage until you get all the way down to the nipple.

You may see the dried milk come out from an opening in your nipple. Even if the plug doesn't actually come out, you will at least have dislodged it and moved it toward the nipple so that when baby goes to the breast and sucks, he will remove it with his suction. Always put baby to the breast on the plugged side first, when his sucking will be the strongest.

PREVENTING PLUGGED DUCTS FROM RECURRING
To prevent plugged ducts, feed baby in different positions with his nose pointing "around the nipple clock," so that you empty all the milk sinuses and ducts.
Studies have shown that taking a tablespoon a day of oral granular lecithin or a capsule of 1,200 mg lecithin capsule three to four times a day is helpful in preventing and treating plugged milk ducts.

[jeniperlyn]

Instead of using hot compresses (hot water on a wash cloth or towel tends to cool off to quick). Try a sock with rice in it and heat it in the microwave until it is hot enough, it has the moist heat you need and it doesn't cool off as fast. Us this on the clogged duct before and during nursing. Also if the clog won't go away using any of the advice given so far, try Lecithin 1200mg like 4 times a day, that worked for me when nothing else did. Like everyone else said...get lots of rest, clog ducts make you just feel BLAH! Hope you feel better!!

[momof4]

If you don't feel better soon, go to an OB and get checked for mastitis. The general "not feeling well" worriees me a bit.

[kht2006]

I'm sorry I can't help, but I can sympathize. I'm in the same boat. I'm going to try all of this and see what works. Karen