Update - it's mastitis :(

[pinotgrig]

I called my ob/gyn's nurse line to ask them a few questions and they wanted to see me with the holidays coming up. The NP said mastitis. Starting on antibiotics as soon as they're ready from the pharmacy. I still feel fine otherwise, fortunately.

She said to stick with my normal pumping / nursing schedule and no need to wake up motn to pump if I don't want / need to.

Anyone have any happy-ending mastitis stories to share? I googled it earlier and should not have. :/

[dcn]

I'm so glad you called, I just saw your last update about it being red to your armpit and that isn't really normal for a plugged duct.

I think you should be good to go in a few days with the antibiotic. Hang in there!

[gretchenindisguise]

I'm glad you caught it early.

[vmars]

If you catch it early its nbd. Nurse often, every 2 hours during the day and every 3 at night. Nurse on the affected side first but do not neglect the other side. Hot showers and hot compresses help a lot. I used a diaper soaked in warm water as a compress since it holds the heat in longer. You feel crappy for a day or two and then you are back to normal.

[CloudBee]

I'm so happy you have meds. Not a good time of year to end up in urgent care!

I hope the fever never hits.

[mannah]

Glad you got seen before next week, hope it heals up quickly!

[greycat]

I had recurrent mastitis when DS was 2 mo old. It sucked but I got better and am still nursing at 21 mo. Make sure you get plenty of rest. Also consider starting your LO on probiotics. Hope you feel better very soon!

[smock]

Aw, that stinks! I'm sorry it turned out to be mastitis, but nice job jumping on it early. Hopefully you won't develop further symptoms since you're starting the antibiotics. I have luckily avoided mastitis so far (knock on wood) so I can't offer specific advice on that, but I'll give you the general advice to take care of yourself and eat some ice cream. I heard ice cream helps mastitis.

[pinotgrig]

Thanks, all.

It's silly, but I cried when I got back to work. I really, really didn't want it to be mastitis. It just seems like such a scary thing. I'm exhausted from a couple long nights, too, which isn't helping.

I'm still waiting on the meds from the pharmacy, but am planning on heading home to rest after I pick it up. My mom just got into town which is great timing.

[greycat]

Dec 19, 2014 14:06:24 GMT -5 pinotgrig said:

Thanks, all.

It's silly, but I cried when I got back to work. I really, really didn't want it to be mastitis. It just seems like such a scary thing. I'm still waiting on the meds from the pharmacy, but am planning on heading home to rest after I pick it up. My mom just got into town which is great timing.

Hugs. Mastitis definitely sucks but it's easy to treat and you should feel better pretty quickly after you start the antibiotics.

[satsuma]

It's great that you caught it early. It sucks to feel run down when you have a baby. Most of the scary stuff happens when it goes ignored and is more common in moms of younger babies (assuming that I'm thinking you found what I think you found from your searching).

[lilac05]

Yes, I do!

First, MOST cases of mastitis are quickly fixed by antibiotics and you should have a lot of relief in 24 hours. If you don't, please call your doc back and get other meds.

I had a worst case scenario mastitis that turned into best case scenario. I never had the flu-like symptoms of mastitis and only a very low grade temp. I felt fine, but was in SO much pain. We tried various antibiotics, but nothing helped. I had an ultrasound done, and they didn't see an abscess (on Wed.) I ended up in the ER on a Saturday night because the pain was so bad. I was literally biting my fists, crying, and hiding in my room while nursing because the pain was that unbearable. My SIL caught me & made me go to the ER. They saw an abscess at that point & called in a surgeon. He had terrible bedside manner & told me, in no uncertain terms, that I HAD to stop Breastfeeding...immediately. I sobbed and sobbed. (Hormones are wonderful! He was only 3 weeks old!) I had a D&I done right away. He removed a peach-sized abscess! When I woke up from surgery, the nurse told me not to give up, and to talk to a LC first thing in the morning. I swear all of my nurses that night were either pregnant or had tiny babies & were so supportive! I met with the lactation consultant in the morning and she gave me the OK to continue feeding baby. It was MESSY (to say the least!) feeding him with a huge hole in my boob, but we both managed. My wound healed quicker than expected, likely thanks to the constant flush of healing breastmilk, and I proudly took my chunky baby into the surgeon for my final follow-up and made sure the doc knew I was still Breastfeeding. (I may have been a *bit* smug about it to him.)

Anyway...he's now 16.5 months old and still BFing. I have a small scar that no one other than my H will ever see...and I'm so proud of it.

Another happy ending to a terrible case...a good friend had to stop at 9 mo when she got it because her abscess was MRSA. She was able to successfully EBF #2 for an entire year on only one side!

So, the VAST MAJORITY of cases are solved by a simple antibiotic...but when that doesn't work, it doesn't have to be the end. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

[mrsGreeko]

Between three kids I had mastitis 6 times. It's not fun, but once the antibiotics kick in you will feel fine. Although you say you are already feeling fine so that's weird with mastitis. Every time I got it I was fine and within hours I felt like if been hit by a truck and spiked a fever. 24 hours of antibiotics and I was back to normal.

[D2M]

I'm sorry, lady. I'd be upset too. Hope you are back to normal soon.

[aqualuv]

Aww I'm sorry! I hope it clears up quickly and doesn't impact your first Christmas with babyPinot. I naively thought you would be past the period of being able to get mastitis. For whatever reason, I thought mastitis would only come in the early weeks/months of nursing. Clearly that thought was wrong.

[pinotgrig]

lilac05 - thank you for typing all that out. I'm so glad things worked so well with you and your friend. That's very encouraging!

[pinotgrig]

Dec 19, 2014 15:16:44 GMT -5 luckydog said:

Drinks LOTS of water!

P.S. Now is a good time to practice your man cold rest, watch tv, let everyone else do stuff!

Ha! I think that's a great idea! Going to add smock's ice cream idea, too.

[Deleted]

lilac05 Can you tell me more about the abscess? Could you see anything on the outside of your breast?

I had a four day hospital stay with severe mastitis recently. While I am feeling much better I still have some pain in the breast and while it's not as excruciating as before, I still have some pain while nursing. I also feel a small lump still where the mastitis started.

I have a follow up with a specialist next week but am wondering if I should be asking for an ultrasound to confirm there is no abscess.

[lilac05]

Dec 19, 2014 16:28:59 GMT -5 @bandwife said:

lilac05 Can you tell me more about the abscess? Could you see anything on the outside of your breast?

I had a four day hospital stay with severe mastitis recently. While I am feeling much better I still have some pain in the breast and while it's not as excruciating as before, I still have some pain while nursing. I also feel a small lump still where the mastitis started.

I have a follow up with a specialist next week but am wondering if I should be asking for an ultrasound to confirm there is no abscess.

It was red and hot, swollen, and made my breast very oddly shaped.  As it got worse, a small white dot appeared.  The surgeon said that the dot was similar to a white head zit, meaning the abscess was about to burst.  (Which leads to all of the nasty photos you see online!)

I understand that most abscesses are smaller.  It's something an OB/GYN can aspirate (remove with a needle) in the office, if he/she is comfortable.  At the time, when is mentioned aspirating to my OB, she was not comfortable/didn't think it was necessary.  When I saw her later, she said that thanks to my situation, she has now aspirated two other similar masses.  

The relief I felt from surgery was instant.  It's hard to explain, but the surgical site/wound hurt because it was all exposed, but the pain was different.  Before, I couldn't even hold my boys on that side and lived in fear that they'd accidentally touch my breast...even the slightest touch hurt.  Afterwards, it felt more like a cut, maybe?  

I would certainly bring up concerns of an abscess.  They're really rare, but if you can still feel something, that tells me (NOT a doctor) that something still isn't right.  If it gets worse, call and try to move up the appointment.  When I've had clogged ducts clear, the area remains sore, like a bruise, for a few days, but there is no more lump.

Good luck!  Feel free to PM me if you have more ?s.  It's hard to find non-alarmist info online about severe mastitis & abscesses!

[dcn]

Dec 19, 2014 16:28:59 GMT -5 @bandwife said:

lilac05 Can you tell me more about the abscess? Could you see anything on the outside of your breast?

I had a four day hospital stay with severe mastitis recently. While I am feeling much better I still have some pain in the breast and while it's not as excruciating as before, I still have some pain while nursing. I also feel a small lump still where the mastitis started.

I have a follow up with a specialist next week but am wondering if I should be asking for an ultrasound to confirm there is no abscess.

I never had mastitis, but I did have a plugged duct that never seemed to fully clear.  I could feel a lump all the time, and it would be bigger when i was full, and smaller but still theere after he nursed.  My dr referred me for an ultrasound which was clear, it was just an enlarged duct.  It was there until i weaned and then it went away.  

I would definitely ask about an ultrasound, for nothing else but peace of mind.

[Deleted]

Thanks lilac05 and @dcn. I will not hitting up Google for photos! Hopefully it's just my breast still recovering from the mastitis but I'll be asking the specialist for an ultrasound.

[rbp]

I'm sorry. Glad you got some meds quickly! Sending healing vibes.

[greycat]

Dec 19, 2014 17:18:38 GMT -5 @bandwife said:

Thanks lilac05 and @dcn. I will not hitting up Google for photos! Hopefully it's just my breast still recovering from the mastitis but I'll be asking the specialist for an ultrasound.

I definitely had lingering soreness but I think it makes sense to ask for a ultrasound. I had recurrent mastitis. It improved with antibiotics but came back within a day or two of stopping. Each time I got a longer course of antibiotics (and tried a different antibiotic). The third time it came back I had an ultrasound to rule out an abscess (it came back clear). Fortuntately, the last round of antibiotics worked.

Hope you are feeling better soon!

[Blue Moon]

Aw I'm sorry. What awful timing with the holidays. I think you should be fine though since you were proactive and are starting meds already.

[VillainV]

I felt better within maybe 3-4 hours of starting meds. Wish I hadn't waited so long to start them....

[narockshard]

Aw I'm sorry you're dealing with this I like the idea of resting and letting everyone else take care of you!