I have been in bed since around 9:30pm last night with a stabbing feeling in my left breast, chills, fever, sweats, and just all over aching. I feel like I have the flu. I called my midwife this morning and she diagnosed me with Mastitis and got me on antibiotics right away.
I am in a lot of pain. Recent stress hasn't helped. Has anyone been through this? I could use some advice. I don't want to quit nursing (and won't unless there is no other option) but this is miserable.
coconut / 8475 posts
omgosh I am so sorry! I don't have advice but that sounds hellish! Get well soon:) I hope it doesn't force you to stop b/f.
Maybe you can pump and dump while on the meds so that your supply doesn't lessen, and then once you're better be on track again!
Get well!
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
@EloiseKE: Mrs. Bee suffered through mastitis. 
She wrote up her experiences here, along with some other blogger bees!
pomegranate / 3275 posts
Don't quit nursing! You need to make sure you are completely empty. I had mastitis with my baby as well. I remember counting the minutes until I could take the next dose of pain meds, because it helped. Are you taking any fever reducers? That helped me so much! I think I started to feel much better after about three days. Also, sleep as much as you can. I made my husband take the baby at night (mostly because the chills got so bad I was worried I was going to drop him!)
Don't worry, you WILL feel better soon.
cherry / 106 posts
Thanks for that info. I try not to rely on Dr. Google but there is so much conflicting info on how people prefer to treat it. It's so painful, ugghh.
cherry / 106 posts
I'm taking Tylenol to bring the fever down. Right now I'm having that frustrating thing where one minute you're freezing cold and the next you're sweating and burning up. No happy medium.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
No need to pump and dump! Just take probiotics and give some to your baby too (one made for babies). The antibiotics should kick in really soon and you'll feel better almost instantly.
I survived and am still going strong at 10 months. You can do it!!!!
pomegranate / 3983 posts
I had it too and it was awful! Try to nurse/pump as often as you can and let your DH take care of LO while you rest up. In 24 hours I was already feeling the antibiotics kick in, and like pp said in 3 days or so you'll start feeling a lot better.
persimmon / 1472 posts
Hang in there! It gets better I promise. I wrote a post about it here about my month long bout with mastitis. It was something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy! Basically I tried to ride it out by pumping and nursing like a maniac for a week. It didn't work and I was in so much pain I curled up in a ball to cry, so I saw a doc who diagnosed me and prescribed antibiotics safe for nursing. I felt better but 2-3 days after the mess were done the pain came back. He put me on something stronger but not safe for BF so I had to pump and dump for 14 days (10 for meds and another 3-4 for my own peace of mind). The second med worked and now 3 months later, DD is 6.5 months and we are going strong.
I agree with pp on continuing pumping and/or nursing - you need to continue keeping the infected breast empty to maximize effectiveness of the meds. Hope you feel better soon!
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
I've had it a couple times and it's truly hell! Don't stop nursing, in fact, nurse more to keep your supply up. My MW told me to take the baby, get in bed, nurse, nurse, nurse and don't leave the bed til I felt better.
Drink lots of water and once you're feeling better, pump after you nurse to get your supply back up on that side.
Good luck and feel better soon. You'll get through this. I had it when Maddox was 10 days old and again at 27 days old (in the other breast) and persevered, I'm so glad I did.
hostess / eggplant / 11068 posts
You can get through it! I took antibiotics and it helped immediately!
nectarine / 2797 posts
I had it a few weeks ago, after about 48 hours of antibiotics I felt so so much better. Until then rest and nurse as much as you can on that side, I think I was doing about 75% of feedings on the affected side and pumping the other side when it got too bad. Feel better!
| Today | Monthly Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | 0 | 1 |
| Posts | 1 | 3 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
11 comments