25 April 2011

ductal hell, part deux

First: THANK YOU
thank you for delurking to help with suggestions and kindness, how cool to see new names in my inbox! how cool to see familiar names in my inbox too! how crappy that ANYONE EVER has to have this stupid thing happen.

Here's the update: still blocked, iron boob, truly shitty painful terrible bad bad bad
Doc appointment this afternoon, and I am doing all the right stuff. No infection but now on anti biotics, just keep doing what I'm doing which is everything I can think of. Will stay home tomorrow to work on this little project since being at work is not conducive to extra pumping or any other anything including rest.

I just tried the jelly jar technique from kellymom. com. Wow. Simple, weird, did not fix it but will do it again. No pain, just weird. Low tech fun.

I'll be nursing the baby often enough so she'll be sick of it.
Pumping today showed a terrible decline in production (half) so that is scary and made me feel panicky.

Doc said that worst case (besides infection) would be that the ducts do not clear, milk would mostly reabsorb eventually, and those ducts would not be productive. Which would suck shit.

So-- with luck, this will clear by my next appointment which is on friday afternoon.

I'll keep you posted for sure.

Thanks again, truly, for all of the suggestions. I wish there were some outer evidence of the blockage, a blister or plug, but it is all deeper than that so far. I'll keep hoping.


5 comments:

B. said...

Ouch! Sorry to hear about the clogged ducts. Heat and (painful) massage resolved mine, which were thankfully very minor. I hope something breaks loose very soon and your milk runs smoothly again without any more pain. Sending good thoughts!

What IF? said...

Whoa, clogged ducts hurt like hell. I had them so many times, and mastitis a few times when I couldn't get them unclogged. Beyond miserable. This is what happens when you pump milk for triplets - crazy oversupply.

Lying face down with boobs in the hot bath worked better than the shower, because it's easier to see where/which area milk is spraying from under water. I always massaged and manually expressed from the farthest point away from the blockage, towards the nipple. Sometimes, when several ducts were plugged and the lump kept "growing," it helped to start a bit further away from the blockage, and gradually work closer. It's seriously painful and frustrating.

The one time when it lasted several days and wouldn't budge, antibiotics cleared it up when I was losing all hope. I'm hoping it does the trick for you too.

You've tried positioning and warm washcloths, but maybe you could try taking soy lecithin. I took 1 to 2 capsules (1,200 milligrams each), 3 to 4 times per day to help prevent it from happening again.

Hoping it clears soon and your milk supply bounces back. Hang in there.

KathyB said...

I am surprised I didn't see the cabbage advice - am I really old or is it just because my sister married into a big Polish family? Yep, you quickly blanch cabbage leaves, let them cool for a moment and put them on as you would a poultice.
Hope you are feeling better!
xo,
K

Eb said...

I was told cold tea bags to reduce inflamation and the cabbage leaf was always quite nice too.
I wonder if oatmeal might help? It helps everything else!!
Oh, my korean friend swears by KimChi. Eat it and wear it. Sounds a little painful to me but not as painful as iron boob.

Good Luck!

Anonymous said...

Don't panic! you production is blocked up in those blocked ducts!
Physical therapy? Ultrasound?