The lump is still there...

[Beene]

Hi ladies,

I believe last week I either had a blocked duct or a slight case of mastitis and got some great advice here for it. I did the hot shower/massage/pumping all the time/cabbage leaf routine and the redness and pain went away. However, it is three days later and I can still feel the series of hard lumps in my breast. Do I keep massaging to have them go? They don't hurt or anything, but why are they still there?

[CathMac]

You may be prone to plugged ducts.

Do you work and pump and/or does DC sleep for long stretches of time? If so, you may not be emptying often enough.

If you are nursing or pumping regularly then I would wonder if if there is something else going on. If you were still in pain and there were still redness then I would be concerned about the possibility of a specific type of breast cancer ... I think it's called inflammatory something or other.

I would try nursing and/or pumping more often and continue with the moist heat, "combing", and cabbage leaves.

I would also recommend the Marmet massage technique. You should be able to find more on that here with a key word search using the term "Marmet".
Good luck,
~Cath

[Tee25]

I too had a plugged duct and got a small bout of mastisis when my DD was 5 weeks old. I did a ton of massaging, hot water/cloths and pumping it out until the pain was gone, but I still could feel a big lump (made up of lots of little lumps) for probably about a week after. During this week I kept massaging it and it eventually went back to normal.

[Beene]

Originally Posted by Tee25

I too had a plugged duct and got a small bout of mastisis when my DD was 5 weeks old. I did a ton of massaging, hot water/cloths and pumping it out until the pain was gone, but I still could feel a big lump (made up of lots of little lumps) for probably about a week after. During this week I kept massaging it and it eventually went back to normal.

Oh, yay. Yes, that is what it sounds like exactly. I'll keep doin' my thing.

Thanks guys!

[paulamc]

Good luck! I've read lots of posts here that said the lumps can remain for a while, even after the plug is resolved. In my case they remain for a bit, but I've not noticed that they remained for days. It sounds normal to me though. Glad the pain is gone.