Excruciating shooting pain in left breast

[reevesfs]

Hi everyone! I'm so happy that this forum exists. Hopefully I can find some answers (or empathy) from other great women.

My baby is 9 days old. He has been exclusively breastfed the whole time. Every time I attempt to breastfeed him on the left breast, I have the most excruciating shooting pain that emanates into my armpit (usually; sometimes it emanates to the top of my breast and below my breast). The pain begins when my baby latches on and starts sucking. It lasts for maybe 30 seconds and then subsides but never truly goes away. I've asked a LLL leader to watch me breastfeed and she said that the baby is latching on correctly. She also said that I may have "rusty pipe syndrome," where my milk ducts aren't used to opening up to allow milk to flow through them and so it's painful when the milk does come through.

Could this be the case? I'm experiencing some engorgement, I have a few lumps (milk ducts?) on my left breast near my armpit, I have no signs of mastitis. I should also mention that 2 years ago, I had a breast reduction. The nipple was left attached to the pedicle and most of the mammary glands were left intact.

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm to the point right now where the thought of feeding him brings me to tears. Every time I begin breastfeeding him, the pain causes me to tense all of my muscles and squeeze my eyes shut. Every time I grieve the loss of another opportunity to bond with my baby and am worried that I may be becoming resentful towards him. Breastfeeding is something that is incredibly important to me and I'm committed to making it work!

Any help or advice would

[spicyrock]

i had thrush with dd, it took me forever to figure out what that awful, terrible feeling was- your shooting pains sound like thrush to me and it is worth looking into, as once you know what it is, you know how to fix it! I took diflucan and got the stuff that went in dd's mouth - nystatin or something - but some people swear by gentian violet.

if, as time goes by, you notice white patches in your baby's mouth, you almost certainly have thrush- but those patches don't have to be present for the yeast infection to be present in your milk ducts.

[goodygumdrops]

I don't think your symptoms sound like thrush to me.

Have you had any nipple trauma? Whenever a mom has had a breast reduction we recommend working closely with an IBCLC to ensure that babe gains well and nursing is off to a good start for mom. Without further information, it sound like you may be experiencing issues with plugged ducts or even an intense "electric" feeling let down. In some moms, the let down feeling can be quite intense..especially first time moms. I think that's what your LLL was explaining. Another thing...do you have any white pimple like dots on the end of your nipple? Sometimes plugged ducts can be intensely painful if they've developed into milk blebs.

Have you tried pumping? Does it hurt when you pump? I really recommend seeing an IBCLC so they can do a full assessment. Good luck

[scottishmommy]

I had the exact same thing with dd. Shooting pain. It was horrible. There were a few things going on. I had an overactive letdown so dd was clamping down on my nipples to stop the flow. Clamping can cause nerve irritation all the up your breast. She also has a very high palate, so that wasn't helping. Also, I was using a breast pump on too strong a suction setting. I suggest you take ibuprofen (advil) and if you are pumping try using a gentler setting. Good luck!

[jerabelle]

im also a newbie first time momma and went thru the same exact feelings of pain less than 2 weeks ago. my lil guy is 3 1/2 weeks old now and honestly, the pain suddenly started subsiding right when i was about to give up (when he was 10 days old). i cried nonstop and dreaded feeding him, all of which i hated myself for. believe me, it does get better. no literature or class can ever prepare your nipples for bfing!! i suggest lanolin and also hydrogel pads worn between feedings. pumping also helped me. it WILL work out, just remember to reach out to those you need to for support! you are never alone and sometimes encouraging words heal you just as much as any medical advice!

[crystal_buffaloe]

When I hear "shooting pain" I think thrush, just because that's what was making BFing so painful for us and it took so long to figure out. Also, I just had it in my left boob. However, the pain associated with thrush is present after latch and between feedings, too, and it's also associated with itchy, shiny, pink nipples, nipples that might blanch (turn white) after feeding, and sometimes white spots in the babe's mouth/tounge (that don't scrape off gently the way milk will), and maybe even yeast infection in mom and yeasty diaper rash in babe. So, do you have any other symptoms of thrush? If so, I'd aggressively pursue that route, if not, I'd troubleshoot other scenarios.

Giving your left boob a break wouldn't help the plugged duct issue, so if you do decide to favor the right, I think you should also be pumping (on a gentle setting) the left pretty frequently with breast massage and compression to work out those lumps. Hot showers work wonders, as does simply submerging the boob in a bowl of warm water (it wouldn't hurt to add a splash of vinegar, just in case, to kill any thrushy bacteria).

I had tons of issues with my left boob in the first month of breastfeeding -- a god-awful sore, mastitis, thrush, mastitis again. Finally I had had enough, and just pumped from the left and fed from the right for a week (and then another week). I've since gone back to offering both sides, and we've been enjoying pain-free nursing but it was tender all over again when first starting back up on the left, she's developed a preference for my right, and I'm lopsided (which I didn't think would bother me, but it does).

So, sorry for the rambling. My main advice is to try to figure out what's causing the pain and to fix it at the root of the problem. Also, know that it will get better and better and that soon you'll have pain-free nursing and a beautiful nursing relationship. Finally, if you really feel like you have to give the problem boob a rest, it's not an ideal situation by any means and carries its own set of problems, but it's not the end of the world, either. You do what you have to do.

[cappuccinosmom]

For me that pain was the first sign of mastits.

There was one round of that where the pain was just intolerable (me screaming and crying when he latched on ). That was mastitis but it occured after my baby had chomped me and apparently done some damage.