Help please! Second round of mastitis and babe is only 1.5 months old!

[sweeteleanor]

Hi mamas!  Let me give you the rundown.  I must note that after the first infection (treated with 10 days abx) I have been taking lecithin, extra vit. C and garlic oil along with  my normal probiotic and prenatal.  Rest?  Well you know that with older kids and a newborn this is an elusive beast.  I hate being in the house for more than a day or two and am active, so I'm not just sitting around everyday, which may help?  Got it (never this early or often) with DD and DS so I'm not new to it.

Time one:  No warning of a clog, just very sick (temp 103, headache, chills, the works).  Finally see a red area under right breast and assume that's where the clog was.  Still, no hard lump and it seems to be draining, doc thought so too.  Abx, no yeast beast and I begin reading about OAL and that this could be casusing the clogs/infections. Begin above supplements, block feed and change position often. 

Time two:  Fast-forward two weeks and I wake in the night (duh!  lol!)  with a painful left side of my breast.  The pain goes from armpit to nipple.  I am kind of glad, as maybe I can drain this clog and not get sick.  Wrong.  I do get it to drain with how showers, massage and a saltwater dunk.  However, any initial excitement quickly wears off as it still hurts (though empty) and I am for sure feeling the early signs of an infection (chills, achy body and headache) that I get each time.  Increase dosing of supplements, continue with cabbage, warm compress, frequent nursing, massage.  Still, I wake up feeling yuck, though he drained the painful area again. 

Le sigh.  Any advice would be more than welcome.  I am wondering how to avoid this again as I feel I am doing everything *right*.  I have read about taking abx for a few months but lord have mercy I DO NOT want to do that, for obvious reasons.  However, I WILL keep nursing and cannot, cannot, do this every three weeks.

TIA super mamas!

[FaithfulOne]

Darn...everything you've already tried is what I would suggest. Honestly, I might start thinking about a Lactation Consultant or Breastfeeding Clinic.

[sweeteleanor]

That's what I was thinking.  I just don't get why the infection develops so quickly!

[MommyofHero]

I'm sorry I don't have much advice, but I can sympathize...I'm looking myself for some answers. I've had mastitis twice and DS is only 6 wks old! (It is due to EXTREME oversupply). The only other thing I have come up with is giving your body as much REST and SLEEP as possible to keep the immune system strong (I know it's hard...I have a toddler...) Good luck with everything. *hugs*

[CheriK]

Wondering about the infection really being resolved after the first round of antibiotics.  I know it was on the opposite side on the second go-round, but could still be the same bacteria.  Did you take antibiotics for the 2nd occurrence?  What about a culture of your milk/your nursling's throat to be sure you're on the right antibiotic?  Resistant staph (MRSA) can cause mastitis and this isn't going to resolve with the "usual" ab treatments.

Are you sure baby's latch is good?  Nipple trauma will make mastitis more likely.  If you have oversupply, baby may be getting plenty of milk even with a not-great latch.  Might be good to have an inperson evaluation just to be certain all is okay in this area.

Also wondering about bra fit.  Did you get new bras this time around?  Possible that whatever you're wearing doesn't fit correctly and is causing parts of your breasts to not drain well, even w/ changing positions frequently.  Old bras may have worn out or not fit you now; new bras could be fitted wrong.

You mentioned block nursing.  Are you noticing a decrease in supply yet?  Some mamas need to have fairly long blocks to impact oversupply.  Definitely OS can increase your risks of mastitis.  It's a balancing act, though, block nursing to lower your supply but moving milk frequently enough to avoid plugs.  You might need to express a small amount of milk on the un-used breast between feeds, just enough to avoid getting engorged.

Since I absolutely refuse to take antibiotics for mastitis, and have gotten it more often than I like to think about, I've found a few trick that help.  One that works for me but I didn't see you've tried is grated potato compresses.  As soon as you notice a sore or red area on your breast, give it a try.  My midwife suggested this for a really stubborn infection that just would not resolve & it worked.  It's now my go-to treatment!  Grate a raw potato (no need to peel).  Take a towel or cloth diaper, get it wet & microwave to as hot as you can stand.  Cover the sore area with the potato, then the towel.  Keep on for 20 minutes or so before nursing.  It's a bit messy.  I've also found that really really strong massage of the area helps a lot.  I usually will soak in a hot bath (this is as much "rest" as I can usual manage, LOL), massage the area using trauma oil (http://www.herbaled.org/THM/Compounds/traum_oil.html - I get it at our local Co-op grocery), then pump.  I know a baby's supposed to be better than a pump, but with oversupply I find that my nursling often doesn't "empty" the breast as completely as I'd like.  With the pump, I can focus massage on that area and really drain it well at least once.

Good luck mama. So sorry you're going through this.  It should get better!

Ed:  Also, forgot about anemia.  Did you have bloodwork done?  Being anemic can lower your resistance to infection & contribute to repeat infections.

Edited by CheriK - 4/2/11 at 8:01pm