I have been breastfeeding my almost 2 month old since birth, and have had pain in one breast since the beginning. I have never had any problems with the other breast. The problem is primarily pain in the breast, but also the nipple. It hurts a lot most times when DD latches on, to the extent that I usually have to grit my teeth for the first two minutes. After that the pain lessens, and it is more uncomfortable than painful. I also have breast pain following nursing, often for most of the day. It is hard to describe the pain - the best I can come up with is that it is like I bruised the whole breast, including the interior. I also occasionally have a stabbing pins and needles let-down feeling in both breasts, although it is worse in the painful breast. Looking at my breast, it does not look like anything is wrong - no cracks or open wounds, or discoloration or anything. On occasion I do get the "lipstick" shape and my nipple points outward, but that is pretty rare (and it also happens to the non-painful breast). The pain is such that I can't have much pressure on that breast - only 1 bra is comfortable, I can't burp DD on that shoulder, etc. I can't go braless because I leak a lot and need to wear breast pads.
From the beginning, I have nursed DD on only one breast per feeding, which she drains in 10 minutes and she is full. She has gained weight like a champ, no worries there. She eats frequently during the day, usually every 2-3 hours, so I don't pump during the day. At night she'll go 4-5 hours between feedings, so I do need to pump the un-used breast because it gets painfully full. I am renting a hospital grade pump. I have a freezer full of milk.
I saw a lactation specialist, a nurse at a hospital, and she told me that my position and the latch were good, that there is nothing really wrong (she ruled out mastitis, thrush, plugged duct, etc.). She said that the problem is that I have over-supply and forceful letdown. She said that the pain is caused by the milk rushing through the breast to the nipple, and that there is not much I can do about it. She recommended that I change position from the cradle hold to the football hold, that I use cold compresses after nursing, and that I pump the un-used breast after every single feeding. On the painful breast, one side of the nipple does get swollen and kind of bulges out when I breastfeed. The lactation specialist said that it was normal, just the milk rushing to the nipple.
I tried the football hold, and that was even more painful and DD hated it and wouldn't nurse, so we are back to the cradle hold. I tried the cold compresses and gel Soothies and chilled cabbage leaves, but nothing helped. I don't want to pump after every feeding during the day because DD will only nurse from me (won't take a bottle from me), and I think that that would only further increase my over-supply.
Any advice? Is this something that will go away on its own, or will it be like this for the rest of our breastfeeding? I am really committed to breastfeeding DD, but this is very painful and I dread nursing on the painful breast.
