[Max's Mami]

I am about give up! We have never had nursing trouble, even from the begining I never had much pain (only the a tiny bit the first few weeks), no cracking, bleeding or chapping. All of which I now have at almost 19 months. I dont know what to do.

Maxi has a lot of teeth but has for some time and it never seemed to be a problem. He started getting teeth at 4 1/2 months.

I dont know if he is latching on wrong now but I cant really tell and I cant think of anything else that is different.

I am in so much pain -- what should I do? I cant really afford to see a LC right now but last night I was in tears because it just hurt so much.

I work all day so by the time I get home I feel better but its the nursing at night and through the night that is killing me.

I dont want to give up and I know he is not ready to wean, he is still VERY attached and asks to nurse a lot. I want to let him self wean but I can see continuing like this. Its so hard for me because we NEVER had problems until a month or so ago. I just tried to deal with it but its getting worse every day.

Any advice? Any tips on things to try to improve the pain? Any help at all would be so appreciated!

 

[lovebugmama]

It sound like the dreaded thrush curse has visited you. I hate to be the bearer of bad news

I have struggled with it myself, but you can kick it.

Do a search in the bfing difficulties forum and you will be inundated with threads about this. What worked for us was gentian violet and a thrush "oil" recipe from mountain mom.

Hope you get some relief soon!

 

[Meiri]

My first thought was thrush too. While treating both of you, wash your bras and shirts in hot water if they can take it, and use vinegar in the rinse regardless of the wash temperature. Wash all his toys that he might mouth too.

I didn't have problems with DD's nursing until she was a toddler too, in our case lazy latch lead to a few plugged ducts.

Making sure she was high enough up in relation to the breast and secure so she'd not clamp down to hold on, and long soaks in a bowl of very warm water worked on my problems.

 

[pixiepunk]

my first thought was thrush, too. acidophilus works great for me when i have yeast (though we've not had thrush, i used to be very prone to vaginal YI's), and also cutting out processed sugars, white bread and pasta, etc. that encourage yeast growth. we just had our first plugged duct about a week ago - it really is freaky when nursing has gone so smoothly for so long, and suddenly there's an issue. it made me better appreciate what other women go through who weren't as lucky as me to go 12 months before having a problem.

the only other thought i had was menstrual or pregnancy related. if your cycles are just now returning, that could cause pain (it did for me). and lots of women have very sore nipples in early pregnancy. if one of these is the case, warm compresses can help stimulate let down quicker so there's not as much of the hard sucking before the milk comes, and lansinoh would probably help too.

hang in there! you've made it this far, i'm sure you'll conquer this little problem in no time!

 

[FitMama]

Changes in position have helped me. I keep finding little abrasions on my nipple. I think it's from DS's teeth digging in. Or, dragging down on my nipple, as it were. We nurse lying down mostly, and that's when it hurts like crazy. It stings down to the bone. But no problem if I'm sitting up. So I try to nurse sitting up in the day, at least to alleviate the problem. Supposedly toddlers do get lazy in their latch, and you have to cradle them like infants to encourage them not to drag away from the breast.

HTH if it's a latch problem you're having. Good luck.

 

[Max's Mami]

Wouldnt there be other signs if it was thrush? The pain really seems to be from cracking at the base of the nipple. Which is also the cause of the bleeding. I definitly have red marks around the areola but those are from his teeth rubbing I think.

I did just get my period in the begining of June for the first time since getting preggo in Feb. 2002 so that sounds like it might be part of the problem.

I guess it might just be the positioning and the *dragging* of his teeth as he tries to do acrobatics.

Other than pain what are the symptoms of thrush?

 

[RachelGS]

You should definitely get checked for thrush-- the symptoms you have ARE thrush symptoms. If you can't go to an LC, call a midwife. But FWIW, it can also really be aggravated and complicated when AF returns. I had chapping and cracking and just terrible pain the first two months. Several things helped me. One was to treat for underlying thrush. The second was to get a prescription for Jack Newman's All Purpose Nipple Ointment. (I was better within a day or two with that.) Again, midwives tend to be familiar with it and willing to prescribe it, but you can also find the recipe online if you have a receptive doc. The third thing that helped was to take Evening Primrose Oil every single day. If you don't do it every day, it won't do much for you, but if you take it religiously you will likely find that next month is a whole lot easier. I wish I had known all of this sooner. Hope it helps you feel better!

 

[Max's Mami]

Well I made an appt. for tomorrow with a LC -- it is just SO expensive. But at this point I guess I have no choice, the pain is just too much and Maxi is miserable with me telling him no when he asks for "milky".

The more I read and think about it and so on, the more I think it has to be some sort of infection. So I guess I will see tomorrow.

Thanks ladies!

 

[Max's Mami]

Well I saw the LC today and it looks like I have some sort of infection -- and a very bad one. She said she is amazed at how bad it is because with the amount of pain I must be in I should have been in sooner.

: I dont have a very high pain tolerance so I dont know how I have been dealing with continuing to nurse but somehow I have.

Luckily Maxi shows no signs of having it. So I am on Gentian Violet and getting a prescription for APNO for the pain and incase its not just yeast.

Jeez, I feel like such a bone head for not going in sooner! She did say Maxi has a "crummy" latch (common for lazy/acrobatic toddlers) but that it wouldnt contribute to how bad my nipples are.

YIKES!

Thanks for all the help ladies -- I guess it was you guys who made me call her in the first place.

 

[mum2 4]

Good you found an answer to the infection problem. Does Max use a sippy cup? The technique for drinking from one can also be hard on your nipples. There was a good article on the subject in a New Beginings magazine. You can check with LLL for an archieve search. It seems former great nursers develop a new suck that wrecks havoc on Mom's nipples.
This may be a contributing factor for you two. try small, easy to hold, plastic glasses instead...

 

[oakparkveggie]

I am so glad that you now know what you are dealing with. I'm sending healing vibes your way for a speedy recovery!