I had to leave work early today.
I had a problem with one of my mammary glands. The left one.
Took me by complete surprise. Ten months with the little guy and nary a hint of trouble. (Not like the last time where every four days I was dealing with something that looked like an alien life form inside my nursing top.)
I self diagnosed a caked breast ... basically a bunch of clogged milk ducts that made the whole thing swollen and painful. Nothing was coming out. Not even a trickle.
I checked in with Dr. Google, who recommended the same thing that the folks I fork over increasingly larger co-pays to did four years ago: hot compresses, warm showers, rest and plenty of nursing. The baby, they say, is the most efficient declogging agent.
Baby drain-o.
But guess what?
They are WRONG. WRONG. WRONG-O.
Now I know babies are efficient little suckers. And Silas was getting something alright, but he was jumping around like a chimp trying to get it. And even then it wasn't enough.
The breast still felt like a brick.
Moist heat? Sweartogod, the four times I had this with Annabel (two of which led to the need for antibiotics to get rid of mastitis) heat never did anything.
And then I thought. What about ICE? To stop swelling most SANE people recommend ice.
Guess what?
Six minutes after four cubes of ice in a Zip-Loc back were applied to general area, Silas nursed without any acrobatics and the clog got noticeably better. In an hour it was feeling back to normal.
So please, tell all your lactating friends ... Hell has frozen over and most doctors don't know or just don't believe. ... Ice, Ice, Baby
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Ice, Ice, Baby
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3 comments:
I dealt with three bouts of mastitis. In the breastfeeding training class I'm taking (to become a counselor for a hotline) that LC also recommended ice. Heat still seemed to be a component, perhaps during massage? But for swelling she specifically recommended ice.
Glad to hear a firstperson account of it actually working!
Homeopathy can help beutifully...think about it next time? It is even better than ice, becuase it prevents...
The only thing is that you have to find a professional trained homeopath.
oh i had that experience. i stopped breastfeeding too abruptly and my breasts were more than brick. it was one of my most painful moments. no painkillers worked and i cried in pain through the nights. i hope you feel much better now.
joanna
www.candlelight.hk/blog
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