Mastitis

sjirishgirl

I'm almost certain I have Mastitis. The last few days my one breast hast been overly sensitive. Yesterday I spiked a fever of 102.5 with sever chills and acheness and my breast got swollen red and hot. I called the on call this AM and they said I would have to go to the er to be checked.
Do you think it's safe for me to be seen by my dr tomorrow instead?

jesuisfatiguee

It's really up to you whether you want to go to the ER or think it's necessary. I had mastitis once, and just did everything I could to get the clog out, skipping a trip to the dr. Lots of warm compresses, breast massage, extra nursing/pumping sessions are usually what it takes. I hate the term,but "dangle nursing" combined with massage seemed to help. Also if you can eat raw garlic or take a raw garlic supplement, that will help fight the infection. I've also read that moms take lecithin with great results. 

Regardless of what you do, you get my full sympathy. Mastitis sucks big ones  

MamaLlama14

I've dubbed myself the mastitis expert b/c I had it 7 times  I feel your pain- literally.  It's entirely up to you regarding going to the ER.  6 of the 7 times I had it, I was able to wait it out for an OB appointment.  One time was just too painful and was a Thursday afternoon of a long 4 day weekend- I knew I wouldn't get in to my doctor until at least Tuesday and I couldn't wait.  It can progress very quickly and feel like a very bad flu.  The best you can do on your own without meds for the infection is to drink a LOT of water (100oz+), nurse and pump more often than usual, and massage the area under hot water as much as possible.

I made a hot compress out of dry rice in a sock, spritzed with a little water and then microwaved for 30-90 seconds.  It retained it's heat much longer than a hot towel and had a nice massage effect when I rolled it around on my clogged area.  Try to use the hot compress WHILE nursing or pumping to help soften out the clog.

cerafina205

I have had mastisis 2x. Both times my obgyn called in keflex to my pharmacy. I took Tylenol to reduce the fever and felt better. Can't tell you to go or not to go to the ER but for me, it wasn't worth the bill when my doc could call the prescription in over the phone.

SnoopyLuv

I would go to Urgent Care. Not the ER. i know my insurance won't pay if it's non-emergent and I imagine mastitis would fall under that category. I would call your OBs on call line again and say that you'd just like a prescription called in.

Brummy14

jfresh said:

Did you call your OBGYN or the PCP? I called my OB and talked to the nurse each time about my symptoms and they called in a prescription, no visit necessary. Honestly I'd wait, I wouldn't want to pay the ER bill personally. Mastitis can turn dirty fast but I'd monitor your fever today and do what you can with tylenol and work to get the clog out. After 1-2 days on the antibiotic I started to feel loads better, so hopefully they'll work fast once you get on them. Feel better!

 This for me, too -- no OB visit needed, they called in an Rx, no issue. The faster you can get the antibiotic in your system, then faster you'll start feeling better. It can improve just as quickly and nastily as it comes on!

sjirishgirl

Thanks ladies. I got an Rx called in this morning and it it in me ASAP. Will the Rx break up the clog? I get virtually nothing from that breast .

lars1226

Heat, massage, hand expression and lots of nursing/pumping cleared the plugged area for me. Try some hand expression in the shower, that really helped me. And don't be alarmed if you see pus in your milk, it's not necessary but I filtered it out of the milk I pumped when I had mastitis. Hope you are feeling better, mastitis is the worst!

MamaLlama14

The meds aren't going to break up the clog- just the infection building up as a result of it.  You still need to massage like mad, pump/nurse/hand express and use lots of hot compresses.

sjirishgirl

I'm assuming my supply will return once all is broken up