Thrush at this stage of the game?

et170322

Hi all...so, I'm a steady lurker, really not active in posts though (mobile bumping is not my forte). I'll give you a bit of background rather than jumping right in My little girl was born early February, and had a rough start to her life - couldn't latch well, her tongue wasn't working correctly according to the doctor and she basically half-starved for the first 10 days of her life until I figured out she wasn't getting what she needed. Problems with my nipples being flat compounded the problem, and we tried the whole nipple shield thing for a while before I just called it quits on the actual breastfeeding and went to EPing. Since those rough first few days, she's been doing great and is a big, healthy girl. I've managed to keep EPing this whole time, and only supplement with formula every once in a while when she eats up my supply. I can't say pumping has been easy, but it's worked for us and I would like to keep going until her first birthday. I've been tempted to quit in the past because TIME CONSUMING, but things started to smooth out once I was able to get down to 4 pumps a day.

I thank my lucky stars that I never had any of the problems that EBFing mothers had early in the game, like plugged ducts and the like. An occasional cracked nipple, but they usually healed quickly. Now, in the home stretch to being done pumping, I think I may have thrush. I have a call in to my doctor, but she is usually slow in returning calls. Google is also failing me, as it doesn't seem to cover much on thrush on the breast. DD doesn't seem to have it that I can tell, so I'm not even sure that is what I have. Both nipples are cracked, but instead of healing after consistent application of lanolin, they seem to stay. Plus, they are slightly itchy, and once in a while I get a painful twinge, especially during letdown. Pumping is now painful when it didn't used to be, and I actually had one morning where I pumped a couple of ounces of milk with LOTS of blood in the bottle, poor DH happened to see it before I noticed and it made him a little queezy. Anyway, sorry for the TMI, but I was hoping one of you that had thrush could tell me if my symptoms sound similar, or if I'm just dealing with dry Montana air and bad cracks? My guess is that I can't get in to see the doctor until Friday to get this cleared up, lucky me.

TIA, and sorry for being one of the frowned-upon people that just jump in, ask stupid questions, and jump right out. I do want to participate in the boards, but then I get behind and never quite can catch up with everyone. I really do think you all have been my sanity savior for all of the problems I've had in the past, usually reading through the boards gets me what I need to know.

et170322

Whew, love my lactation consultant - so very helpful, and she answered after the first ring! I'm getting in to see the local nurse practitioner soon, and hopefully will get this cleared up before I pass it on to DD. LC thinks I'm in the early stages of thrush, and gave me a few hints to help clear it up in addition to meds. Any tips from those of you who also dealt with this are very welcome too

I have to admit though, deep in my dark soul I was kind of looking for a reason to wean, even though I love that EPing has worked for us. I am SO ready to be done, especially now that my nipples are ready to fall off.

narcissticbeaut

no advice but i hope you can get it figured out soon! 

et170322

Yep, it's thrush - the NP took one look and said "wow, that looks painful!" She recommended gentian violet, completely cover each nipple in it with a Q-tip and it should kill the infection. It's an over-the-counter substance, so no need to get a prescription, yay! Note of warning though, it stains everything it touches BRIGHT PURPLE, so wear nursing pads after application. It is safe for babies, so I can still keep pumping, and one or two applications should clear it up. Milk after the first pump was slightly purple though, hehe. NP recommended I boil all my pump parts or put them through the dishwasher after each use. DD doesn't look like she's got thrush, so I'm hoping I cleared it up early. I air dry after each pump now, and make sure to lubricate the flanges to make it less painful. Already less itchy for sure, and slightly less painful. Whew!