cabbage leaf help

Joes_love · May 2011

ya'll said to 'break up the veins' on the cabbage leafs for drying up my milk. what exactly does that mean? right now i have two leafs in my bra, i kind of gouged at the veins to make them 'bendy' but idk if that's what i was supposed to do?

Lotte134 · May 2011

Never done it but that sounds about right to me. How are you feeling?

Joes_love · May 2011

i'm feeling all right. i nursed D for the last time this morning, and I'm pretty down about it but I know it's necessary. I get tired out more easily now, and that's probably only going to get worse with chemo/radiation- but I know it's all going to make me better in the end. For the most part I'm holding up really well. It's just the unknown's and the fact that there's no guarantee all of this will cure me. I know the prognosis is good, but there's never any guarantee and when I lay in bed at night, that thought eats away at me :-(

Lotte134 · May 2011

Joes_love:
i'm feeling all right. i nursed D for the last time this morning, and I'm pretty down about it but I know it's necessary. I get tired out more easily now, and that's probably only going to get worse with chemo/radiation- but I know it's all going to make me better in the end. For the most part I'm holding up really well. It's just the unknown's and the fact that there's no guarantee all of this will cure me. I know the prognosis is good, but there's never any guarantee and when I lay in bed at night, that thought eats away at me :-(

((hugs))

lar1203 · May 2011

((hugs)) this must be so hard for you and your family.

as for the cabbage, i didn't do anything with the veins; just wore tight bras over the cabbage leaves, though i think the say you aren't supposed to do that. it worked for me, though. guess i'm not much help...

christylala · May 2011

i just took a fork and scraped up the whole inside of the leaf but you can also just use a rolling pin. what other things are you doing to dry up your milk? it doesn't taste so great, but sage tea works too; steep 1-2 teaspoons up to 8 times a day. vitamin b6 also helps as does 60 mg per day of sudafed. hope that helps!

papagena · May 2011

Yeah, that's what I did with the veins - just kind of mushed them around a bit to make them more flexible, if that makes sense.

((hugs)) Sending prayers for you mama! You are a strong, strong woman!

aspade · May 2011

I would have been WEEPING during that last session. I so empathize with you.

I would trim the vein with a knife, across it, to trim it off and down so that it's more pliable. Like I do when I'm making stuffed cabbage, because I knew you wanted that visual. : )

Are you dealing with terrible engorgement, or is it manageable?