Possible mastitis?

princess.bride · August 2014

Hi all, I don't usually post on here but any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I am EBF my 8 week old daughter. This is my second child, and I successfully EBF my older DD for 6 months. With both babies, BF was very difficult for me in the first few weeks. I have an oversupply which leads to severe engorgegment when my milk first comes in, breast pain, sore cracked nipples, etc. But we pushed through it and the past few weeks have been great with pain-free nursing and my nipples have completely healed. Another thing to note is that both babies started sleeping through the night at very early ages. DD2 was giving us 5-6 hour stretches from as young as 2 weeks old. We moved her into her own crib/nursery a week ago at 7 weeks and she now is sleeping closer to 8 or 9 hours each night. So when I wake in the morning, I am very full, but will nurse her on one side (we only do one side per feeding as it's more than enough) and then pump both for 10-15 minutes to relieve engorgement and build my freezer stash for when I go back to work. I had this same routine with DD1 and it worked out well, never had a plugged duct or anything like that. So last night after feeling fine all day, I woke up at 3 AM with flu like symptoms...sweats, chills, I'm sure I had a fever but the couldn't find the thermometer. I noticed some pain in my right breast but just assumed it was due to being so full, as I usually am overnight. I took Motrin and eventually was able to go back to sleep for a bit. I did my usual nursing/pumping routine this morning to make sure both breasts were emptied, and noticed some red streaks on the right one. As the day has gone on, the flu symptoms have not returned and I don't have a fever (found the thermometer). The breast is still a bit tender, but I tried massaging it in a hot shower and didn't feel any lumps or hard areas, it all feels soft. I've been nursing without pain and seem to be emptying each feeding, although I am still just nursing one side per feeding. Does this sound like mastitis? I'm not sure if I should go to the doctor or just wait to see how this plays out? Any insight would be helpful....sorry this is so long!!

jenn43 · August 2014

I would call your doctor: he/she will tell you if you need to come in.

princess.bride · August 2014

Thanks. I will definitely call my doctor tomorrow if symptoms don't improve or get worse. The breast is still sore, but not too painful. I typically nurse 8 times per day, one side per feeding, so a total of 4 nursing sessions on each side, plus the morning pump. Do you think I should try to nurse more frequently or offer both sides each feeding? I want to make sure I'm emptying, but also don't want to do anything to make my oversupply worse.

eggmankate · August 2014

When I had Mastitis I knew it because my breast was horribly red and I was so sick. I have heard that you can get over Mastitis without Abx, but I don't know how common that is. I like your thought to give it a day if you're feeling better now. However, it's possible you have an infection elsewhere or maybe you just had a random bug. My coworker had an infection elsewhere after first thinking it was Mastitis. I would not feed more often unless LO is demanding it or if it seems apparent that you have a plugged duct, but that's just my thought because yeah--you don't want to continue to have to manage oversupply. If your breast feels sore it could just be from massaging it too much. I had a plugged duct that I was able to get out and saw red streaks that I'm certain were from trying to massage while nursing.

Guennie · August 2014

I'm jealous of all the people who's dr didn't make them come in for mastitis. I ended up in the ER the first time, then was left waiting for an hour in the drs office the second time. I thought I was going to die.

Op, I think you should keep a really good eye on it because if it is mastitis and the symptoms return, it could progress very quickly and you will wish you had done something. I would call your dr and let them know what happened so they can be ready with a script ASAP should you need it. In this case I think it really is better to be prepared. I'd hate to see you suffer like I did. Good luck, I hope it isn't mastitis!

TheAnalyticalMommy · August 2014

I had a situation a few weeks ago where i had a red warm spot on my breast and shooting pains when i nursed. I had no lumps and no fever. After explaining the details to my OB, she said it was probably early mastitis and gave me the opportunity to either wait it out or start meds now.

I opted to start the meds and i'm so glad i did because i still had pain day 5 of 7 of the medication! It wasn't until just after the last dose that I felt okay again.

Not every case of mastitis is by the book. I'd suggest contacting your OB for sure to see what they say.

Good luck!

vszapp · August 2014

FWIW I had similar symptoms and the MW said it sounded like I successfully fended off mastitis. No antibiotics needed!

Knottie30597254 · August 2014

If you have mastitis you will know! Your skin is red and warm and you usually get a fever! To prevent it my lc suggested Silverette silver cups and they made my soreness go away and the cracks healed!! They are on the expensive side but worthwd!

princess.bride · August 2014

Hi all, so sorry that I dropped off...I'm not on here very often. Later that night I started feeling flu-like again and was cursing myself for not calling the doctor earlier. But then I went to bed, slept well, and woke up feeling completely fine with red streaks gone! It's been a week now and the symptoms never returned. So I guess it wasn't mastitis, not sure what it was but I am grateful! Thanks to everyone who responded.

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