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amyable
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Posted: Dec 16 2005 at 4:43am | IP Logged Quote amyable

Hi everyone,

Could I ask for a quick prayer for me? I think I'm starting to get mastitis. I've had it a bunch of times so I know how it starts, and right now I'm feeling really run down, headachey, with one swollen, painful "nurser" .

I'm going to try to rest as much as possible today. My dh's big company Christmas dinner is Sunday, and it's one of those things where it looks really bad if he doesn't go, or if I don't go with him. We plan how we are going to pull this off for months ... so my main concern is that I'm well enough for this. It means SO much to my dh.

Thanks for your prayers for my concern - I know it is small compared to the others.

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Posted: Dec 16 2005 at 10:41am | IP Logged Quote Victoria in AZ

May Our Lady of La Leche intercede for you.

Praying with you that you are able to attend party for dh's sake.

Hope you feel better soon.

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Posted: Dec 17 2005 at 2:04pm | IP Logged Quote Angie Mc

How are you feeling, Amy? I'm praying for healing and LOTS of rest and fluids.

Love,

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Posted: Dec 17 2005 at 2:32pm | IP Logged Quote amyable

I'm doing better today - thanks to antibiotics! By late morning yesterday I was really sick so a call to the dr. netted me the medicine. I haven't been able to rest much with dh away all day yesterday and most of today, so it's either the prayers, or the drugs, or both, because I feel 70% better. Yay! Thanks for your prayers.

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Posted: Dec 17 2005 at 3:57pm | IP Logged Quote JennGM

I'm happy to hear the good news! I fought chronic mastitis with my son....the antibiotics did seem to help quite a bit.

FWIW...I don't do homeopathic on a regular basis. But what really got me over the hump...after I started recognizing the beginning of mastitis or clogged duct taking over (I had clogged ducts quite frequently, also), was taking the homeopathic remedy Phytolacca Decandra 200C. After going through 6 rounds of antibiotics in 6 months, someone told me about this remedy. Now if I just felt some soreness in my breast I take the Phytolacca for a few times and it clears me up. No more breast infections or clogged ducts! www.homeopathyworks.com is what I used...and had someone walk me through. Ask for the larger tablets as the second time I ordered the granules were microscopic. And ask for the most potent dose...they will walk you through it. There probably are sources right in your neighborhood for this, even just a health food
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Posted: Dec 17 2005 at 4:54pm | IP Logged Quote Angie Mc

So glad you are feeling better, Amy. Here's more and more related to mastitis.

Caution bf moms..tis the season for mastitis. We can be inclined to do too much, not get enough rest, skip nursings, forget to drink water, stress around relatives, and hang around crowds, exposing ourselves to colds. Let's help each other to take care of ourselves, OK?

Love,

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Posted: Jan 06 2006 at 4:23pm | IP Logged Quote amyable

Question for all you homeopathic moms:

I'm still fighting the mastitis and plugged ducts. I felt fine for awhile but had a plug a few days ago (which went away) and then again today the same side (different spot though) feels painful and I feel run down (like the mastitis might be coming back).

So, I got the Phytolacca Decandra 200C. I accidentally got the microscopic ones! I thought I was getting bigger ones. Anyway, it says to take just 4 under the tongue. Really? Just 4? They are so tiny, is that enough?

At that rate I'll have this bottle for my grandchildren, lol...

Thanks for any advice. Offering up this pain for your intentions!!

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Posted: Jan 06 2006 at 6:22pm | IP Logged Quote MEBarrett

This is going to sound wierd, but I was actually hospitalized for four days with mastitis and was on an IV for ten more at home. My lactation consultant told me that if I had wrapped my breast in fresh green cabbage leaves at the first sign of a problem I might have avoided the whole thing. Cabbage leaves draw out milk or something. It was my fourth baby and I had never heard of such a thing but while I was in the hopsital the nurses wrapped me in cabbage. By that time I was pretty far gone but for some reason it was soothing. Of course, by that time my diginity was long gone and I was willing to try anything.

Might be worth a shot.



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Posted: Jan 06 2006 at 8:51pm | IP Logged Quote JennGM

Amy,

The homeopathic stuff isn't medicine. I'm no expert. But the advice I got was to just keep taking it when you remembered. You could never have an overdose...even if your child accidentally ingested it. I didn't have time to waste on the microscopic ones, so I just would put an "amount" in the cap and put them under my tongue. I'd do it almost every hour until the clog would disappear.

And rest, and hot showers, and compresses. Did I send these links before? I found out these things by hard work, and then found all the advice right here!!! Plugged Ducts and I also would find this to be the case with me so often, a milk blister that I would have to remove.

The cabbage suggestion was helpful in soothing...very naturally cooling, and not bulky wearing around the house . From all your posts, Amy, stress is your worst enemy. Having to do the food allergy thing is just plain stressful...it's constant, and you always have to be vigilant. And doing your own diet...well, there you go, more stress!

I'm praying for you!!! I know that familiar fatigue, achy feeling coming on. Do take some Tylenol on Sunday to help you out some.

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Posted: Jan 07 2006 at 3:54am | IP Logged Quote amyable

I may have found part of my answer - from that site Jen linked:

Quote:
In her book Breastfeeding Matters, Maureen Minchin theorizes that if a mom has allergies, recurring mastitis/plugged ducts might be caused by the "complex immune responses" that occur when she is exposed to an allergen. In a group of food-intolerant women, Minchin observed that their plugged ducts, "which rarely progressed to overt infection and which often recurred either premenstrually or before ovulation," were "often accompanied by other symptoms of allergy intolerance."


I don't think I "cheated" on my "mom of allergic baby breastfeeding diet" before the first bout of mastitis, but I've gotten a plug every time since then after cheating and eating something I shouldn't (unfortunately, I would up cheating a lot with the holidays). Hmmmmm....

Thank you for that link, and thank you all for your prayers and advice. Guess I'll buy some cabbage today.



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Posted: Jan 07 2006 at 5:47am | IP Logged Quote Elizabeth

I remember strawberry picking with Molly when Katie was a baby. I had cabbage leaves stuffed in my bra and every once in a while I'd pull them out, leave them in the field, and put in fresh ones. I always wondered what the people who came to pick after we left thought. Crop rotation?

I'm a huge fan of phytolacca. It really worked for me several times when I was in pretty bad shape. I seemed to get breast infections when we travelled. I attributed it to sitting in the car and not necessarily nursing immediately and to sleeping in beds other than my own and so perhaps not sleeping well or nursing the same way...because we were away from home, it always took me a little longer than it should to find and start the phytolacca. Finally, I started routinely packing when we travel.

Here's a related question: I weaned six months ago for the first time in almost fourteen years . I can still express a little of what looks like colostrum and I still get that tingling "I need to nurse" feeling especially in one breast. Anybody know about any of this?

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Posted: Jan 07 2006 at 7:31am | IP Logged Quote amyable

Elizabeth wrote:

Here's a related question: I weaned six months ago for the first time in almost fourteen years . I can still express a little of what looks like colostrum and I still get that tingling "I need to nurse" feeling especially in one breast. Anybody know about any of this?


LOL about the crop rotation!

I've heard what you are experiencing is perfectly normal. Somewhere I read women may express a little something for years after weaning. That tingly let down feeling is normal too, although I don't know when/if it should go away. If I can find a link I'll come back and edit.

Here's one article - I was having trouble finding more: Life After Weaning

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Posted: Jan 07 2006 at 7:53am | IP Logged Quote Karen E.

I've just now seen this thread --

Amy, I'm sorry you've been dealing with this. I'd definitely try the cabbage as well as the !

Elizabeth, there was a period of four years between weaning my Lizzy and Kate's conception. I could still express a little bit of something for at least three years, I think. I remember thinking, before I got pregnant with Kate, that if we went the adoption route, I'd be able to breastfeed.

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Posted: Jan 07 2006 at 8:28am | IP Logged Quote Elizabeth

Karen E. wrote:
I remember thinking, before I got pregnant with Kate, that if we went the adoption route, I'd be able to breastfeed.




That's EXACTLY what I was thinking!

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Posted: Jan 07 2006 at 8:37am | IP Logged Quote JennGM

Karen E. wrote:
Elizabeth, there was a period of four years between weaning my Lizzy and Kate's conception. I could still express a little bit of something for at least three years, I think. I remember thinking, before I got pregnant with Kate, that if we went the adoption route, I'd be able to breastfeed.


3 years!!!?? It could last that long? Geez! It's been 11 months for me and I can still express something. I know they are saying it's normal, but...



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Posted: Jan 07 2006 at 7:31pm | IP Logged Quote JennGM

amyable wrote:
I may have found part of my answer - from that site Jen linked:

Quote:
In her book Breastfeeding Matters, Maureen Minchin theorizes that if a mom has allergies, recurring mastitis/plugged ducts might be caused by the "complex immune responses" that occur when she is exposed to an allergen. In a group of food-intolerant women, Minchin observed that their plugged ducts, "which rarely progressed to overt infection and which often recurred either premenstrually or before ovulation," were "often accompanied by other symptoms of allergy intolerance."


I don't think I "cheated" on my "mom of allergic baby breastfeeding diet" before the first bout of mastitis, but I've gotten a plug every time since then after cheating and eating something I shouldn't (unfortunately, I would up cheating a lot with the holidays). Hmmmmm....

Thank you for that link, and thank you all for your prayers and advice. Guess I'll buy some cabbage today.



Amy,

I hope you are feeling better. I missed that section about the allergy theory. But isn't this saying that it's the MOTHER'S allergy, not the child's? Do you have food intolerances?

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Posted: Jan 07 2006 at 7:57pm | IP Logged Quote amyable

jenngm67 wrote:
Amy,

I hope you are feeling better. I missed that section about the allergy theory. But isn't this saying that it's the MOTHER'S allergy, not the child's? Do you have food intolerances?


Part of my unproven theory about why my kids all have food allergies is that I'm dealing with "hidden intolerances". I must say that now that I'm off the major allergens in our household - eggs and dairy and some others, I have never felt better (except for the mastitis, lol, but I mean in general). So maybe I don't have true allergies, but I'm better off staying away from certain foods, I guess.

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Posted: Jan 07 2006 at 10:49pm | IP Logged Quote Taffy

amyable wrote:


Part of my unproven theory about why my kids all have food allergies is that I'm dealing with "hidden intolerances". I must say that now that I'm off the major allergens in our household - eggs and dairy and some others, I have never felt better (except for the mastitis, lol, but I mean in general). So maybe I don't have true allergies, but I'm better off staying away from certain foods, I guess.


You and me both Amy! One thing that I found with my last one, I went REALLY slowly with introducing foods into his diet. He was colicky until I stopped eating dairy and had trouble handling gluten at first. I simply would keep them out of his diet for a month before reintroducing them. He can now eat anything and is the most atheletic and healthy of the bunch!


I also delayed his vaccinations which may or may not have helped...

Keeping you in my prayers Amy...

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Posted: Jan 08 2006 at 12:35am | IP Logged Quote MaryM

amyable wrote:
jenngm67 wrote:
But isn't this saying that it's the MOTHER'S allergy, not the child's? Do you have food intolerances?


Part of my unproven theory about why my kids all have food allergies is that I'm dealing with "hidden intolerances".


Your experience, Amy, of feeling better yourself when you are off the foods your baby shows sensitivity to is a common experience of many breastfeeding moms. It isn't uncommmon that mom also has a sensitivity but has learned to live with or not recognize symptoms from the sensitivity/allergy. She may feel these symptoms are completely normal until they themselves are off of foods for the sake of the baby and realize that those symptoms lessen or go away completely.

There are other diet related connections to recurrant mastitis. It can be worth having a blood count taken to check for anemia. Anemia can contibute to repeated infection. Supplemental iron or extra vitamin C and E might help combat infections in that case. Too much saturated fat in diet. Many women who have recurrent mastitis benefit from taking a lecithin supplement. There are various dosages recommended:   one tablespoon per day (Drs. Ruth and Robert Lawrence) or one tablespoon three to four times a day or one to two capsules (1,200 mg each) three to four times a day (Dr. Jack Newman, Teresa Pitman).

Amy, have your periods resumed? Do you see any tie in with menstruation or ovulation as Maureen Minchin has observed?

In general, whether it is due to dietary assault or stress/fatigue related, if the immune system is compromised a breastfeeding mother is more at risk for mastitis. So another suggestion is boosting the immune system in general - lots of options (echinacea, zinc, beta carotene, garlic, etc.)

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Posted: Jan 08 2006 at 2:31am | IP Logged Quote MaryM

Elizabeth wrote:
Here's a related question: I weaned six months ago for the first time in almost fourteen years . I can still express a little of what looks like colostrum and I still get that tingling "I need to nurse" feeling especially in one breast. Anybody know about any of this?


Many here have spoken to a similar experience already. I'm in a somewhat similar situation to you, Elizabeth, having last nursed about a year and a half ago (after 15 years of lactating) and I can still express droplets of milk if I were to try although it is very minimal. It is quite common and there is some evidence that one factor in length of this postlactation milk is length of time nursed - although I have seen a few women who nursed only a short time still be able to express quite some time later.

The "let-down" or milk ejection reflex is a conditioned response so it is possible to have some condition (seeing a baby, hearing a cry, holdign your child, etc.) that elicits that sensation even though there is no milk actually to eject.

The breast is somewhat like a pump - all it needs is to be "primed" and it can start flowing. Some woman inadvertently continue to produce milk because they keep checking to see if they have milk. Other types of stimulation to the breast (intimacy, pressure from bra, etc.) can also contribute. That can be enough stimulation to maintain minimal milk. It is considered normal for many women to be able to secrete milk on pressure/expression (called nonspontaneous secretion)for some time following weaning. Spontaneous milk secretion though should cease within a few weeks and only be present if expressed.

While it is most often normal physiologic secretion following lactation there are some other conditions that could be underlying for some women. Galactorrhea is the term for inappropriate or abnormal lactation (not associated with lactation following pregnancy/breastfeeding) which have a pathologic (disease) or pharmacologic (drug induced) cause. I won't list all those. One though is Hyperprolactinemia - excessive prolactin levels. Prolactin levels are elevated during breastfeeding and that is normal but they often return to lower levels sometime later in breastfeeding but definitely after weaning in a normal situation. Side note: hyperprolactinemia is also associated with infertility - high levels can interfere with the phases of menstruation in a couple ways - the reason why breastfeeding affects fertility.

When to get it checked out:
-secretion on only one side from a single duct
-discharge/spontaneous secretion occurring after three months of weaning time (doesn't count if you have to express it)
-significant volume of secretion (more than just a drop or so)
-clear, pink (serosanguineous), bloody (sanguineous), or yellow (serous) are more surgically significant except when lactation associated.

jenngm67 wrote:
3 years!!!?? It could last that long? Geez! It's been 11 months for me and I can still express something.

Jenn it probably won't last 3 years, and just a thought - I know you have had a pregnancy and miscarriage since weaning. That can impact milk production/secretion.


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