Painful, burning, itching, stinging nipples and breast, Need advice.

[lady_t_0]

Once my milk came in i got mastitus so had antibiotics for that (finished them monday)
I had sore cracked nipples anyway but now they are sooooo sore i feel like i have razors in my breasts between feeds, my left nipple has nearly healed but it still feels sore, itchy and burning, its not just my nipple either its all the way in my breast my right nipple still has a big crack its healng but slowly.
ve been to a specialist for my latch which has been sorted (it doesnt feel like its that that is causing it anyway) and my mdwife today saw my nipples and insisted i go back to the doctors asap.

Ive been to the doctors three time this week the first time she gave me canesten cream for my nipples even though she didnt think it was thrush and basically said she didnt breast feed so had no clue and basically made me feel crap for wanting to carry on and that i should just give up breast feeding cause she did.

Second time this week(few days later) i had to see her again and she was very off with me cause it was about my nipples again and had no advice again. except ibruprofen.

Today i went back through midwifes advice and got the doctor AGAIN i refused to see her and wanted to see a different doctor (midwife was disgusted how the female doctor was with me) anyway i think the female doctor spoke to the doctor i saw today as i went in told him how much pain i was in etc and he didnt seem interested like i was wasting his time he checked littlens mouth and said we dont have thrush didnt even check me.
and said what im feeling is just cause im breast feeding its part of it and that theres no harm in formula feeding its not gonna hurt him, i was so angry why is everone telling me to give up breast feeding when all i want is help with this pain!

Im so upset i dont know what to do i dont want to bottle feed if i can help it but i feel like i dont have a choice(he has just had to have one as my boobs are hurting like mad, hurts to hold him)
What can i do? I feel so lost and no one wants to help me

 

[moomin momma]

grr @ the doctors - I thought the health services were supposed to support breastfeeding as much as they could

Not sure what to suggest beyond what you've already done (if you've had the latch looked at and ruled out thrush etc), but didn't like to read and run. Probably won't solve the problem long term but I'd suggest taking a warm bath, it should give you some short term relief if nothing else. Hope someone else will have more of a solution for you (there are some ladies on here with way more experience than me) and you get it sorted soon

 

[lady_t_0]

I know i thought they were too!

Its something theres no way this is just from feeding it wasnt like this before the antibiotics.
The midwife was leaning more towards thrush but when i told the doctor he was like im getting fed up of midwifes diagnosing everything as thrush and telling us to prescribe meds that arent safe ???? You know when you have a gut instinct something is wrong, i have that now. But if no one can help i will have to bottle feed as i cant even hold him to comfort him at the moment cause they hurt so much luckily my mum is here but she wont be here all night.

I even read about daktarin and saw it in the chemist so asked and spoke to the pharmacist but she said she couldnt give it to me as i was breast feeding?

I have never felt so torn and confused in my life, i just want whats best for both of us. I also dont want to stop feeding if this can be cleared up as if i do stop and im still in pain my milk will dry up but ill still be where i am now but pissed off that i did it for nothing

 

[midori1999]

It sounds like thrush to me. Health professionals are notoriously useless as diagnosing and treating it. Baby may well not show any signs of it but bby needs to be treated as well as you.

The BFN do a leaflet you can print off and take to your GP to help get a proper diagnosis and treatment.

Here:

https://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/pdfs/BfN_Thrush_leaflet_Feb_2009.pdf

 

[lady_t_0]

I had that leaflet given to me but my lactation specialist, the doctor wouldnt give me any meds to take as he said it is not safe for the baby to be feeding off me while taking?
I think im gonna have to go up the walk in centre tomorrow hopefully i can get through tonight though, and pray that someone there will be able to help me.

Cant believe how easy they were to just shrug off breast feeding no wonder no one carries it on if the answer from people who should be helping is just to give up!

 

[midori1999]

See another doctor if you can. They don't want to prescribe the meds as they aren't licensed for BF women, so the GP has to take responsibility for the meds being prescribed.

If you have no luck, I would ring the BFN for advice on how to proceed next, they should be able to advise you.

 

[Weezie123]

Jelonet which you can get in LLoyds pharmacy is amazing, it's a wet gauze that you peel off the plastic wrap, cut up, double over, make sure all the gel has transferred off the plastic coating put on the nipple and then put a breast pad over. It lets the nipple heal from the inside without it scabbing so less pain. I felt like I was being electrocuted with every feed but over time this really helped. You just wipe it off, no need to wash before a feed.

My hospital gave me diclofenac sodium for inflamation and paracetamol for the pain which is safe for breastfeeding.

You're being such a good mum, you can get through this x

 

[summer rain]

I agree with the previous posters; also is there a bF support group/team in your area? They may be able to offer more help and advice and have a second look at things, thrush is very common after antibiotics but just wanted to ask has your LO been checked for tongue tie? Sometimes with tongue tie the latch will look perfectly fine from the outside but the way the baby sucks is not correct; causing pain, burning (from them compressing the nipples) and cracking xx

 

[A3my]

sounds like thrush to me too, my sister had the exact same thing and it was thrush. There is a treatment that can be prescribed for you to take which is safe for bf but the doc needs to treat you and baby so you need oral treatment for your LO too.

In addition to summer rain's post, I agree that a BF support group would be a great idea and also my son had a tongue tie and they make a clicking sound when they feed so thats something to look out for

 

[summer rain]

they don't always click when feeding with TT though, my eldest had a very severe tongue tie but never clicked when feeding; tongue ties can be very difficult to spot so you really need a professional to take a lookie xx

 

[A3my]

they don't always click when feeding with TT though, my eldest had a very severe tongue tie but never clicked when feeding; tongue ties can be very difficult to spot so you really need a professional to take a lookie xx

agree

 

[eeeek]

This is almost certainly thrush. Both you and the LO need proper treatment as he will be reinfecting you every time you feed otherwise. This is the case even if he isn't showing any obvious visible symptoms in his mouth. Very often he will be suffering even if he doesn't have the telltale white patches inside his mouth. I had a very similar problem and was fobbed off repeatedly until it got so bad I basically went in with a list of what I needed myself and told the doctor I wasn't moving until he prescribed them. My LO had no visible symptoms, just kept pulling off the breast and fussing a lot during feeds, but my symptoms, like yours, screamed thrush.
You need daktarin cream for your nipples (you can get this over the counter if need be) - put a pea sized amount on each nipple after every feed. You don't need to wash it off before the next feed, just wipe off any residue that's remaining on the nipple. Your LO needs nystatin drops or preferably Daktarin gel, although the latter isn't recommended for babies under 4 months as it is really thick and gloopy and some babies have choked on it. The drops are probably better for your LO as he is so young, but these have to be prescribed and are then administered also after every feed.
Unfortunately it also sounds like the thrush has infected your milk ducts, in which case you will also need a course of fluconazole tablets. This is the drug that's in the canestan 'once' tablets you can buy for vaginal thrush, but is a pretty high dose, which is why lots of docs are reluctant to prescribe it to BFing mamas.
Trust me, if you can get a prescription for all of this, the damage to your nipples will heal dramatically quicker than it has been so far. My other symptoms (the pain, burning etc) actually got worse for a day or two once I started treatment, but then also improved. It's quite common to have a 'relapse' for a day or two after 7-10 days, o don't be alarmed if that happens! In the meantime I recommend a hot water bottle clutched to your boobs - helped me out some with the pain.
It's really important that you continue ALL treatment for AT LEAST 7 days after all symptoms have cleared. For me this took almost 3 weeks worth of tablets.
Not sure if you're in the UK, but if you are, it might be worth printing off this NHS leaflet and taking it to your doctor - it supports your need for the drugs I mentioned.
HTH
xxx

 

[lady_t_0]

Thank you guys for your comments.
Unfortunately i went to the doctors 3 times saw the woman twice and in desperation after the midwife told me i went back and refused to see the lady and after arguing with reception i saw a different doctor but i could hear the woman doctor talking on the phone and im sure she was talking to the other doctor i saw cause as soon as i walked in he was really stand offish and looked prepared to tell me it was nothing and that it was just part of breastfeeding! He looked in littlens mouth and said you both dont have thrush, he didnt even look at me.
And again i should just give him a bottle! i wanted to hit him i thought people were supposed to promote breastfeeding but both these doctors just to me to bottle feed him
I came out and cried my heart out i felt lost and so alone, and dissapointed that no one would help me!
So unfortunately i started giving him a bottle as i just couldnt do it anymore i was so down and i think littlen was picking that up from me, i cried the first time i fed him.

I was expressing in the hope i could keep my milk going, and i tried him again the other day on my breast as i was out and really engorged and couldnt pump and as soon as he went on loads of milk and blood came out of his mouth it was horrible and painful.

I must say thouhg i am so much happier now i am actually enjoying my little boy where as before i dreaded him waking up for a feed and just wanted my mum here to take him between feeds
He has his bottle in the morning then lays there talking and gurgling away to me with this cheeky grin on his face and it makes me feel like i didnt do a bad thing, hes happy! and he now has a happy mummy too

I wish i could of breastfed and still pissed off that no one would listen or help me. I definitely think there should be specialists in the hospitals to help with breastfeeding so before you leave the hospital you actually are shown how to feed properly( i saw a specialist and after being told numerous times he was latched on fine, she said he wasnt) and not risk getting sore cracked nipples etc.

 

[Emmea12uk]

Sounds just like thrush - I have it in my milk ducts and it feels just as you describe. Gels and creams won't touch it. You need to use fluconozole as it says in the Bfnetwork link above. Use ibuprofen or even volterol in the meantime. Put natural bio yogurt on your nipples for relief but it must be washed thoroughly before feeding (don't do it if they are too painful to really clean). I hope you feel better soon. Keep going. I am only week three and have had thrush for two weeks, mastitis and mega cracks too. I couldn't have got through without volterol and paracetamol!