Shooting Pain

I experienced these pains with my first daughter. It means you have a clogged milk duct in your breast.You need to keep pumping it or nursing with it as much as you can.It will go away on it's own. You can take tylenol for the pain but thats about all you can do. Good luck!

L.,

Could it be mastitis? That is when you get a blocked milk duct. It is however, usually accompanied by your breast being hard, red, and hot. If not, a friend of mine experienced something similar and it turns out that the pump actually caused a tear in her aereola. Any signs of that? Have you tried pumping on a smaller number so the pull isn't as strong? Does that still hurt?

I don't know if your gynocologist would be much help, but I do know that The Pump Station in Santa Monica is incredible and would absolutely work with you to try and find an answer. Also, try Mother's Haven in Tarzana (or perhaps it is Encino).

Good luck,
K.

Hi L.,
I had some similar pains while breast feeding. I thought I would have permanent damage because sometimes I had such great pains. I got some benefit from talking to http://www.lalecheleague.org/WebUS.html. See if there is someone in your area who can help you out.

Best of luck.
C.

Sounds like a clogged duct, maybe mastitis. Nurse through it. Good luck! :D

It sounds like you might have a clogged duct. I have to ask...why are you pumping instead of directly breastfeeding?

The best thing to do is to nurse a lot on the sore breast, esp. if it's a clogged duct. Is there any area on the breast that feels bruised? You can take a sock and fill it half way with uncooked rice, and tie off the sock. You heat it up in the microwave for about 20 seconds, and put that on the area that hurts. Also, massage the area while the baby is nursing, to help release the clogged area.

I hope it gets resolved soon, clogged ducts *hurt*!

Christy

Hi L., I am currently nursing my 2 1/2 month old son, and I nursed my daughter (now 5yrs) for 18 months. I haven't had to pump yet, but after I nurse my son, I somtimes get these pains. It seems like it happens mostly when I breastfeed him for a longer periods of time. To me it feels like He has "emptied" my breast and they are then filling up again. This could be happening with your pumping. Your "let down" may be empting out your milk ducts and the pain is from them filling up again. Also, remember, it takes up to six weeks for your milk supply to regulate itself after giving birth. This may be contributing to the onset of this pain. Your body is just getting use to what your milk supply should be. If you think it is something other than this, I agree that you should see a lactation consultant or doctor. Let us know what yoou find out. Good luck!

It sounds to me like you have blocked milk ducts. I had the same thing when my daughter was around 4 months old. I used hot compresses (as hot as I could handle) on my brests and then let my baby nurse. When that didn't work (she couldn't suck hard enough) I had my husband try. He was able to suck harder. I know it sounds wierd, but the pain relief was worth it.

Hi L.. I never breast feed but I pumped. And my breasts were always sore, but sometimes it was different. The sharp pains you are talking about. They felt like someone slicing open my breasts. lol. Sorry, kind of graphic huh? I asked my doctor and he told me it was just pressure and milk levels and stuff. So I wouldn't worry if I was you. Try laying in a hot bath with your breasts submergered. The hot water might lossen them up a little. If you have a heating pad, you can place that over your breasts.
I would definetly talk to your doctor on Tuesday or whatever, just to make sure that everything is ok. But in the meantime, don't stress. Try the hot water thing. It worked well for me. Also, a gentle massage (hold it like your going to get a mammagram and gently rub between your hands) will help milk flow and probably make you feel a little more comfortable.
I hope this helps a little. Best Wishes, T.

I had that when I was pumping for my daughter; although my sharp shooting pains were usually at the beginning of the session, and the dull ache afterward. My lactation consultant thought it was probably a combination of a rather enthusiastic let-down response and the whole plumbing system not being used to doing its job - the swelling of the vessels storing the milk, followed by their relaxing afterward, only to re-swell again. I used warm washclothes for relief, and as simple as that is it worked great!

If it doesn't go away soon or gets worse, I'd definitely call my doctor. If it's an infection trying to get started, you'll want to nip it in the bud. Those *stink*! And should be outlawed! And if *I* ran the universe, THEY WOULD BE! ;-)

Hi L.,

I didn't read the other replies, so forgive me if this is redundant. It sounds like either a pump issue, plugged ducts, or possibly yeast on the breast. If there are no other symptoms, it's probably your pump. I don't know what sort you have, but sometimes the constant pressure of the electric pumps is hard on the breasts. Once my supply was well-established, I switched to the Avent Isis manual pump. I liked it better because I could vary the pressure and speed at will. To avoid or correct plugged ducts, massage the breast while you're pumping. You can also use a hot water bottle. If you notice anything that feels like a knot or a pea, that's most likely a plugged duct (if it doesn't go away with heat and massage, have your doctor check it out). They are extremely common in the first few months.

I had yeast on the breast when my baby was about 2 months old, and thankfully I got it treated before my baby got thrush. Here is a link to an article on La Leche League's web site. My doctor had no clue what was going on until I printed this and showed her. She was skeptical, but the recommended treatment worked.
http://www.llli.org/FAQ/thrush.html

Best of luck to you!
P.

L.,

If you are pumping the pain could be one of these "easy" things: 1- it could just be your milk "letting down", does your milk flow seem to be faster/harder when the pain is at its most intense? 2- It could be that the pump is set too high (if its an electric one). The suction could be causing the pain. Have you tried to lessen the suction power?

If it isn't one of these two, call your OBGYN most have answering services and are available 24/7 since babies don't wait to be delivered during normal business hrs. =)

S.

is your baby nursing at the breast at all? i had the same thing you are describing but it ended up being "blanched" nipples due to a bad latch. once the latch got corrected, the problem went away. but if you are only pumping, i'm not sure what it could be. i've had blocked ducts before but you would have an area of your breast that is rock hard where the milk is.

i would check out drjacknewman.com and/or call a lactation consultant to trouble shoot!! good luck!!

L.,

The sensation you are talking about could just be your let down reflex. I have been nursing my daughter for 4 months and when she latches on I get a pain when my milk lets down. I always had this with my son also who I nursed until he was 13 months. However, if you are having terrible pain then it could possibly be a breast infection or a clogged milk duct. If you are just having a pain that goes away after a short time then I would think it is just your milk letting down. If it is more of a throbbing then it could be an infection. If your breasts look red or really lumpy then it could be a clogged duct or infection. I can't say for sure. I hope you figure it out though and I hope this helps a little.

L.

Make sure that you feed on time and that the baby is latching on properly if the pain still occurs put warm compresses on them for a few minutes or take some tylenol if that doesnt work go to yur doctor and have them check for infection, hope the pain goes away, God Bless:)

I had the same thing when I was pumping. I purely pumped for about 4 mos. At one point the drs thought I needed bigger falangies(sp?), the part that goes over the breast. I'm sorry to say that they never gave me a clear answer as to what it was and ended up being the largest reason I stopped pumping and giving my son breast milk. I do think that it may have been related to the yeast infection that my son and I passed back and forth. The yeast infection will start anywhere that is moist and warm, such as the breast feeding (pumping) breast. Then it can go from the breast to the milk to the child. So if you think that this could be a possibility make sure that you get medication for you and you child. Your dr or your daughters ped could tell you if this is the problem.
Hope this helps a little,
A.

Do you nurse her at all? 6 weeks is a little early for a lot of pumping - - - try to alternate nursing and pumping - -- try a different pump - some of them are too intense and painful.