Weaning Question/breast Pain

This is common when you wean. I got them all the time. It sounds like a mastitis. It is a clog in the milk duct. You will have to massage it out. Press on and around the lump and massage it toward the nipple. Yes, you will be expressing some milk out and it will take a bit longer to stop the milk on that side. Pain is not good, so do what you need to do to stop the pain and get the lump to smooth out.

If you get a fever or feel like you've been "run over by a truck" or it bothers you too much, go to the doctor. You have an infection in your milk duct and need meds to get rid of it. Good luck. They aren't easy to get rid of and the worst part of weaning.

Alex,

I didn't have your exact symptoms, but I did develop mastitis with my last baby. I urge you not to delay doing something about it. I delayed a bit and was in so much pain. I was relieved that all I had to do was call the doctor's office and talk to the nurse. I got a call back, and then a prescription (in my case) and good information that gave me hope for relief.

Sounds like the other ladies have some great advice and experience. I just wanted to encourage you not to delay like I did.

B.

Thank you for asking that question, I will be begginging the weaning process shortly and knowledge of this condition is very helpful.

Hi Alex,

I agree, it sounds like mastitis and the only way to relieve the pain is to massage it. I know it really hurts, but once it passes, it is such a RELIEF! Also just a suggestion, to stop milk production, put frozen cabbage leaves in your bra. It sounds funny, but it actually works. I used the cabbage leaves after I lost my second child at 24 weeks, and it dried my milk up within a matter of a few days. It's worth a try, but I want to warn you, you may smell like cooked cabbage while you're doing it--pretty funny! :-)

Good luck!
Jacqueline

You can experience this with weaning and especially with abrupt weaning (it's best to taper off rather than go cold turkey). Actually, mastitis and clogged ducts are two different things. Clogged ducts, if untreated, can cause mastitis. Mastitis is usually accompanied by a fever, pain, flu-like symptoms, etc. and usually requires antibiotics in order to make it go away. There's some good information on how to treat clogged ducts on http://www.kellymom.com. If you are experiencing the latter, I would suggest you call your Dr asap for an appt.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/mastitis.html