sore nipples/breasts still!!!

Angela - posted on 12/10/2012

Stephanie: I have a 9 week-old and am in pretty much the exact situation you describe. What ended up happening for you? I am trying to remain hopeful, but I am really frustrated with the pain. Please post an update!

Debbie - posted on 10/19/2009

Quoting Stephanie:

Thanks everyone for the replys....she's not tongue tied and has no signs of thrush but my nipples were a bit itchy as well as sore , so that's why the APNO ( she was treated too just to be sure). I guess it's better to the tolerable point, but I'm just sick and tired of being in pain all the time! To those of you that used the staight Lansinoh.....did you find it helped for pain? I did use it it the beginning when I had cracks and was bleeding to help me heal. Now I just have very red nipples with super irratated skin....sometimes feels like a sunburn with shooting breast pain (only occasionally).

This sounds a lot like the symptoms I had with thrush. This link has some excellent infon on thrush from Dr Jack Newman the creator of APNO

http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=com_...

Stephanie - posted on 10/19/2009

Hi Kirsty,



I do know about reynaulds...and have symptoms of that with the change color nipples, my midwife thought I may have this but I have used the Nipfedepine for treatment(from my doc) for the alloted treatment time and still have the condition. Although it is a little painful when I get out of the shower/or get cold I don;t beleive it to be my main nipple problem. Mostly my shooting pains are in between feedings except for my let down(during the feed). I have had help with my latch, and that's what is so frustrating because I've seen several lactation consultants and they all say that my latch is pretty good! I have also tried a nipple sheild, but was advised against using it ongoing from my midwife and lactation consultant who both stated that they usually make latch problems worse but are okay to use to get over pain while nipples heal from cracks or blisters. My daughter just turned 10 weeks today, and I plan to stick it out as long as I can! Back to breastfeeding drop in tomorrow for more info!

Amanda - posted on 10/19/2009

nipple sheilds!!

Kirsty - posted on 10/19/2009

just a few questions to narrow down the things that could be wrong. do you have white on your nipple at all after a feed? have you ever suffered from reynauds syndrome.....if you know what it is. are the shooting pains during a feed, after or both? have you had help in finding the correct attachment. i feel your pain. i was in constant pain with my daughter for 10weeks until i got help from a supporter. i managed to sucessfully continue feeding and am now still feeding at 14months. please send me a message with reply. id be happy to help. xx

Katie - posted on 10/18/2009

I feel your pain, Im having the same problem. I have had pain in my nipples and in my breast for about a month now. I assumed it was thrush cuz of the pain I was experiecing even though my son had no signs of thrush. And my midwife and my Breast consult told me to go buy Genstin Violet, but it didnt do anything for me. So we are trying to figure out what it is that is causing the pain. I might have to go on a oral treatment instead plus go see my breast consult to figure it out. But I understand it can be very frusterating to always have pain when nursing and when your milk comes down, just hang in there. I too love the bonding of nursing my son and knowing its the best thing for him but just wish It could be a more of a enjoyable experiece.

Becky - posted on 10/18/2009

lansinoh, is the BEST nipple ointment ever, I used it everyday right from day 1 of feeding and never had any cracks or pain at all!!! Breast feeding is so natural and shouldnt cause any stress, I used that cream for about 6 weeks, now I don't need it anymore, we are still exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months, so lovely

Stephanie - posted on 10/18/2009

Thanks everyone for the replys....she's not tongue tied and has no signs of thrush but my nipples were a bit itchy as well as sore , so that's why the APNO ( she was treated too just to be sure). I guess it's better to the tolerable point, but I'm just sick and tired of being in pain all the time! To those of you that used the staight Lansinoh.....did you find it helped for pain? I did use it it the beginning when I had cracks and was bleeding to help me heal. Now I just have very red nipples with super irratated skin....sometimes feels like a sunburn with shooting breast pain (only occasionally).

Alicia - posted on 10/17/2009

Make sure they check your baby because like Peta stated there are physical factors that could be causing this with the baby, not only tongue tied but also lip tied where the top lip prevents them from latching properly.

Jenny - posted on 10/17/2009

I am at six months and still have occasional pain. I use lansinoh...I think that's how you spell it...it is a lanolin product. I had severe pain with both my boys for the first month or so, then less severe for the next couple of months for my second. I saw a lactation consultant and she said I had a perfect latch, blah blah, and was one of those rare women who get to have pain in breastfeeding. With my first I had troubles at feeding time...I would cry through the whole feeding etc. With my second I only had that problem for a few weeks, then it got to the tolerating point. I guess I'm just saying, hang in there, it'll get better. and breastfeeding is the best for your baby. :)

Rachel - posted on 10/17/2009

Thrush can cause pain in the nipples and in the breasts--is the baby showing any signs of thrush? My first son and I had a bout of thrush and we treated with gentian violet and it made a huge difference pain-wise when it cleared up!

Do you use the same hold every time or do you use different holds? Some holds just don't work well for some babies and using a different one can give them a better latch so there isn't any pain. My first son had trouble with the cradle holds his first few months but did fantastic with the football hold :) My second son had trouble with the football hold but did well with the cross holds :p

Peta - posted on 10/17/2009

Hi! It can be really tough but i would try and find an answer. My daughter was toungue tied so she couldn't extend her tongue out enough to milk the breast. It was painful!! I had a doctor snip the tongue tie and then we had a wonderful brestfeeding relationship. I recomend using breastmilk on your nipples after each feed to help heal any cracks. Also expressing until the cracks are healed and try baby led attachment (skin to skin and baby learns to attach themselves). Good luck

Kiehrstin - posted on 10/17/2009

lansonal is VERY safe and WORKS, shields do too i used them for the first three weeks bc she was CHEWING THE TIPS and not latching. 90 % of all bfing problems r poor latch!! BUT Thrush and Mastitis are painful too so be careful! Try to find a local Le Leche League they are free and a life saver!! I dont know if id being nursing at 9mo w/o them!

Samantha - posted on 10/17/2009

I am a breastfeeding mom of a 4 month old. I suffered from a major yeast infection for 3 weeks, I was in severe pain and I also tried the APNO. It did help some. After 3 weeks I applied only in the morning after a shower. I had to buy a nipple shield (medela is great) to help with breastfeeding. It helps protect your nipples and also gets your baby to latch properly. I still use it occasionally. I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes. But I had to keep telling myself 'you are doing the best thing for your baby by breastfeeding, don't give up'

Hannah - posted on 10/17/2009

Oh my, yes I had exactly the same experience - everything should have been ok, so why the pain? I found it suddenly started to get better at around 8 weeks, and was totally fine by around 2 months - so hang on in there for a bit longer, it WILL get better I promise!

I had a very small baby and the latch was shallow as you have described, I definately think that her getting bigger has made it more comfortable.

I can also reccommend Lansinhol nipple cream, (German brand I think, but should be available everywhere, or anything lanolin based should be good). It was my best friend and I still use it some times now if I feel a little sore.

Also watch out for mastitis, I had it about 3 times and it began with a very painful latch on, and little stabbing pains. I thought 'why so painful? I'm doing everything right!!' and if I'd known what it was with my first daughter, I may have managed to get it treated early and not given up when I did.

Hope this helps, and good luck, you are doing really well, try to give it a bit longer before making your decision, you will hopefully find that it all just suddenly gets better. But you have mysympathy, sore nipples are the pits!

Tammy - posted on 10/17/2009

I bf my son until he was 4 weeks old until i couldn't take the pain anymore because of cracked and bleeding nipples, (didn't attach properly at the start) which was from 5 days old onwards. I pumped for 3 weeks until my nipples finally healed, so we tried again, but they split again so I stopped and pumped for another week until they healed again. Third time lucky I was able to successfully bf without any pain whatsoever. One thing that did give me some relief was nipple shields during the first four weeks, which you could try. Some women I know use nipple shields everytime, for one reason or another. I have heard that for most women bf gets easy after the three month old mark. Keep persisting, I hope it works out for you.

Lisa - posted on 10/16/2009

Oh my goodness! This exact thing happened to me too! I had a c-section and because of the antibiotics and improper latch technique I ended up with a fissure. Talk about pain! My husband would beat me on the back so when my now 4 month old daughter would latch on I would be distracted. I too tried the all purpose nipple ointment and was on medication for yeast. I finally pumped the breast that hurt every other time (this gave the hubby a chance to feed and bond) and breastfed like normal on the one that didn't hurt. It seemed to heal up pretty quickly. I was soooo like you! I really wanted to give up, I was crying all the time, used swear words a few times and felt guilty. It was to the point that when it was time to feed I would just start crying. I had pain from day one until about 4 weeks ago. I still get sore nipples but nothing close to what I was feeling. I will be praying for you because I sooo know how you feel. Please let us know if you get better. Try not to give up because it has turned into one of the most precious parts of my day.