Boob misery

[Elliellie]

Oh wow, Kirsty im so sorry you've had such a terrible time. Its just awful isnt it? & worse for you with such a young baby, how awful for you. Your story is so similar to mine, I didn't give all the details before but I saw SO many people about it in the 2 weeks before my op & was just fobbed off & sent away with antibiotics, I had 6 lots of antibiotics in 2 weeks as they kept saying they werent working & giving me more, that can't be good for a breast feeding mum! I too saw a shockingly awful doc at the urgent care centre who sent me home when he should of admitted me to hospital & I got terrible advice from nhs direct, they told me it was normal & not to worry, I said I was wondering whether to go to a&e & she said no as it's not an accident & nothing to worry about, she actually said "why would you go to a&e with that?"!!! The hospital the next day told me I should have gone straight to a&e as soon as they saw me, but then they sent me home as they were too busy to treat me. The abscess got so much worse during that time too & I know it could have been stopped from getting so bad. When i was in hospital i asked every doc & nurse I saw what to do about the milk as was terrified of it becoming engorged & it all happening again & no one could give me an answer, it was clear they didn't have a clue. I asked for a breast pump to pump the healthy boob whilst in hospital & was told they didn't have one, I suggested they get one from maternity & they said they couldn't do that! When I came round from the op I was so sleepy & in lots of pain & they made me get out of bed, eat a piece of toast & then sent me home, I was home within an hour of coming round! I really didn't feel like I should be & was in such a daze I didn't get to ask how the op had gone, what my after care would be, if I needed to go back... The nurses are still coming daily & the hole doesn't look like its any smaller so I think this will go on for ages. Every nurse gives me different advice about the milk. Last week I started to feel fluey & got painful lumps in my armpit on that side, I was terrified the mastitis was coming back so I called my doc, she said to express the milk, I explained that I couldn't as the hole was next to my nipple & the dressing covered it & she just said I'd have to do the best I could & left it at that! Fortunately the fluey feeling has gone but I've still got really painful lumps in my armpit that I'm worried about. I could carry on moaning as there have just been so many annoying things but I'll stop there! Im just amazed at what little support & help there is available for breast feeding mums after so much effort is going into encouraging women to breastfeed, I don't blame people for not wanting to or for giving up! I really wanna campaign or something but not sure what I can do! I will be writing to the hospital. My follow up appointment is ages away too. Everyone had told me not to feed from that breast but I do wonder if that's the best advice. How are you doing now? I really hope you don't have another abscess. I know what you mean about feeling unattractive too, with my c section scar & horrible stretch marks i dont have much going for me these days, dont like to get undressed in front of OH. Anyway, it's nice to know there's someone out there who understands the misery! Do keep me posted in your progress. I might call that breastfeeding tomorrow & see if I can talk to someone who knows what they are on about! X

 

[KirstyHH]

It's good to talk to someone who understands, but also such a shame that you have also had such a nightmare. I can't believe they sent you home the same day as the operation! That's unbelievable, at least they kept me in overnight. My OH is going to make a formal complaint about all that has gone on, I don't want anyone else to have to go through what I have but I really don't have the energy do it myself at the moment. The DN has measured my wound and said it is getting smaller at least. I've got another breast care clinic appointment next Wednesday so I should hopefully know more then about another abscess. The consultant said we just had to let the body sort itself out now and has advised against anymore antibiotics so no idea what happens if you get mastitis again. It's all very scary. I phoned the NCT helpline the day before I was admitted to hospital and they just gave me advice on trying to express so I'm not convinced they know much about abscesses either.

Please keep me updated on how you are doing as well, hopefully there will be a light at the end of the tunnel for the both of us!

 

[Elliellie]

Hey, I hope your appointment goes well & there is no second abscess, that's my worst fear at the moment! I'm getting so fed up of having the nurse coming everyday, Isaac doesn't sleep that well at night & there are times I'm up most of the night & then he'll fall asleep at 8ish but I have to get up & get ready in case she comes early when I really just want to go back to sleep! She also always arrives when Ive just spent ages getting him to sleep & wakes him up! I really want to meet up with friends & go to baby classes I had planned but can't do anything. She also measured the hole yesterday & it was the same! It just feels like its going to go on forever at the moment. Do you have milk leaking out of the hole too? The nurse said that might be slowing the healing. I went for a walk today after the nurse had been & had 2 breast pads & a folded muslin cloth down my top & the milk still soaked through & got my top all wet. Luckily I had a big cardi over it but it does make going out difficult. It leaks so badly in bed too, just feel so yucky!
Hope you're getting to enjoy your LO a bit now. Keep me updated on your progress, It'll be nice to keep in touch through this!

 

[pinkyprincess]

Can you use a breast shell to collect the excess milk?

 

[Elliellie]

Hmmm i wonder if i can. I'm not really sure what shells look like, are they designed to go over the whole breast or just the nipple. The milk is seeping out if the edges of the dressing & the dressing covers most of my breast, it leaks out of the bottom & out of the side near my armpit so I'm thinking it probably wouldnt work. I put a nappy over it to go to bed the other night!

 

[poppypd]

This is a subject I have never heard about, so thank you for talking about it. The fact that 2 of you have had similar experiences shows it's not uncommon. I can't believe the conflicting advice and bad treatment you've been given. You are both brave ladies, I hope that you can heal quickly. I think campaigning would be great, even a website letting women know what the symptoms are would be helpful so we could be more knowledgable and forthright in getting noticed!

 

[KirstyHH]

I do leak milk from the hole, but not as much as you by the sounds of it. I was only feeding on that breast for about a week though, but am still going on the right hence they are now very different sizes!

 

[KirstyHH]

Hi Elliellie, how are you doing? Has your wound decreased in size at all yet? They tried to aspirate what they thought was an abscess last week (all very painful) but it appears to just be hard tissue, and the consultant was happy that it looks "more like a breast" and the wound is healing OK now so has discharged me today. The breast care nurse thinks I will have a an indented scar but she said that they can correct it with plastic surgery, so am feeling like there is a light at the end of the tunnel at last. I still have to wait for the district nurse everyday, but am hoping it won't be for too much longer.

Hope things have started to look up for you?

 

[Elliellie]

Hey, sounds like you're on the mend which is great! So pleased you don't have a second abscess & really good to hear about the plastic surgery, I might ask about that!
In the last few days I'm finally seeing the hole getting a bit smaller! It is feeling better & leaking a little bit less i think. Also still got the nurse coming daily. Had a follow up appointment at the hospital this avo but I think I just saw a student doc, whoever she was she didn't know anything! She just felt my breast but didn't even take the packing out to look at the hole & wasn't going to change the dressing but I asked her to as I'd cancelled the nurse today with being at the hospital. She didn't know what to do so got a nurse to come & show her. Anyway she's booked me in for an ultrasound next week just to check it's all ok & another follow up at the end of June. I do feel a lot better now but still can't believe how long it's all taking. After the op I thought I'd have the nurse coming for a couple of days, maybe a week! It's been nearly four weeks now & is still going to go on a while yet! I do wonder what it will look like after all this. Are you breast feeding still? I'm still going from the one boob & it's pretty much coping, I give a bottle now & again when he seems extra hungry.