huge lump in breast, any ideas?

[nada87]

I have a huge maybe quarter sized lump in one breast. It wasn't there last night so I am pretty sure its nursing related. It doesn't hurt unless I press on it and its very hard. I will make a Dr appointment next week but in the meantime was wondering if anyone knew what it could and how to get rid of it.

I'm on my phone and the touchscreen hates me so my posts are short, to the point and probably misspelled.

[eliz7]

Sounds like a clogged duct. Nurse, massage it, drink lots of water and rest. Warm compresses can help too. Also when you nurse line up lo's chin with the lump. It will pull the most from it that way. Good luck!

[nada87]

Thanks!

I'm on my phone and the touchscreen hates me so my posts are short, to the point and probably misspelled.

[colin-mylilguy]

Originally Posted by eliz7 Sounds like a clogged duct. Nurse, massage it, drink lots of water and rest. Warm compresses can help too. Also when you nurse line up lo's chin with the lump. It will pull the most from it that way. Good luck!

Yep, the lump is actually the milk glad that is FULL and can't empty the milk because there is a plug somewhere along the "line". You can also try taking lecithin - http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/lecithin.html - I hope it helps. Also, if you start to feel pain, see redness, sometimes "stripes" of redness around the lump or feel flu-like symptoms, you may have an infection from the plugged duct. Hopefully that does NOT happen but if it does, get antibiotics ASAP. Antibiotics won't dissolve the clog but it will fight the infection. So, if you don't have an infection, antibiotics won't really help - just fyi. GL, Mama! Hope it comes out!

[gumdrop]

Yes to everything already said and lots of fluids and rest. I also found cold compresses or ice helpful and ibuprofen.

[pagodagirl]

what pp's said, also I've found massaging from behind the lump while your LO is nursing (or while you're pumping) can sometimes help

[Coto]

I agree with everything that's been said, particularly with drinking a lot of water and positioning your baby's chin toward the clogged duct. I give it a couple of nursing sessions to let my baby try to clear the clog but I almost always need to pump to get my clogged ducts to clear. I pump after feeding for as long as I can while massaging the hard area. I keep pumping even if I'm not getting any milk so long as I know it hasn't cleared. I can feel when the clog starts to clear. Then I'll keep pumping until that milk gland has emptied and I make sure to drink a lot of water for the next day or so.

[nada87]

After a few good feeds its half the size so I am hoping I can clear it up before mastitis occurs. I have had mastitis twice so I really don't want to go there again.

I'm on my phone and the touchscreen hates me so my posts are short, to the point and probably misspelled.

[notinoz]

When it happened to me, I pumped for about 20-25 minutes and then nursed on that side. It cleared pretty quickly for me.

[burgler]

I have this problem right now, only my lump is about the size of a large apple. It has only happened a few times to me before, and normally DS clears it within a few hours. No such luck. (I think I got it because I have had a re-occurrence of thrush and wasn't feeding him on that side as often I should have.) I have tried pumping, but nothing is coming out. Guess I should do it for as long as I can stand it tonight, eh? And then hope he wakes up lots to nurse. How long until it turns into mastitis?