multiple new issues!

[Anonymous]

I’m hoping Norah won’t wake crying so I can write this so I’ll TRY to be brief– but it’s hard for me!!! I’m suffering big time with plugged ducts ….over and over every three days for three weeks. I’ve been treating them with scalding hot baths, drinking apple cider vinegar, the list goes on and on. I’m finishing a five day treatment of two baths per day after the last plugged duct cleared but I’m terrified it will come back again. Now I also have some thrush/yeast infection symptoms (nipple pain, strange looking parts of the nipple, white spot on the nipple). Has anyone ever had plugged ducts that you could link to yeast? I read about this on kellymom.com — as a possible link and my lac consultant basically gave me the whole, oh you can read all sorts of scary things on the internet, there is no link between the two. What do you guys think?

Simultaneously, Norah has been waking every two hours for hte same period of time and is much fussier. Nursing more frequently is okay for now, since it helps with the plugged ducts, but I am going nuts between the two things trying to figure out what is going on with her. If thrush is an issue, could thrush cause her to wake like that (I can’t get into her mouth to see if there are white spots, but she’s had diaper rash on and off this past week, which she generally doesn’t have)? Any other suggestions for that kind of night waking? She had been sleeping 8-10 hours straight. I’ve been nursing her alone in my room (when I can, when Lucas cooperates!) and trying to really get the most out of each feeding, so I can’t imagine that she’s hungry/not eating enough during the day. she also seems uncomfortable when she wakes. She’s on a high dose of zegerid nad now i’m wondering if she could be developing food issues that weren’t present two months ago??? Am I losing my mind wondering all these things from lack of sleep, or has anyone got some ideas to go along with this?

any suggestions for keeping plugs at bay….I’m already on a super low fat diet, no dairy and not a lot of other fat right now and I’m avoiding taking lecithin because mine was all soy based and Norah’s reacting terribly to soy products, even soy lecithin it seems. I’m drinking apple cider vinegar two time a day and have been doing 45 min – 1 hour long scalding hot baths two times a day. Yikes. I’m nursing her upside down for lack of a better term, as well, to clear the area because it’s at the top of my breast. Help! I’m going nutso a bit here.

[Anonymous]

Anne, I hope someone else can help you with the plugged ducts. I only had that a few times, and the treatments you are already doing is what cleared it. It wasn’t really recurring. However, I did find that I tended to get them more often when Ben’s reflux was acting up and he wasn’t eating as well.

As for the yeast. I would think there could certainly be a link… makes sense to me. But, my suggestion is to get that cleared up ASAP. Most likely the rash on Norah’s bum is yeast, so she probably has it too. I know several moms have posted that yeast causes AWFUL reflux flares, so this certainly could explain her recent sleep issues and fussiness.

You could certainly try treating it on your own with probiotics for BOTH of you, monistat on the nipples, etc.. but I really think it might be worth investigating a diflucan script for both of you. That way you can get it cleared up fast and have one less thing to worry about.

[Anonymous]

Naomi,

thanks so much! so….I don’t know anything about yeast and reflux, but your info sounds like it could be a match? I wonder if she could have yeast without the white spots in her mouth? I called the OB office this am and they can’t fit me in today but hte nurse says it sounds like mastitis to her and they could RX antibiotics. Any ideas on good probiotics for babies and/or moms? I used to use a nature’s way infant powder with Lucas, but wondered if there’s something new and great out there now for babies– who aren’t eating solids yet.

thank you so much. You always respond to my posts and it’s to heartening to think that there are folks out there who know about these things and can and will respond. I’m feeling at my wits end with all this.

ps. Norah’s middle name is Claire…I just love it. We’ve been calling her Norah Claire quite a bit, too. 🙂

[Anonymous]

Kirkman labs and Claire labs both have good hypoallergenic probiotics that I be you could use. They take a few days to get since I believe you can only order from the company. Are you having any fevers? I thought Mastitis had a fever associated with it? I could totally be wrong… but I agree with Naomi that it is probably yeast and that is why you can’t really get it cleared up. Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

Hey Anne…

It does seem to me that it’s possible for babies to have yeast without the spots. I can’t remember where I read that, maybe kellymom? Anyway, if your doc does prescribe the antibiotics for mastitis, then, for sure, you will need to watch for yeast, if you don’t have it already. When I had thrush on my nipples, it was crazy painful, not the hot hard pain of a plugged duct or mastitis, but a sharp, cracked nipple feeling. The main tip off was that it hurt like hell when the shower water hit the nipple.

As for probiotics, there are several out there that moms have been using with great success, especially for food sensetive babies. I think one is by Klaire labs… you may be able to find it by doing a search on the forum. Or maybe Laura will stop by and post if for you.

I have a bit of a soft spot for moms who breastfeed their refluxers because I really think it’s so hard to do. It was for me, anyway. Breasfeeding my two is still one of my greatest accomplishments. So, I try to respond to breastfeeding momma’s questions. Hang in there.

[hellbennt]

Probiotics, brands used: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8970&PN=1

[Anonymous]

thx!! baby is in my lap, got an rx for nystatin & i see OB tomorrow for me. ped gi says yeast can definitely cause reflux flare ups. thx for all the info & inks!

[Anonymous]

anne—–it is probably not mastitis, because if you have been having this happening for 3 weeks it would hurt like hell and you would be sicker than a dog—-propbably at the point of needing to be in the hospital on IV antibiotics.

now, for the yeast—-this one i have dealt with, but it never caused me any plugged ducts—but that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t cause them. the first time i dealt with it was with daisy jane. i had noticed that my nipples were sore and cracking, but it was daisy jane’s really nasty red diaper rash that told the doc she had a yeast infection. he said if her rash was that bad, that it was probably all through her system. he then asked me if my nipples were cracked. he put her on oral nystatin and a cream for her bum and told me to use the same cream on my nipples. we had no problem getting it cleared up.

when sylvia got thrush, it was another story. i think we battled it for at least 6 months, if not longer. it seemed to disappear from her mouth, but my breasts would not clear up. we were not being treated at the same time—and our family doc said she couldn’t have it without it being obvious. it was in her esophagus. the ped gi told me to stop nursing (sylvia was 15 months old) and he put her on a good course of diflucan—-then i saw my obgyn and he gave me a cream that was a combo of an antifungal and a steroid. sylvia and i both finally got rid of the yeast.

now—i have learned something totally new about how much yeast can hurt. since i have had this MRSA infection, one of the antibiotics i am on is pretty harsh—not something you want to take unless you really need it. i have yeast RAGING in my body—-i wouldn’t be surprised if it managed to find it’s way into any remaining oriface of my body not already being ravaged by it—-like my ears!!!!! ok, so that was a little dramatic, but i have thrush in my mouth and i’m sure in my esophagus and vaginally. my mouth was stinging so bad even when i would brush my teeth. eating was painful and i spent almost an entire night sitting up in a chair with chest pain that i assumed was just reflux.

i am just starting the second 10 day round of antibiotics because my orthoped didn’t feel like i was being treated long enough for the infection. however, he did call me in some protonix and some swish-and-swallow nystatin. i have some antifungal vaginal cream that i have been using. i am getting some relief from these things, but i am sure the yeast is not going to clear up as long as i am on these antibiotics. i will probably need a good 10 days of diflucan to rid my body of the yeast. i have had thrush before—-but i don’t remember having this kind of pain—–and it took me a little while to figure out that it was probably causing the chest pain, too.

if the nystatin doesn’t work for your baby—ask for diflucan, it works better and is easier to give. good luck.

[Anonymous]

Christine,

I’m so sorry I’m just getting to you now. I was really under a rock dealing with all the plugged ducts and not sleeping and then my husband has been out of town!– not good timing, but I convinced him to go visit his bro and sis in NYC back when Norah was sleeping through the night. Anyways, I’m on diflucan and norah is on nystatin. She is doing a bit better, i think all her waking and uncomfortability was the yeast. I was supposed to take one diflucan pill, wait five days, and then take another. I felt pretty decent until day four, then pain began to return and I began to also begin to get plugged again. I didn’t put two and two together until the next day i took the next diflucan pill and within hours I wasn’t plugged at all and the pain was much better. I’m wondering though if I need more than just the two diflucan pills, since I’m on day seven and still having some pain here and there. And i don’t see the white in Norah’s mouth, and I’m wondering if it’s further down in her gi tract. The specialist said it could be anywhere in her digestive system and that it could really flare up her reflux. So I’m wondering do i call my OB and her ped and get more meds BEFORE things fall apart again, or do i wait for things to fall apart? I’d rather call and have something to take just to make sure things are better, but not sure if the docs will go for that. Maybe I’ll just beg.

I’m so sorry to hear about your current infection. Hopefully it will get better soon! Thanks for such a detailed description, it really helps to know what others went through and what it feels like. I woke up one night from the pain in my nipple area and couldn’t sleep it was so painful, so i can’t imagine having that sort of pain in the chest. I would have thought it was a heart attack or something!

[Anonymous]

if norah has yeast clear through her system diflucan would work much better for her. i think sylvia was put on a liquid form for about 10 days. i’m not sure if 2 pills is enough for you, either, but mine was treat with a topical cream and i wasn’t nursing. since things are improving, you might wait just a few more days, since it can take a few days to see results—and you are just 2 days past the second pill.

if you don’t see improvement in both of you, i think i would ask for diflucan for both of you for a longer time. yeast can be nasty and hard to clear up sometimes if it is not treated appropriately.

[Author]

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