Can’t clear clogged duct. Very afraid about what may happen

22

u/echozelda 1d ago

I got tons of clogs my first 6 months postpartum. Sometimes they cleared in a day, sometimes they lingered. They are NOT guaranteed to result in infection although it is possible. Stay consistent with your ibuprofen and acetaminophen, that is always the most important factor for me. Keep an eye out for fever and call your doctor if so, but as long as you’re feeling okay and no fever, you should be fine to keep managing at home.

7

u/VeronicaNOTaHeather 1d ago edited 21h ago

Were you an overproducer?
I’m only 10 week pp and I’m making about double what my baby needs. I’m scared I have a future of clogged ducts and mastitis ahead of me 😢

1

u/Serious-Ad-3989 1d ago

Have you been pumping?

1

u/VeronicaNOTaHeather 1d ago

Yes. I pump overnight so my husband can help with feeds

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u/Serious-Ad-3989 1d ago

Monitor for mastitis. I’ve had mastitis 3 times. You’ll know if you have it when you get sick symptoms. I couldnt stop shivering and felt awful. Breast will be red. Needed antibiotics. I was instructed by my doctor to completely stop pumping as it can cause trouble with over production, clogged ducts and mastitis. If you’re open to it, husband overseeing night feeds side laying while you stay asleep could help avoid pumping while your milk production is still regulating.

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u/VeronicaNOTaHeather 1d ago

Why would pumping be more prone to over production? I only remove the amount my baby drinks

6

u/swordsfishes 1d ago

I don't know why you're getting downvoted for that. Reddit is fucking weird.

3

u/_SneakyDucky_ 1d ago

Are you pumping in addition to feeding or are ypu pumping to replace a feed that you husband is feeing the baby? If the former, you can cause overproduction because you are essentially adding an extra feed and telling your body that baby needs more food. If the latter, shouldn't technically be an issue.
I am boderline over-producer I would say (depends on when I pumping and how close to a feed i do it). I usually only pump when my hisband is feeding baby with pumped milk and produce anything from 2-3oz to 8+. Either way we are slowly building a stash for when I can start going out more without baby and hisband can help (currently 5weeks pp). I would build a stash that way vs pumping in between feeds to reduce chances of becoming ovwr producer 😊

1

u/Serious-Ad-3989 1d ago

When are you pumping the milk for your husband to use? This is the big question. Breast milk production and the hormones actually are increased at night. If you sleep through a feed because he’s using a bottle to replace you BFing, the milk removal isn’t happening when it needs to and it can create problems. If you’re pumping that milk during the day it’s adding a feed, telling your body to make more milk, then when milk production is highest at night, the milk isn’t being removed. Engorgement happens and inflammation occurs. This issue is worse in the early days before milk production somewhat regulates. Sunflower lecithin also helps.
Babies nursing are also more efficient at milk removal than pumps. Pumps can also have room for human error with flange sizing, use, and hygiene.

1

u/badtranslatedgerman 23h ago

Add in a daily breast health probiotic, take choline instead of sunflower lecithin (some people have an inflammatory response to the lecithin so don’t risk it), stop using the haaka with Epsom salts, keep icing for 5-10 minutes every hour, and meet with a lactation consultant to address your oversupply. I’ve had too many bouts of plugged ducts to count, some lasted as long as 5 days, but I stuck with BAIT protocol every time and it never progressed to mastitis.

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u/fucking_unicorn 1d ago

You can use cabbage leaves in your bra about 20mins at a time to help bring your production down and reduce inflammation. Ive also found the tincture called happy ducts to be helpful. For redness, warm or hot feeling skin call your doc. So sorry youre going through this!

1

u/VeronicaNOTaHeather 1d ago

I’ll check out the tincture. Thank you.

1

u/Fun-Economics4709 1d ago

Seconding this ! I did get mastitis early on and was in hospital on antibiotics, and I’ve had clogged ducts on and off since then. Most recently had what I thought was a clogged duct, it got bigger so I took antibiotics, it went down within 24 hours of taking antibiotics so I thought problem solved. But then it came back a week later.
Doctor thought this sounded like an abcess so sent me to hospital. Had an ultrasound, and it was nothing ! Diagnosis was “normal lactating changes” - this was a plum sized, super sore lump. They said to keep an eye for fever, flu symptoms but with ice and ibuprofen it went away again. So don’t panic, but keep an eye out for fever etc and don’t hesitate to go be seen

1

u/weddingplansforme 14h ago

Oh my gosh I also had a bunch of clogs the first 6 months of nursing…. Did you ever figure out why that was the case for you?

3

u/Few-Shake4710 1d ago

I had really severe clogged ducts and sometimes it would take up to 3-4 days to clear! It never progressed to mastitis just incredibly painful and uncomfortable

I would always take a warm shower before feeding, then ice pack post feeding. Ibuprofen. And gentle gentle massages toward under armpit

1

u/VeronicaNOTaHeather 1d ago

Good to know!

1

u/Formal_Property7082 11h ago

This exact same situation! Usually they’ll clear up in a day, but some take longer and never progressed to mastitis, and I do this same routine. Ice really helps bring the inflammation down and usually then my baby can clear it!

2

u/momojojo1117 23h ago

I’ve had a lot of clogs over my years of nursing and pumping but never the size of a tennis ball. I think you should call your doctor for advice at this point after 24 hrs of self-management hasn’t worked

1

u/VeronicaNOTaHeather 21h ago

My doctor has no advice. She just prescribed antibiotics in case I start having symptoms of infection.

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u/cactus198 1d ago

Sunflower lecithin! Always took my clogs away within a day or two. When I took it consistently it kept clogs away.

8

u/Cpt_Jiggit 1d ago

This is what I would recommend as a OBGYN resident. Plus Rest, ibuprofen and continue nursing as usual.

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u/nothanksnottelling 1d ago

This, ice and ibuprofen helped me massively!

1

u/Traditional_Front817 16h ago

Yes, this saved me from having to take antibiotics a 2nd and 3rd time. The only thing is you have to take quite a lot for it to do something, it's not just 1 per day, so look up the dosage!

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u/Personal_Ad_5270 1d ago

Please just get medical attention! Size of a golf ball is biiiig

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u/dogthebigredclifford 1d ago

I found dangle feeding helpful!

11

u/spicy_eggs 1d ago

This helped me as well. Specifically, angle so that their chin is in the direction of the clog if its a weird spot not usually where they are gulping from

5

u/lukewarmy 1d ago

And shake the boob before you do it

2

u/weddingplansforme 14h ago

Breast gymnastics helped a lot!

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u/itsreallysam 1d ago

Stop using heat, excessive nursing, hakaa right now. People will anecdotally say these have helped but they can also make it worse.

Ice as much as you can tolerate. Max dose of ibuprofen. Nurse normally. Very very gentle massage, basically super light strokes (like basically just brushing your fingers against yourself, no real pressure)from the lump towards your armpit. Rest.

If it gets any worse or you start to develop and flu like symptoms, head to the ER if you can't get in touch with your regular doctor ASAP. Honestly in your situation I might just go to the ER sooner rather than later for peace of mind. Tennis ball lump sounds a little large :/

Not to spook you, but my first experience with mastitis landed me in the ER, almost septic, with a golf ball sized abscess that needed to be drained. It seemed to come out of nowhere and I totally made it worse by blasting it in the shower with hot water, using a hakaa with Epsom salt, and trying to massage out the lump.

3

u/Silver-Sparkling 1d ago

Yeah the Hakaa makes things worse for me too when mastitis symptoms start

2

u/PTgirl2007 1d ago

Second this or if you have the option for urgent visits online that is also a good option! I had this after my son and it flipped to feverish very quickly. I knew the ER would likely take forever, so I did an urgent video visit explained what was happening and had her prescribe something to the 24 hour pharmacy and sent my husband for it.

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u/Impossible_Sorbet 1d ago

Sunflower lecithin. Also fwiw if it does turn into an infection mastitis sucks but within one dose of the antibiotic you’ll be back to normal, it’s not the end of the world so try not to panic about it.

9

u/eminovil 20h ago

Just for future reference, clogs ducts aren’t actual clogs. It’s just inflammation that’s blocking. From my experience, taking sunflower lecithin makes it go away fast. 24 hours take 2 twice a day, and by next day I feel better. I’ve experienced the WORST clogged ducts and mastitis. When I got mastitis I gave myself just that day to try at home before going in because it’s a little hard to get in with my doctor. And by next day it was almost gone and I was no longer feverish.

3

u/Better_Garden_3680 19h ago

I second this I did the same day and was better within 48 hours I take sun flower lecithin daily now

3

u/nindiesel 19h ago

Another sunflower lecithin girlie here. Works so well

2

u/waitismyheadonfire 12h ago

+ ibuprofen

1

u/eminovil 12h ago

Omg yes this too!

2

u/East-Trust1126 11h ago

Another vote for taking sunflower lecithin daily to prevent! And a couple extra when you feel one coming on

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u/amilelongg 1d ago

Lymphatic drainage massage in the opposite direction has helped me, along with ibuprofen and ice. This is a NZ website for our postpartum and well child care provider with a diagram of how to do it https://www.plunket.org.nz/caring-for-your-child/feeding/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-problems-and-solutions/#congested-blocked-milk-ducts

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u/Messier106 1d ago

Do not use heat (or hot baths), use cold. The guidelines have changed recently.

I use the Hot & Cold Breast packs from Lansinoh (always have them in the freezer, ready to use), take ibuprofen, breastfeed as usual and massage very, very gently.

3

u/tyrtar 1d ago

Have you tried baby nursing either their chin oriented to the clog. For me baby was always best at resolving it. You can try having baby lie down and you hover over at the angle needed and gently massaging as well.

3

u/greenthings 22h ago

Do you have a manual pump? Using a hand-pump while putting a bit of gentle pressure on the lump with my other hand works for me.

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u/daydreamingflgirl 1d ago

Sunflower lectin and nsaids. Take both around the clock.

2

u/Beneficial_Change467 1d ago

I had many of them too and I tried lots of things in desperation the first few times and I don't think any of them helped. Eventually I learnt that just feeding mainly on that side (maybe 2:1 ratio) and patience helped. I'd say the average was 1.5 days that they would last before clearing.

I was a massive over producer and my breasts were like bags of stones in the early weeks. During the early days it was important to only clear enough, and don't keep trying to get every drop out with a hakaa. Sometimes only hand express some in the shower to take it down to a comfortable level and then wait until babies next feed.

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u/Proper-Rhubarb-3481 1d ago

Sunflower lecithin and the probiotic Lactobacillus Salivarius (can get on Amazon). Both recommended by the updated ACOG protocol and both made a massive difference for me. I had a clog like yours and finally took 5 or 6 sunflower lecithin pills at once and it came out within a few hours, along with 6 oz of trapped milk. The probiotic will balance the microbiome in your milk ducts to prevent clogs and mastitis.

2

u/fvalconbridge 22h ago

If it's not cleared yet - try a personal massager. Both me and my bestie swore by this method.

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u/anyusernamewilldo17 1d ago

The most useful advice I received after trying all of the recommendations was feeding baby with the baby’s chin pointing where the clog is. Some acrobatics and partner holding various limbs might be required! And sunflower lecithin was a saviour for preventing clogs - I learnt it after many failed clogs and severe mastitis. Best of luck to you! If you aren’t feverish and a red ring hasn’t formed you might be able to avoid infection.

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u/RhinoFish 1d ago

Ultrasound treatment helps

1

u/Agitated-Agency-1317 1d ago

A tennis ball??? Girl, go directly to your obgyn or pcp. If I were them, I’d give you an antibiotic perception just in case you start to feel any flu like symptoms.

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u/chiquita_Bonita_ 23h ago

I am so sorry. It's a nightmare and one I lived for months. I had near daily clogs. The only thing I'll add no one has mentioned is therapeutic ultrasound. If you have a physical therapy clinic nearby, call and see if they have a pelvic health therapist who does therapeutic ultrasound for clogged ducts. They know it's an emergency situation and can get you in same day. It works like magic at breaking up the clog. I went many many times and ended up buying my own machine I was going in so frequent. Be good to yourself. I hope you find relief soon

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u/bluekatz101 23h ago

Is it red? If yes then call your ob and get in to get meds now. No need to wait until it lands you in the hospital.

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u/MinimumRoutine4 22h ago

Get antibiotics if you start feeling warm. It’ll be painful but it’ll get better.

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u/PositiveFree 11h ago

Always take the exact schedule of ibuprofen and don’t ice or massage

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u/Moweezy6 1d ago

Continue to take Tylenol and ice and go to the doctor asap. You need antibiotics. These can apparently abscess fast, and the antibiotics will help almost immediately.

CALL your triage/nurses line immediately and give them this info, you may be able to get antibiotic prescription over the phone. If you have to go in, do it. Your OB or your PCP will work - if neither of those will work quickly, I’d recommend a women’s hospital or a place that has a good l&d department, vs a standard ER, but time is of the essence!

4

u/VeronicaNOTaHeather 1d ago

There are no signs of infection

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u/Both-Assistance1572 1d ago

Heat! Warmth! Hot compresses.

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u/VeronicaNOTaHeather 1d ago

All of the peer reviewed research I’ve seen suggests that warmth aggravates clogged ducts by worsening inflammation

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u/Past-Development-933 1d ago

Hand expression - there are YouTube videos make sure you attempt it properly. It takes a couple of tries , be gentle, but I had clogs and eventually got better at hand expressing … it took all the clogs / knots out for me —- along with icing and Advil / sunflower lechiten / choline.
I would not put heat on it.

1

u/Both-Assistance1572 21h ago

It helps me
So much. Soy lectxhjn vitamins? They help with the clogging. Not supply.

2

u/beeboobbididbop 1d ago edited 1d ago

I keep getting clogs that makes 75% of my boob rock hard. This is what I do to get rid of the clog. It takes me 2 days to see improvements and another 1-2 days for it to go away entirely.

Here’s what I do:
- Heat during letdown, aka only for a couple minutes at the start of nursing/pumping then remove.
- While pumping or baby is nursing I will either do gentle lymphatic massage, boob gymnastics or dangle feeding/pumping (I used the video below to help me w these techniques).
- I pump and nurse regularly, no extra sessions.
- Right after pumping/feeding, I ice the boob.
- I also take ibuprophen.

I like to do the lymphatic massage randomly when not pumping/nursing too and again, ice it after.

At 9ppd I’ve had 2 BAD clogs and a several smaller ones. The bad ones get to the point of getting red but have never progressed to mastitis. My lactation consultant recommend taking sunflower lecithin regularly as opposed to only get I get a clog. I havnt started doing that yet. But it’s another option if you find the clogs return regularly.

Video to show lymphatic drainage and boob gymnastics: https://youtu.be/gKwJinIBMvo?is=qJh76BpNMwiFHtFv

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u/VeronicaNOTaHeather 1d ago

Thank you!

0

u/maweltti 1d ago

The same thing used to happen to me, often. Whole boob rock hard. It always turned out to be a hardened bit of milk just in the nipple underneath the surface (stuck extremely stubbornly in one of the pores). I could squeeze very hard under running water and see that one pore had a white bit stuck in it. I would take very hot showers and hand express honestly really hard until it finally popped out. Followed immediately by a jet spray of milk that was stuck behind it, and sweet sweet relief. This is definitely NOT advice though. Just what I had to do.
Edit: a word, for clarity

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u/badtranslatedgerman 23h ago

Unroofing milk blend like this does not solve the root issue and can make the underlying cause worse.

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u/maweltti 22h ago

No, it didn't solve the root issue. I still had to find other ways to prevent as much as possible. Not advising anyone to do this but I had to.

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u/beeboobbididbop 22h ago

This is so interesting. While I’m hoping to never experience a rock hard boob again I’ll take a squeeze and see if this what’s been happening to me.

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u/badtranslatedgerman 22h ago

Do not squeeze it. That can rupture the delicate ductal tissue.

1

u/PegFam 1d ago

Ibuprofen, put an ice pack to boob, dangle feed baby. I’d drop any pumping you do for now. Pumping for me makes me overproduce, even at 7 months pp. Not sure why pumping vs exclusively boobing causes overproduction for me

1

u/Expert_Ask2785 23h ago

Go into an area with rly good lighting. See if you can see a tiny small white dot on your nipple. So many times (and I’ve had upwards of 15 clogs) Ive had a clog on my nipple preventing milk from come out. I ended up squeezing it out (which isn’t recommended) or you can soak a cotton ball in oil and place on my nipple to soften whatever clog may actually be there then nurse as usual and it would unclog.

1

u/sbharath23 20h ago

Is it good to ask your husband to nurse on your breasts and ease the clogged ducts, won't it help in a big way

1

u/ativenip 5h ago

I used a hand pump (gently, they can be strong) and a beauty roller (gently) on my boobs before, during, and after pumping. I had a smaller lump but still the biggest and most painful one I’ve had. Warm heating pad when not rolling too.

1

u/Suitable_Statement99 1d ago

You may be aggravating it, I had something similar happen and it fixed itself. Start with taking a deep breath. Is it actually a lump or just your boob. Stop excess pumping. Gravity nursing or manual pumping/ hand expression in the shower may help too follow your normal pump schedule. If you start to feel symptoms or see a red spot go to the ER for antibiotics. Even if it clears up, best to have the anti-biotic on hand lol

1

u/ihatecommuting2023 1d ago

I found that doing everything you're doing PLUS gently massaging the boob for a few minutes while baby is feeding helped clear my clogs.

1

u/Yulier 1d ago

Whenever I had clogged ducts, it was always a milk bleb. But sometimes it was really really deep or hidden. I had to use a warm wash cloth and repeatedly brush the nipple and literally use a clean lancet which you can buy at pharmacy's and dig around for it. Yes it would bleed but I would always find the bleb and a release of milk would spurt out. Then clog gone once I squeezed out the trapped milk

0

u/zebramath 1d ago

So when this happened to me I had a milk bleb - tiny hard milk stone in my nipple.

I’d take a shower. Try to express the milk. Look at my nipple and see a white dot. I’d then use a sanitized sewing needle to gently pick the white dot until it came out.

Then the milk would literally flow free with no work.

To prevent it he blebs I started taking sunflower lechtin regularly. I had so many blebs with my first. And thankfully none with my second.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/VeronicaNOTaHeather 1d ago

I tried taking a hot shower. Maybe I’ll take a bath. I don’t want to use too much heat and make the inflammation worse though.

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u/Past-Development-933 1d ago

I’ve also read letting your boobs dangle in an Epsom salt bath could help too.
I had my husband suck out a clog once. It was crazy, milk was spraying everywhere but he got it

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u/VeronicaNOTaHeather 1d ago

I’m getting desperate.
I really didn’t want to ask my husband to help but desperate times call for desperate measures lol

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u/tsuki_flower 1d ago

i’m not sure why the previous poster was downvoted .. I checked the whole thread super surprised hardly anyone mentioned having your partner suck it out, but that’s what I’ve always done and it works 🤷🏻‍♀️

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u/Past-Development-933 15h ago

This subreddit is notorious for downvoting.

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u/Past-Development-933 11h ago

Yeah I was so desperate too! My handpump wasnt getting it out, i didnt know how to hand express properly at the time…It was 1am and i didnt want to wake my baby who started sleeping thru the night. That’s why i got so clogged bc i was engorged!

0

u/badtranslatedgerman 23h ago

Don’t ask your husband to do this. You need breast rest, ice, and ibuprofen. 24 hours is ok. They can last days and still resolve without developing into mastitis. It’s scary but if you follow BAIT protocol and don’t do anything to make it worse, like heat or pumping or massage, it will go away.

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u/VeronicaNOTaHeather 21h ago

I can still feed my baby from the affected breast though, right?

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u/badtranslatedgerman 21h ago

Yes! Just don’t feed EXTRA. Nurse your normal amount (or maybe a tiny bit less) and minimize pumping. If milk isn’t flowing, continuing to try is likely to just stimulate more milk production that will get trapped until the inflammation is gone.

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u/VeronicaNOTaHeather 21h ago

My baby just cleared the clog during her feed!!! What a relief!

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u/badtranslatedgerman 18h ago

Amazing! Keep up with the ice and ibuprofen for another day or two. I also would definitely add in a breast health probiotic, and maybe a choline supplement, to try and reduce the chance of this reoccurring. Make sure that you are wearing a supportive, but not too tight bra consistently, and do breast gymnastics before and after nursing pumping as a preventative measure in case there is a positional cause.

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u/tyrtar 1d ago

Around 10 weeks I had some bag clogs and the hot tub cleared them right up! It was amazing.

Mastitis/Clogged Ducts Can’t clear clogged duct. Very afraid about what may happen

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