Have you EVER heard of this!???? HELP!!

[@llli*happymommy]

My baby just turned a year and I recently cut down to 2 breastfeeding sessions a day. Morning and night. In the past week everytime I nurse him this happens.... 10-20 minutes after I nurse, just on one side, I have a sharp pain originating in my nipple that radiates all the way up to my arm pit and encompassing my whole breast at times! It is extremely intense and is so painful it keeps me awake and I can't sleep through it. It does not happen when I pump, like when I am at work, just when nurse my son. What the heck? It lasts like 2-3 hours, then goes away like nothing happens and doesn't bother me until the next time I go to nurse! I have had plugged ducts and milk blisters before this is not it, and I have no infection signs going on,(fever, redness, swelling...), also and this may be too much information but I'm desperate...it doesn't look any different. My doctor doesn't think it is yeast but.... I am desperate and if this keeps up I don't know if I can continue nursing because it is so painful! Please help!!

[@llli*mommal]

Ouch mama, that sounds rotten! My first instinct is to think that this is thrush, since that can crop up at any time, can occur without "classic" symptoms, and causes intense burning pain after a feeding is over. But why would it only happen when you nurse, and not when you pump? . Vasospam could explain it- if your baby has changed his latch recently, he could be compressing the nipple as he feeds, something that can cause vasospasm. And vasospasm is often mistaken for thrush due to the intense radiating pain.

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

That sounds like a vasospasm, and I have them now too, now that I'm pumping just twice a day for a longer period of time at each session. I'm trying wool nursing pads today to see if it helps, as warmth is supposed to help with them.

[@llli*duckpond]

My first thought was vasospasm, too, maybe due to a latch change. You might try nursing your son in a completely different position to see if that helps. And warmth, like Susan said. Your son is also old enough that you can start practicing using a big mouth when he nurses.

[@llli*amiebo]

My first thought was vasospasm, too, maybe due to a latch change. You might try nursing your son in a completely different position to see if that helps. And warmth, like Susan said. Your son is also old enough that you can start practicing using a big mouth when he nurses.

what do you mean by this??

[@llli*mommal]

Vasospasm: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/...blanching.html. It's a sudden constriction of bloodflow in an extremity (hands, feet, nipple, etc.) that is very painful. You might see the tip of the nipple turn white and/or bluish-purple. Generally heat is the best way to treat it- run the extremity under hot water or put a hot pad on it.

[@llli*lovepickles]

How quickly did you drop sessions? I would guess it was too sudden. What were you doing before the 2 sessions? I don't know offhand but I think dropping one feeding every two weeks is slow enough. I forget ...

[@llli*happymommy]

But does vasospasm occur 10-20 minutes after you nurse? Cause that's when the pain hits and then it lasts up to 3 hours!

[@llli*maddieb]

Most things that cause nipple/breast pain (like latch, thrush, breast infection) hurt all the time or particularly when baby nurses. So vasospasm is my guess too, since that pain happens after baby nurses. If it’s not that, I wonder if it has to do with dropping feedings quickly and you are somehow having a post nursing let down that has no where to go? This is a total guess but since the pain seems to be related to when you nurse??? Can you hand express (or nurse again) and see if that helps? Also you could see if applying heat after nursing helps at all as mommal suggests. This does sound extreme but I imagine the pain from vasospams could last some time in some moms.

What is your routine after you nurse as opposed to after you pump? Are you doing anything different, like applying a nipple cream, putting on certain clothing, leaving clothing off, lying down, what's different?

This sounds kind of awful to me. If you cannot figure it out soon I would suggest seeing a very experienced IBCLC. I have never heard of anything like this.

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

That is exactly what happens to me after I pump now, and it is a vasospasm. It isn't right away, and it is a very sharp, shooting pain that lasts some hours.