Hi All,

I need some help. My left breast, which has always been the wearker producer has up and quit on me....one pumping ago I got what I usually get and then this last pumping....not one drop! The right is the same.

I did hot compresses and tried again.....nada!

The left is the one that I had a lump taken from three years ago and it always looks liek the milk comes from just one place whereas the right has four.

So could it be a plugged duct? Shoudl I take the lecithin and how much/often?

I am worried!

Thanks for your help.

Eden

Does that breast still seem full? This happened to me just the other day for the first time. It was my right breast, and I got some out of it, but it quit a lot sooner that usual, and was not producing even half of what I normally produce. What I did was take a hot shower, and use my Avent Isis hand pump in the shower. This cleared it right up.
If it is a plugged duct, you will notice that milk starting to really fill things up in there.

Hello,
The dose of Lecithin is 1200 mg 4x a day, per Lenore.
It helps to lubricate the ducts. My right breast frequently gives nothing or just drops. My left usually gives me the most milk. It is normal for milk production to flucuate from pumping to pumping. I had a beer one night, and even with drinking extra water that night , the next day I was pretty much dried up. I said never again while doing this! (I had heard from several people the yeast in the beer increases milk production, an old trick the wet nurses used to use).
Try Dawns idea of pumping in the shower. I have a Medela manual pump that came with my PIS, but I do like the idea of the Avent, it can be used with one hand. Also, keep using the heat before pumping and try the lecithin. It seems early for you to be getting a plugged duct, most of the women on this board had been pumping around 5 months before they got one, but everyone is different.
How much longer till the baby is here?? You must be so excited..your whole life will change,,for the better! Take care, Cathy

Thanks Dawn and Cath,

The baby come sin three weeks.....wow! I am so excited and nervous.

My left is still giving nothing. It feels harder than usual. I don't feel particularly engorged, but I don't think I was making enough milk to feel that way.

I saw on an old Nona post that the does was 400mg four time a aday. What do you think?

Thanks everybody.....I am so grateful for this board.

Eden

itttt's baaaaack!

Whoosh!

I took two lecithin tabs at 1200 mg over four hours and did the shower pump and rest and hot compress and when ti blew it gave me almost an ounce!

Lenore said it didn't sound much like a plugged duct, but something was awry and now it is ok. It is giving what it normally gives.

Thanks everyone,

eden

Eden,
Glad all is well again, what names do you have picked out?
take care,
Cathy

Dammit! Plugged again! What the heck is going on?

I am eating oatmeal everyday....think I am too creamy for only one opening on my left? I am baffled.

The name is Isabelle Augusta Lorraine.

Isabelle the BM likes and so do we....the other two names are the names of the Grandmothers.

Eden

What's happening over there cathy? Supply coming back?

Hi Eden,
I don't know what to say about the plugged duct, keep up with the pumping in the shower and the Lecithin. One day I get a little from the right and the next just drops...I am really flucuating from day to day,but so far the most I have made recently is 3 ml/cc in a 24 hour period. I am freezing in layers, so far I have ten 1-3 cc syringes and one bottle with almost 1/2 ounce in it from the last week of pumping. I was off the last week and got some much needed sleep, so I am feeling better.
Baby girl due next week in Guatemala, if she is healthy she is ours...so,,I am trying to get my house in order and finish packing. We had actually thought of Isabella as a name, but also both our grandmothers were named Anna,,,,and the Spanish version Ana with one N. I think we have decided on Ana Sofia . If we ever adopt another boy he will be Ronald James or RJ for short, named after my husbands and my father.
I am getting a little nervous with our travel date so close, but I also have to remember she will not be "ready" to come home until (the earliest) end of October. I haven't decided if I will stay the whole time or just for a while this summer then come back with my now 12 year old son (his birthday was yesterday).
I am sure your milk production will sky rocket once your baby is nursing. Also, remember the bonding and nurturing is so important.
Good luck, take care, Cathy

Hey cath,

Those are lovely names....I especially like Ana Sofia....gorgeous.

I am so baffled by this whole left breast thing.....how can it go from producing everytime to nothing? Lenore said watch my Soya intake....but it cna't be that as my right is unaffected.Right?

I have been trying to do hot compresses, baths while submerged, pumping, lecithin...the whole nine yards. I am feeling pretty full now and that feels a little uncomfortable. I just don't get it.

Last time it "blew" it gave me an ounce at one sitting ( two days ago) then the next time it was back to nothing....while the right stays consistent.

What is cabbage supposed to do? I read somewhere that it was a home rememdy.

Anyway, Very exciting about your referral. I am sending my best thoughts for a healthy littel whippersnapper. You have been amazing in your perserverance and steadfastness. You are an inspiration!

With Love,

Eden

Eden,
It does sound like you are getting engorged on that side. Cold cabbage leaves, decrease engorgement. I still think that you are doing everything you can. Let us know if it gets better with the cabbage. Take care, Cathy

Do be careful with the cabbage, as it is also used for weaning. I know it sounds odd, but on another board, a woman said she had a stubborn plugged duct. She finally cleared it up by sucking it out herself. Perhaps she was able to suck harder than the pump on the strongest setting. So, if you are able to reach, maybe you'd be willing to try? It is not comfortable, being engorged. Trust me, you don't want it to get worse.
Another thing I have heard to clear it up, when nursing a baby, try laying your baby on the floor, get on all fours, and have your breasts hang down, for baby to nurse. So it's kind of like a cow. I know, another odd thing, but whatever works to get rid of that plugged duct!
Keep trying the shower, and hot compresses. I feel your pain!

Ok, I swear I am running out of questions....but here is one....

The other day I had the plugged duct and I got sick from a bad burrito.....my girlfriend said since it was food related I shoudl pump and dump for 24 hours.....well, it has been that, but the plugged duct gave way this morning and now I have alot from that breast....I am sure it is some from when I was sick....shoudl I dump?

The bad food was Tuesday night and now it is Thursday morning.

Thanks all,

Eden

no you don't need to dump your milk. It might just be the burrito didn't agree with you. But I wouldn't dump my milk. Also .. i would suggest talking a 400 mg lecithin 4 times a day.. take it with your domperidone. It will keep those ducts open. I know I was having a problem getting mine to open and let out the milk. Lenore suggested the lecithin. I take it everyday. If I don't I notice it doesn't come out as easy

hey nona,

My tabs are 1200 mg and I take those four times a day....I am getting conflicting reports. What do you think?

Eden

Eden, I got some lecithin last night that said 400 mg, equivalent to 1200 mg of....I can't remember, but it was some other type of lecithin...Is that what yours says too? I am hoping got the right kind. But I am guessing so, since the recommended dose is 4/day.... Are you still feeling like you have plugged ducts on that one side? I find it really hard to know when to quit pumping each session, as some lumpy 'fullness' always remains, even when the flow is down to just infrequent drips and I have pumped 20 min or more...

Hi,
My bottle of Lecithin says 1200 mg..Lenore told me to take 4 a day...We are waiting for the medical reports to be faxed today, and if everything is ok then....we finallly have a daughter! She is over 8 lbs, 2 days old in Guatemala,,so gorgeous, she even has a slightly large nose and 2 chins like me!
More details to follow...but I may be leaving for Guatemala in the next few days to go down and meet her, she should be ready to come home in December! Wish us luck...more details to follow.....Cathy

Cathy! WOW! That is so great..I am keeping everything I have crossed for you!

Mary, I don't know about that, might want to email Lenore presonally for clarification. She has been amazing!

I quit after 20 to 30.....I just have to have a life , too!

But the big news is....I think I am up to Three ounces a day!

Eden

Hi Eden,
I usually quit after 20 min too. With setup and cleanup, that's close to half an hour anyway, 6 times a day, then one short session in the wee hours of the night. A LOT of time invested. I am getting weary of it, but encouraged by the results. That is fabulous you are getting 3 oz a day! Your freezer will really be filling up fast now! I have about 200 oz in the freezer now. Luckily I have two freezers so am not out of room yet. How many days til your baby comes?

hmmm let me check my Lecithin... okay it says 400 mg of CONCENTRATED soy lecithin. Provies the same phosphatidylcholine as 1200 mg lecithin. I take 4 of these a day.