Nipple problems?

ok so im still breast feeding. not that much however because dominics never full and i never have enough, even though i try pumping 3 times an hour still not producing much.

anyways my right nipple feels like...i dont kno as though its been pierced or something or pinched really hard or something but it hurts like CRAZY and its alway hard now too!  no matter how warm i am i always have my right nipple hard and protruding. when dominic nurses.....i can feel sharp shooting pains even though he wont be doing much of anything and its like constantly hurting. and painful! and its slightly darker than the other.

i tried nipple cream that i got at the hospital and its not doing much of anything at all

[spade22]

Pumping can sometimes cause nipple damage/problems but these typically are reversible.  Here are a few things to look out for:

1) Pump setting.  Dont pump on high - use the setting about 30-40% of full.  I pumped on the highest setting at that caused me some major issues which have STILL not resolved after a few weeks.
2) Try wetting your nipples a little or use a little olive oil before pumping to reduce friction when you start to pump
3) Make sure the nipple shields are the correct size and that you nipple is in the right position when pumping
4) Wash your nipples after pumping and continue to use cream

Q's: Do your nipples have any obvious cracks or any blanching directly after pumping?  Are they distorted/misshapen at all?  Any white residue on your nipples?  Have you been on antibiotics recently?  This may help us get closer to what is going on (I wont be online for awhile though so wont respond for awhile)

In the meantime, you might try the above suggestions and even back off a little on the pumping to help heal the nipple (although you are in a tough situation because you are trying to increase milk supply).   Its also important to get a good pump - I rent a hospital grade pump which works well.

[Kim1989]

i only have a maunal pump

nope no cracks or anything and i havent pumped in like a 4 days because it doenst seem to be doing anythign for my supply

nope no mdications or antibiotics

[Fourpaws]

If your trying to build up your supply, you should try an electric pump. They work great. I also had a yeast infection, which caused me to have similiar symptoms as you. One dose of diflucan cleared it up.

[spade22]

As Fourpaws said, if you want to build up your supply you should go with a good quality electric pump - that will make more of an impact than the manual pump.  Also, it will take awhile for you to see any effect from additional pumping so dont be discouraged if you dont get results for over a week or so.

I was also thinking yeast is a possibility but with yeast you typically see a white residue on your nipples with yeast (many BF women have a problem w/ yeast after a dose of antibiotics).  An infection is also a possibility but your symptoms are not really consistent with that.  My personal guess is that when you were pumping the shield position was a little off and may have effected the blood supply and/or nerve to your nipple.  Something like that would usually resolve on its own BUT since you are BF the suckling may or may not hinder this.  You could try a warm compress to see if that helps and if your symptoms continue for more than a few days or get worse you should see a doctor.

[mlb1234]

I have both a manual and electric pump and I have to say the manual was painful to use at first whereas the electric one has never hurt me.  
Also I think trying to pump 3 times one hour is too much and that may also be why you are hurting.  If you try to pump once and you don't get much after about 10 minutes then wait at least an hour to try again.  Take a break, drink some water, get some rest and then try again later.  It does take awhile for the body to make the milk (or at least to have a "pumpable" supply in your breast and not just a tiny stream).

[Kim1989]

i think ive leaning towards giving up. i dont think i can do it anymore and i really dont have the money for one.

but a part of me is like "no no dont give up" i dont kno i guess im going to miss that : (

but thers no white anything on my nipple or boob and its not itchy its just hard and is painful not itchy though

[spade22]

You can look into renting a pump from the hospital.  Thats what I do and the model I have (which is close to $1000 new) is about $40 a month - you can also rent it for a little over a dollar/day which is nice because it gives you the chance to see if the pumping is going to work for you.

When you say "giving up" do you mean the pumping or BF in  general?  You said you were starting college in a few days.  Are you also pumping because of that?  Who is going to look after Domi?  Not being with him 24/7 will really hard for the first few weeks.....

[Kim1989]

ok now my nipples bleeding. just that one. it doesnt hurt but its bleeding a decent amount

[chinesebones]

Maybe a blocked duct?  I get those every time I forget to drink enough water, or I don't nurse often enough, or I wear a too-confining bra.  It feels like a closepin is on my nipple all the time, and nursing- especially the initial latching- makes my hair stand on end.  Eventually I get a white blister which if necessary I gently open with a sterilized needle.  Sometimes when it's resolved there's a red mark, and at least once it bled while nursing.  It's always on my right side, which is the more productive side.  When I feel it starting, I drink more water, take lecithin, and nurse as often as possible.  Taking a hot shower beforehand also helps.  Just my two cents- I hope whatever it is, it gets better soon!

[Kim1989]

i felt a lot of paine whne i posted this. but then last night...i didnt feel anything. the pain was going away but then i was bleeding. i dont feel pain anymore but im like scarred of messing with that nipple or having dominic nurse on that side because i dont want blood to come out, and im scarred i will feel sharp horrible pains from it.

you said its always on your right side because its your more productive side....

ha its on my right, but my left is the productive side


but you think it could be a blocked duct im experiencing? i have like no clue about these nipple/breastfeeding issues. i havent had any problems all 6 months

[chinesebones]

Sorry I don't know what it is, I was just giving you another option.  I'd go ahead and nurse- you don't want to lose your supply on that side.  It's gross, but dd has drunk bloody milk at least once- I saw it running down her face.  She didn't seem to mind though- vampire baby.

[Kim1989]

lol ill try and nurse him on that breast. it wont hurt right thought. i usually think of blood = some sort of pain!

[chinesebones]

I hope it doesn't hurt.  Again, I can't say.  If it keeps being a problem, you should see a doctor- you don't want to develop an infection.  Pretty much for all breast problems, emptying the breast frequently is the right thing to do.  I just use Lamaze breathing during latch-on when it's sore.  
Have you cut down on your pumping?  Maybe that was the problem?  Also, I have a Medela manual pump, but it won't cause let-down without dd nursing on the other side, so unless you're using a hospital-grade pump the amount you get isn't indicative of how much Dommy's getting.
I've had so many nursing issues that it's been tempting to give up, but when dd's sick or upset and nursing helps her calm down when nothing else does, I'm glad I stuck it out.  Even if you just nurse a few times a day- it doesn't have to be all or nothing.
BTW I thought of you yesterday- it was a situation where there was a slim, slim chance that I was pregnant again, and while I was waiting to take a test, I thought "maybe I'll post to the board and ask if I could be pregnant just to annoy Kim!"  (I'm not, phew!)

[tiredbuthappy]

sounds like a sore. i got those often while pumping. they would bleed like crazy into the milk. it is safe to nurse or pump and feed the milk. to stop the bleeding while pumping, i would actually put a big glob of lanolin on the sore while pumping. pink milk creeped me out and this prevented it.

the next step is to heal the sore. the quickest way to heal it was using nipple shells. they look silly and i couldn't wear them out, but they would heal the sores within a day. you can also use johnson and johnson nonstick firstaid pads. that was dh's idea and it worked well. what was happening was that as the sore healed, it would stick to the nursing pad or bra. so as soon as i took the bra off, i would rip the scab open again. the nipple shell kept all materials off the nipple and the johnson and johnson's nonstick pads allowed me to look normal in public while allowing it to heal.

to prevent the sore from getting infected, you can do a saline soak. dissolve some salt in a cup of warm water and dip your nipple in to it, or put some of the solution on to it.

the final step is to prevent it from happening again. if it happened from pumping, your best bet is to make sure that you use a little bit of olive oil on the base of your nipple while you pump. it reduces the friction. also, turn down the setting.