Stopped Breastfeeding a Week Ago and Breasts Are Still Tender

Hi - I remember this took a really long time. Give it a full 7 days and if you still feel ill, I'd call the dr. The warm showers and Aleve may help, but remember needing a full 7 days to feel back to normal. Good luck.

my breasts still felt engorged with my son for about 2 weeks. If you really feel flu-like, I would be worried about infection....I would demand to see your doctor or even see if pumping just a little will take the edge off.

Hi,
Have you tried cabbage leaves yet. you wash them then crack them, so the vaines soften up then just put them in your bra overnight or if your home during the day. This dried me up in no time. Oh yeah and put them in the frig. first, becuase if they are cooled it helps with the pain.

I remember, after breastfeeding my older son until he was nearly 1 year old, that it took a solid two weeks for the pain and discomfort to go away.....I'd give it a few more days and just take anti-inflammatories (Motrin, Aleve), as needed to help. Additionally, if you are having redness/chills/fever, etc, you might have mastitis and you should likely contact your OB.

Good luck...it does end, eventually!

Mine were sore for a while, maybe 2 weeks or so. I used cabbage leaves in my cups 24/7 and it helped. But the chills and flu like symptoms are Mastitis and you'll need a round of amoxocilin.
I also expressed just enough milk to feel better but not enough so I'd make more. While on the antibiotics I also heated in the microwave an old sock full of dry beans and applied it to the lumpy areas and tried to massage them too. It hurts but it helped.

Hello. When I stopped nursing my daughter at 15 months she was only nursing one time a day by this point (just before bed). My breasts were sore and engorged for a couple of days. I then let her nurse one time before bed on the third day and after she did this, they didn't hurt any longer, nor did they get engorged again. Luckily, she didn't want to continue nursing, it was her way of getting "one last time" I guess and for me, it greatly relieved the pain.

I know every person's body is different, but this was what helped me.

I wish you an end to your discomfort soon.

R.

I had Mastitis 3 times while breastfeeding my son. It was one of the most painful ailments I'd ever been through (imagine trying to pump!) I feel for you! I would guess that's what it is, flu like symptoms, high fever, lumpy, swollen breasts? This is going to sound silly but it worked like magic for me. Cover your breasts with chilled cabbage leaves, you'll look ridiculous but after about 3 minutes, you should have relief. Make sure you have a towel handy for you may leak. I can't explain it but a nurse from my church suggested this and it seemed like the cabbage drew the infection out in just a few sessions. Good Luck to you!
B. S- mother of 2 perfect little boys

I recently weaned by son, who was only getting a small feeding in the morning, and there was no problem... When you say you feel like you have the flu, do you have a fever or chills? I don't want to worry you, but do you think it could be Mastitis? You might need an antibiotic. I got Mastitis earlier, during breastfeeding, and that is exactly how I felt...

Hope you feel better. :-(

When I weaned, ds was only nursing once a day, and I didn't have any of those symptoms. I'd suspect mastitis and give the cabbage leaves a try. You might also look on www.kellymom.com for foods that dry up milk. I know that peppermint can lower milk supply.

If you have a fever and chills you could very well have mastitis; sometimes taking a long hot shower or placing hot wet towels on your breasts can help, so can expressing a little milk to relieve some of the swelling will help. It can take a week or so for your hormones to get in sync with stopping the breastfeeding, and it is uncomfortable. Keep bugging the doctor if you're really worried and it doesn't clear up by 10 days, or if you feel sicker.

I have heard that if you put cabbage leaves in your bra it will dry your milk up. Good luck & I hope you are feeling better soon

Put some cabbage leaves on em and you'll be back to normal forever -- or till the next one:) -- in just hours! Midwife told me, I love her:)

You are going to laugh but this works and it feels good! An elderly volunteer was in the hospital when I had one of my three children and she told me to take cabbage leaves, separate them from the cabbage head, place paper towels between the leaves and put them in the refrigerator. After they are cold, take out two leaves, put them in your BRA (yep, your bra) and it will help dry up the milk. It is a perfect fit!! However, I cannot look at a truckload of cabbage the same. TRY IT, IT WORKS!!!

Hi A.,

I know you must be in pain and I think the only think you can really do until the milk dries up is to alleviate the pain. When your breasts become engorged it will probably help if you take a warm shower to help release some of the milk without too much stimulation. Also, if you can get the shower to help you I would try to express some milk by hand just to empty them a little bit. These are the things that helped me when I had the same problem... I hope these tips work for you. Have a good night and best of luck to you.

You should not have flu symptoms fever and chills. I had mastitis everytime I traveled w/ my DS for some reason, like 7 times. Go get antibiotics right away, don't wait !! It only gets worse if it's mastitis and it can make you very ill. About 24 hours after starting antibiotics you should feel much better. Another symptom of mastitis is a red sort of sunburn-ish area on the breast. Cabbage helps engorgement but antibiotics will stop infection.

HTH,
L.