Harder than I thought
I'm not posting nearly as often as I should, or as much.
But God, it's hard.
My clogged duct resolved itself, no thanks to the medical industry. My OB gave me the number of a clinic that does "ultrasound" on clogged ducts. She described it as "physical therapy for your breast." I kid you not. Apparently, the ultrasound is not the kind that takes pictures of your insides, but actually sends waves through the milk ducts to break up clogs, as the therapist massages it.
It all sounded very last-resort'ish to me, but I was willing to give it a try. Unfortunately, the clinic didn't have any opennings for three weeks. Three weeks. When I told the woman at the clinic that I couldn't wait three weeks for this duct to unclog, and that I was seriously considering stopping breastfeeding (I didn't bother explaining that I was exclusively pumping; how many people get that?) unless this got resolved, she told me she would try to fit me in at another clinic, and call me back.
Can you tell the end to this story yet? Of course, she never called me back.
Thank goodness, the clog has stopped being a nuisance. It's still there, I can feel it under the skin; but it's shrunk quite a lot, and doesn't hurt anymore at all, and hasn't effected my milk supply. So I think of it like asbestos: as long as it's not messing with me, I won't mess with it.
One of the advantages of pumping is that you can always tell when your breast is completely empty. You don't have to wonder if the baby is totally emptying the breast, or if there's still some milk in there that might clog. So you would think that since I'm only pumping, I would get less clogs. But no such luck. I don't know why. Maybe it's because my breasts are so big, I simply have more ducts, and therefore a higher probability of them clogging.
So, moral of the story: there are rumors of clinics who can do "ultrasounds" on clogged ducts, but so far, those rumors are not verified. Back massagers, however, really do work. And they keep working long after you don't need them anymore for your breast. Like on your back, for instance.
But God, it's hard.
My clogged duct resolved itself, no thanks to the medical industry. My OB gave me the number of a clinic that does "ultrasound" on clogged ducts. She described it as "physical therapy for your breast." I kid you not. Apparently, the ultrasound is not the kind that takes pictures of your insides, but actually sends waves through the milk ducts to break up clogs, as the therapist massages it.
It all sounded very last-resort'ish to me, but I was willing to give it a try. Unfortunately, the clinic didn't have any opennings for three weeks. Three weeks. When I told the woman at the clinic that I couldn't wait three weeks for this duct to unclog, and that I was seriously considering stopping breastfeeding (I didn't bother explaining that I was exclusively pumping; how many people get that?) unless this got resolved, she told me she would try to fit me in at another clinic, and call me back.
Can you tell the end to this story yet? Of course, she never called me back.
Thank goodness, the clog has stopped being a nuisance. It's still there, I can feel it under the skin; but it's shrunk quite a lot, and doesn't hurt anymore at all, and hasn't effected my milk supply. So I think of it like asbestos: as long as it's not messing with me, I won't mess with it.
One of the advantages of pumping is that you can always tell when your breast is completely empty. You don't have to wonder if the baby is totally emptying the breast, or if there's still some milk in there that might clog. So you would think that since I'm only pumping, I would get less clogs. But no such luck. I don't know why. Maybe it's because my breasts are so big, I simply have more ducts, and therefore a higher probability of them clogging.
So, moral of the story: there are rumors of clinics who can do "ultrasounds" on clogged ducts, but so far, those rumors are not verified. Back massagers, however, really do work. And they keep working long after you don't need them anymore for your breast. Like on your back, for instance.
posted by pumpmom at 12:42 PM
1 Comments:
Great blog (I came via Cecily). I never pumped exclusively, just for work, but I had to go away overnight a few times, and found that without fail, I would get clogged ducts in one side after around 18 hours. So even though it feels like you're emptying the breast when pumping, the baby must be more efficient some how.
I take my hat off to you for managing for so long!
Post a Comment
<< Home