Tuesday, January 18, 2011

When mastitis kicks you in the hooters.

My husband called it.

He told the doctor last week that we would probably end up in the ER sometime during the weekend since they had no good suggestions on how to wean. God forbid they tell me to do something and then give me a clue as to how to do it.

Dammit he was right! It gets worse too!

They had to admit me. ADMIT ME!

Essentially on Thursday about 5:30, I started getting the chills and shakes which is my first sign of getting mastitis. I went to the mirror to check out the girls and sure enough Bossie was bright red. Hubby drove the hour home, packed us up, and we headed right back into Anchorage. The ER doc looked at me with sympathy and hesitantly said we probably needed IV drugs. Yep, bring it on man. So we did. When they went to discharge me, they checked my vitals and found out that my pulse was running in the high 140s. Yowzers. Yep, I don't get to go home. Sleepy hubby and son finally headed home around one to get some rest.

The next three days I spent being dowsed with three different types of antibiotics to cover a broader spectrum and plyed with fluids. The doc had me start pumping every three hours again which sucked since I had worked so hard at weaning over the past week and a half. By the second day, Bessie had joined in the fun and turned lobster red. Meanwhile, I felt like doggiedoo and could barely summon the energy to text or talk to my family.

The whole time I laid there being stressed because I had work to do and no internet access. S-T-U-P-I-D. But I had deadlines. And so I laid there like an idiot stressing, trying not to stress, and then passing out because I felt so damn crappy. 

When I wasn't stressing, I raged about being sick again. This episode finally made me hit the wall of patience with this mastitis crap. I got pissed off. Honestly, since baby E was born, I have been on a cycle of getting sick, going to the ER, taking antibiotics, and then taking another week and a half to be better. Then a week or two later, I would repeat the cycle. Once I made my peace with stopping the breastmilk, I was kind of excited that I might get off this roller coaster. Yet, in trying to do this safely (and with no guidance from the docs), I just ended up in the hospital. 

When you put this into perspective of the fact that before baby E was born, I spent eight weeks on bedrest. I have been in a bind physically since this summer. 

None of this negates the fact that I'm happier than anything to have E with me. I just would like to be healthy now so I can give him the best care possible and also enjoy this time with him!

So now I'm home, chugging down antibiotics and trying to get as much rest as possible. Please let this be the end of this crap!

For my final words tonight, let me say that my hubby is a rock-star. While I was away from my baby boy, he took fantastic care of him and even started getting him on a sleeping schedule. I can't tell you how much I appreciate having a hubby who is infallibly reliable. 

xoxo


25 comments:

  1. That sounds awful friend!! I'm sorry you had to deal with that!

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  2. Ouch, I hope this was the end of it!!!

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  3. Holy smokes, woman!! I don't even know what to say!

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  4. Sorry...hope you stay out of the ER so that you can be home with E.

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  5. Mastitis sucks! Every time I read a story, it brings me some nasty little memories and I always have to thing REALLY?? Ugh... Mastitis sucks!

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  6. :( Do they think they have it under control this time?

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  7. Holy cow - I'd be pulling my hair out by now! Did they give you any kind of weaning schedule to work with now???

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  8. Dude. This sucks! Sorry, and hope your boobs are better soon!

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  9. UGH!! I am so sorry and you are right you have done enough time in the hospital. I hope that this is the end of the drama for you.

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  10. Seriously? SERIOUSLY???? Please tell me there is now a plan for weaning? Please? I'm so sorry sweetie. Glad you have an amazing hubby to help you through it all.

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  11. Oh Jen, this sounds SO miserable! And it sucks that no one gave you good advice on how to start reducing your supply. I really hope this is your last battle with mastitis. Feel better soon!

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  12. I don't know how you endure it. I never had it and my son weaned gradually but I've heard there is a shot you can be given to stop the milk production. Ask a doctor about it. Mine stopped completely when I went on an birth control that contained estrogen. it may help to get in touch with a La Leche League leader in your area. I found them most helpful.

    http://www.lllusa.org/web/AnchorageAMAK.html is the link for the one in Anchorage. I hope you find some relief soon.

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  13. I cannot believe this is happening again! Is there a specialist you can consult with? This is just crazy! I hope you can get this figured out soon... (I've also heard that birth control pills can dry up your milk supply.)

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  14. YOUCH! Sending you well wishes, sleep and vino from Chicago. Hang in there and tell your girls to behave! (Found you through ICLW because I love the name of your blog!)

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  15. Here from ICLW--WOW what a horrible story!! I hope things get better soon!

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  16. Here from ICLW - that is awful! I feel so lucky I never had mastitis. Sorry to hear you've had such trouble breastfeeding, too. Just feel glad you were able to do it for 3 months, and glad that soon you'll be feeling healthy again.

    As far as a plan for weaning, I would think the hospital stay would take care of that for you. Since you're pumping anyway, can you give E the milk, or are you taking meds that make it unusable? Then can you gradually cut down on pumping til you stop making milk?

    I'm sorry. Hang in there.

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  17. Wow! I'm impressed by your strength and endurance through it all. I hope this finds you feeling better by the minute. Way to go on the weight loss by the way!

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  18. First time visit to your blog via ICLW week. Glad I found it, after a few hours of reading most of your journey I'm caught up to this post. What a story! You inspire me, with all the trials & tribulations and what a blessing your little baby boy is!
    I'm considering IVF via D/E and I'm glad that I got to read your journey.
    Congrats! What a cutie pie he is!
    The C's
    ICLW #161

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  19. It's okay to say that everything isn't going perfectly, no matter how happy you are as a new mother or how wonderful your baby is. It's great that you got the medical care you needed and have the support of your husband. Good luck with weaning your son. I hope you have seen the last of the mastitis.

    Lisa

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  20. I had the 'luck' to mastitis myself. OUCH, Girl! that hurts. Get better soon! #190

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  21. I can't imagine the frustration of what you've been going through. I hope that you're feeling better and that this will be the last time you have to deal with this.

    (Here from ICLW)

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  22. Oh my gosh- that is absolutely horrible :( I did not realize mastisis could be that bad- I had a milder case of it when I was first breastfeeding. I hope your road to recovery is complete soon. Breastfeeding, contrary to what I had assumed before doing it, is just not easy. I just wrote a post on Thursday about this- and so many people shared their stories all unique but all pointing to the difficulties- though the reward? Well worth it I think.

    Enjoying your blog and will be adding you to my reader- I love that about ICLW- finding other great bloggers in the blogosophere :)

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  23. Oh my word! That all sounds awful! Glad to hear there is some silver lining to it all (sleep schedule!). Gah!

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  24. Oh gosh! So sorry you're having to go through this right now. :-( Hoping it clears up soon for you and that you're pain-free. Serious kudos to your husband for picking up the reigns while you were away.....silver lining! :-)

    ICLW #67

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  25. Wow! I'm new to the breastfeeding thing and I didn't realize it could be so serious! I hope you are feeling 100% soon!

    Happy ICLW!

    P.S. His lashes are to die for!

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