Safest Way to Dry up Milk Supply, Have Mastitis Now

With my youngest two I didn't even want to begin breastfeeding but my milk had already come in and so my doctor recommended wearing two sports bras without an ace bandage and putting the cabbage leaves in my bra. It is cold but it helps with the pain and the milk did dry up. Blessings!

A couple of my friends used the "cabbage trick" and it seemed to work. I got back on a b/c pill that helped dry mine up. It worked great. I don't know if that is an option for you though? Some people don't ever use b/c, so I hope I didn't offend anyone! Good Luck!!

most everything i would say has been covered, but if you're still experiencing pain from the mastitis, get some castor oil from the health food store and rub that on your nipple and massage it into the lump. this cleared my mastitis up very quickly and was the only thing that worked...i had recurring mastitis until i finally tried this.

I don't know if this will work for you, but with my first daughter, i used cabbage leaves and it seemed to help. i bought green cabbage, seperated the leaves and washed them really good. I put them in the fridge for a while, when they were cold, I took two leaves and inserted one in each cup of my bra, keeping them there until they were warm, then I would switch them out. Put the used cabbage back in the fridge and get some cold leaves. I don't remember why this works, but something about the cabbage causes your milk to dry up. Just a thought -- i hope the pain subsides soon!

You can use cabbage leaves in your bra, change them once they start whilting-hope this helps!
Steph

I'm not sure this will work for you since you said that the binding with an ace bandage or sports bra wouldn't work but here is what I did......I didn't want to breastfeed at all - it just didn't feel natural to me so my doctor recommended that I get cabbage leaves and put them in my sports bra and it would dry up quick. I was a little hesistant to try it but it worked! I just put the cabbage in the fridge and changed them out several times a day and it totally dried them up within a few days. Good luck! Hope this helps!

I dropped one pumping every few days without a problem, starting with one of the mid-day times. You'll want to adjust your other times accordingly so you aren't getting engorged. Think of it more like extending the time between pumping. If you're going 4 or 4.5 hours between now, stretch it to 5 or 5.5 hours, then add a half hour every 3 days. Maybe pump at 6am, noon, 5pm and 10pm. I would drop the middle of the day sessions before the morning and evening ones. Then the evening one, then drop the morning one last. And I'm sure you've been told this, but DRINK PLENTY OF WATER to avoid plugged ducts (and more mastitis). It really helps.

I've heard that taking Benadryl or other allergy medicines (like sudafed) will help dry you up, but I don't think you're to that point yet because you're still pumping pretty often. That might be something to try when you're down to pumping just once or twice a day.

You've got a lucky little baby that his mom is going through all this trouble for him :-)

Why anyone would write you horrible replies with what you are going through is BEYOND me!!! I am sorry for what is happening and I know I breast fed my son till he was 13 months but had to supplement formula when he was 11 months. I really liked the Enfamil Lipil with iron and he seemed to tolerate it well. Not sure if you already picked one. If you are trying to get your milk to dry up I would think that by slowly spacing out the pumping that you will make less and less milk and it should reduce the amount you have. I do know that I still had some milk even after my son was 2 years old even though he had stopped breastfeeding long before. I hope you are feeling better soon!!!!!

I pumped exclusively for 8 months and quit cold turkey. I stayed home one weekend and took several warm showers when I felt full. After 2 or 3 days I had dried up. Hope you feel better!

Have you checked the bras you're wearing? If they're too tight/have an underwire, that in itself can cause mastitis.

My lactation consultant said to take an antihistamine to help dry it up quicker......that with dropping your pumping sessions will help.

K.

I found that exercise reduced my milk supply...but that may have just been me.

Yes, you can drop a pump every third or fourth day, this will give your breast time to adjust, that way you won't be so full for too long. When I weaned my girl I dropped one feeding a week, however I was only breastfeeding her 3 times a day by the time she turned one. You'll be ok just let your breast adjust, when they do they won't get so full.

Hi C. -
I am sorry for what you are going through. I had mastitis a few times and it is very painful. I am proud of you for nursing and for giving it such a great shot. It's very diffucult - you should be proud of yourself.

As for the mastitis (these are all suggestions my lactation consultant gave me), make sure you are massaging your breast in the area where you have the lump. It is so painful - but will help. I know you said you were exclusively pumping right now - which is great to help get rid of your mastitis. If your son is able to latch onto your infected breast, that will help. He sucks better than your pump. :-) If this is a possibility to have him nurse - point his nose to the infected section (I often got into some funky positions with my son to do this). By doing this, he will suck the hardest and relieve you more. Just a suggestion - I would try to not cut out a complete "pump session" (if that makes any sense) until after your mastitis is better. I am afraid if you drop one completely, it will be more painful in your infected breast.

I would drop your 10:30 or 2:00 pumping first. Then spread out the time between the other. Like maybe pump at 5 am and then wait until 1:00 - then pump again at 6 - ten before bed. You may get a little engorged, but after a couple of days you will notice a difference. That is why I think you might need to wait to drop a feeding until after your mastitis is better.

You're doing the right thing for you and your baby. I know it is such a difficult decision - but only you know what is best for you and your little boy. The first two months are the most difficult. The most important thing is your love - which is what he gets every second.

You're doing a great job. Keep up the great work. Take your time. :-)
S.

C.,

I wont lie I took some bad advice and did binding and so on when we stopped breast feeding and I will say don't do that. If you have a lactation consultant talk to her. If not, when I decided to talk with mine because I was in pain from listening to bad advise she told me to slowely increase the time between pumping, in doing that I would then drop a time that I pump off. I did that for about a week and a half maybe two weeks until I was pumping just once a day, I pumped once a day for maybe a week, I think more out of fear of leaking than anything else. But I think it was 3 weeks total and I was never in pain or felt too full. My daughter was 15 months old when we did this so it may take you a little longer since your little one was exclusively breastfeeding.
Hope this helps.
M.

Hi C.,

It is tough when you have to wean yourselve, but it can be done. I just did one less every 3 to 4 days. Your minutes thing, girl that is being patient!! Kudos to you! I BP for 6 months, so I feel for you, I never suffered Mastitis, but had several BF's who did, so you may just have to figure that part on your own.

I pumped every 3 to 4 hours, so I just cut out one of my times for 3 days and then cut out the other one, then another, then another...I could tell it was going down. Sometimes I had to stand in a warm/hot shower to get any relief because it hurt so much, so.....girl whatever works do it!!

Good Luck to you! You are a brave mommy!!

G. B.

PS...they use to give pills out to dry you out, but my OB said they were not safe anymore....

I totally agree with Stacey. I have never had mastitis but I am currently weaning my daughter. The first few days it is like engorgement all over again. Even now a week into it there are times that I feel bruised. So I would most defiantly not do anything right now that is going to cause you more pain. Well not unless you have good pain killers. Don't feel bad about your decision. Breastfeeding is only best when is works for you and your baby. With my first I never breastfed because I knew that shortly after he was born I would have surgery. He never had an ear infection and never got sick. Literally. We couldn't ever get him to gain weight but he never was sick. With my second I breastfed for three months, when he was 3 mos old I had another surgery. He, again, literally had an ear infection every month. It was miserable. Then my daughter. While breastfeeding anytime the boys got sick she did too. There are benefits to breast feeding but in my in my experience my bottle fed baby has been the most healthy. You are a good mom. You are doing a good job. Weather you breastfeed or not has nothing to do with that. On a comical note. I stopped breastfeeding my middle child the day of surgery. Cold turkey never thought twice about it. Now as I am weaning my daughter I find that it hurts and sometimes bad. I thought to myself. This did not hurt before, why this time. And then it dawned on me. Duh I was on morphine.

Hi There,
I too had mastitis and the sports bra thing worked great for me. My nurse suggested to skip the ace bandage and just wear 2 sports bras. It took a week, but worked great for me. I used the cold cabbage leaves to cool the heat from the mastitis. Good luck

Oh C., I know how you feel. I have twins that I tried to nurse, but didn't work, so I pumped for 4 months, and had mastitis 6 times. My Dr. finally asked me how long I was going to do this to myself before I stopped, that is the day I stopped. Well, not exactly, but started the process. I also pumped 4 to 5 times a day, and then went to three, two and one all in a two week period. I thought, by calculations that it would take me about a month to dry up, but it didn't take that long. I didn't use anything to help with the process either. Just to give you an idea of how much I had to dry up, I could pump about 8 to 11 ounces each sitting. I didn't completely dry up for about 4 more months, but for the most part I was dry. (No leaking at all.) I will tell you if any way possible that you can get your little one to nurse for 5 minutes at this point it will help your mastitis go away a lot faster. You have done a great job. I've been told that the first 6 weeks are the most important, and you've done that, a lot more than a lot of women do!!! Anyway, good luck to you, and congratulations on your little boy, what a joy!!

I would also slightly decrease the amount you are pumping each time to signal your body to make less milk.

I feel for you. I went through the same thing. I wanted so bad to just breastfeed forever, but it was problem after problem and then I realized that if I were going to be a sane mom then I needed to stop - I was so miserable pumping and trying to get my daughter to latch that it made my milk supply low. Infections, bleeding - you name it I saw it. I just stopped and went as long as I could and when it started to hurt I pumped and put it in the freezer for my baby. I think it was gone in less than a week, but there is not a black and white way for everyone. I would also research things like food that might decrease the milk supply. I am so sorry you have been through what you have but the baby has gotten 2 months of breast milk that will lay the foundations for him forever. Good for you for making it through this long. Maybe next time will be easier. Good luck

I dropped minutes and then entire pumping times. I also put cabbage in my bra. The sulfur supposedly drys up the milk.

I am going through a very similiar situation. I have been breastfeeding for over 10 months now and struggled with latch issues and mastitis off and on with no answers from doctors as to why I was getting it. I then went to only pumping as well and the plugged ducts and mastitis continued. I was however able to find out what all my issues stemmed from. It was actually from pumping. The attachment the hospital gave me that attaches to your breast was somewhat smaller than that which came with my pump bag but I used it becuase it was one piece instead of the two pieces that you put together when you assemble your pump. Either way what it came down to was the part that attached to my breast was too small (and I am by no means a busty lady) however when I went to a bigger size, I never recieved another plugged duct or mastitis again, I was even able to nurse. I loved breastfeeding after that and hope that this may help you. If you are choosing to stop, do it slowly. You have built your supply up by pumping and you will need to pump less and less. I recommend the reduction of time over skipping a feeding. It is less painful that way. When you get down to 5 or 7 minutes than it is easier to skip a feeding. Good Luck!

Hi C.,

I was exclusively pumping when I got my second mastisis. I just quit cold turkey and did the binding thing. It did hurt for a while, but it was the best way for me to stop.

Good luck! C.

Hi C.,

Don't be hard on yourself! I was unable to breastfeed my son and so had to exclusively pump also. I had been determined to do this for as long as I could but when he was 6 weeks I got terrible mastitis and was nearly hospitalised so along with my specialist decided enough was enough.

The traditional binding did not work for me, I dropped one pump a day for a few days then gradually dropped another and another etc... Something else I did was place cabbage leaves in my bra, sounds strange but a friend had done it before and I believe that that helped.

Good luck.

T.

C.,
The best way to dry up is to stop pumping! I know at first you will be really full, you can pump till your comfortable but don't drain yourself cause you will just keep filling up. Believe me, I have three kids one fully grown and have breastfed all three times. You have to stop distributing your milk or you will just keep producing it. Good Luck Take Care

I tried this and it worked great for me. Get cold cabbage leafs cleaned of course and put them around your breast but not on the nipple area or the ariola (sorry spelled wrong). Let it set on your breast until it is welting or course you will put them inside your bra. It helped my breast go down and the pressure felt better. I even slept like that if I didn't I would be so full in the morning. It made me sweat the first time but that was okay it was just more water weight. Try that it worked for me. Good luck.

I also beat myself up about stopping but I was hurting to bad to nurse or pump and my breast also cracked and bleed. I understand were you are coming from.