Please note that I decided not to show any photos of my abscesses because they are too gross. Sorry.
Lily was nursing so well from my right side, but was not latching on correctly on my left. Because of that, my nipple cracked and I stopped nursing on my left side. I bought an electric pump because I didn't want to stop breastfeeding. Meanwhile I continued to nurse on my right breast and supplemented some formula when needed.
Week 1: January 22, 2012 to January 28, 2012
My left nipple started feeling better and I started nursing on that side again. Even though Lily was nursing good, she wasn't getting full and would stay at my breasts for hours. It was exhausting. After a weight check for Lily we were told she wasn't gaining weight so I decided that I would primarily pump and feed her my milk from a bottle, still supplementing with formula. My left breast started feeling sore but I didn't think too much of it. Not until one night after a shower, I looked in the mirror and saw that my breast was super red. Even at that point I thought that maybe it just had to do with the hot water from the shower pounding down on it.
Week 2: January 29, 2012 to February 4, 2012
I showed my midwife, Dale, the redness of my left breast because it wasn't going away and it turned out I had a clogged milk duct. She wrote me a prescription for an antibiotic and said to massage with heat. She told me to fill the prescription if I developed a fever. Being the person I am, I never thought to take my temperature until Saturday, February 4th. Even after feeling like major crap Thursday, February 2nd and Dan telling me that I looked worse after my shower that night and sent me to bed. All day Friday and Saturday I had the chills, but never thought it could be due to a temperature. I just thought I was tired. I finally decided to take my temperature Saturday night because the clogged duct on my breast was in a couple of areas and one of them was so large it looked horrible. My temperature was 101.1. Uh oh, I really did feel like crap!
Week 3: February 5, 2012 to February 11, 2012
I called my midwife, Dale, Sunday and she advised me to start taking the antibiotic right away. I filled the prescription and after taking the antibiotic Sunday night and Monday, the really bad looking clogged duct started opening up and oozing puss. It was gross and hurt like hell. Luckily, Dan stayed home from work both Monday and Tuesday because I was in so much pain I unable to pick up Lily.
On Tuesday I went to see Dale with my mom while leaving Lily at home with Dan. She told me I had an abscess and I needed to go to the ER right away. She told me to go to Nassau University Medical Center because they have a breast surgeon there that would be able to help me. My mom and I went back to my apartment and she stayed with Lily while Dan went with me to the hospital.
At the ER they took my temperature and it was 99.4. I was seen by a very nice surgeon, Dr. Lee, after being told I would be admitted. She looked at my left breast and said that I have three abscesses. She started squeezing out the puss from the one that opened up. It was so gross and it really hurt. She excused herself from the room for about ten minutes. When Dr. Lee came back she said that I wouldn't have to be admitted if I continued to drain the abscess and come back to the surgery clinic the next day, Wednesday. When Dan and I got home, I retook my temperature and it was 102.2.
I went to the surgery clinic in the hospital on Wednesday with my mom. I saw Dr. Lee again and the breast surgeon, Dr. Gonzalez. Dr. Gonzalez took one look at my breast and admitted me. I was to have surgery Thursday to have my breast lanced and drained. He hoped that all three abscesses were connected. Could I be that lucky? Of course not. It turned out that all three abscesses were on their own and they were much deeper than Dr. Gonzalez thought they were. I came home Thursday night.
On Saturday I had to take out the packing (long gauze stuffed into the holes) from the three holes in my breast. It was bad. Over 12 feet of packing was removed. In one of the holes was a little over 5 1/2 feet of packing. It went on and on and on. I thought I would never get through taking it all out. Now my left breast looks as though I have been shot three times. I have to wear a compression bra and I'm on two different antibiotics and am taking percoset for the pain.
I go back to see Dr. Gonzalez tomorrow. Hopefully everything is healing well and I'm on the road to recovery. Because I have to wear the compression bra all the time since the surgery, I have stopped pumping my breast milk. Lily will be on formula all the time now.
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