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Prone to plugged ducts while on Whole30?


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I'm dealing with a whopper of a plugged duct, the kind I had when my son was a newborn (he's 12 months now).  

 

Reading up about them on Kelly Mom and apparently one cause of plugs is a lot of fat in the momma's diet--makes the milk so thick it gets stuck.  

 

I think mine is from a perfect storm of causes (abrupt end to night nursing, dry nipples possibly cracked, AND the extra fat this week).

 

A recommendation for plugs caused by fatty milk is to take lecithin, which supposedly emulsifies the fats so they don't clump and form a plug.  However, most (all?) lecithin is derived from soy, which we can't have, and I don't normally like to ingest anyway....

 

Any suggestions?  Is there any lecithin NOT derived from soy?  How can I keep my milk high in fats but low in fat clumps?

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Oh no, poor thing :( I feel like the end to night nursing could be the main culprit here, and maybe you can try other methods to clear your ducts (frequent nursing, warm compress, massage) before supplementing lecithin? I know frequent nursing is no fun with cracked nipples, but emptying your breast really helps. Good luck!

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Is this the one where it helps to put cabbage leaves in your bra and/or apply hot washcloths to the area? Intuitively a warm washcloth sounds like it might feel nice even if it didn't help unpug the duct.

 

I've never seen lecithin as a supplement, but, when I see it on ingredients lists, sometimes it lists as "sunflower lecithin" sometimes soy, so I would look around for a sunflower one if you go that route. 

 

AND I would be rubbing coconut oil on those nipples asap.

 

I hope you feel better soon.

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Thanks, ladies.  I've been applying coconut oil, an herbal skin salve (to help with the cracking/blister), and using several essential oils (lemon, lavender, purification, and thieves).  Also been using moist heat.  
My poor baby could tell that I was in a lot of pain while he was nursing (I was being a wimp about it), and bless his heart he stopped nursing and didn't want to latch back on for a while--he just cuddled me.  It was such a sweet moment, despite the pain.

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