A customer at our Breastmates store recently shared her story about her breastfeeding journey and Raynaud's Syndrome. I want to raise awareness about its treatment, because diagnosis is only the first hurdle.
“When my first child was born after a traumatic labour I found breastfeeding incredibly painful - sharp, burning pain. As the days went on, the pain got worse and continued even when the feed had finished. The medical professionals had no answers because I had "beautiful attachment". Finally a lactation consultant diagnosed me with Raynaud's.
The telltale sign of Raynaud's is blanching of the nipple: the nipple turns white because of a constriction of the blood vessels, which causes pain. The nipple blanching can be hard to spot and unfortunately most medical professionals will miss it. I could hardly see it myself! (I have since heard of women who can see the blanching when they are cold, but this was not the case with me.)
To treat the condition, my GP prescribed me the medication Nifedipine (a 10mg tablet). Within a couple hours, the tablet gave me a migraine. After 3 months of stress I was forced to formula feed. This was agonizing for me - I had always wanted to breastfeed.
After the birth of my second child, I was incredibly lucky. The pediatrician who did my baby's routine check at the hospital knew about Raynaud's and suggested I take Nifedipine. When I told him about the headaches, he said the dose was too high. He told me to get a pill cutter, chop the tablets in half and take one half in the morning and one at night. The outcome was amazing! No headaches, and the breastfeeding pain was considerably reduced.
I have to add here that the pain was not completely gone. Perhaps if I could have taken a higher dose it would have been. So it still took perseverance.
But I found out how much the medication helped when I forgot to take it one day and the pain returned!
I have now successfully breastfed my daughter for a year. I was very lucky to chance that doctor. The doctor himself urged me to tell everyone, since the condition - and worse the treatment - is not widely understood in the maternal health sector..."
Of course, as with everything, you need to discuss with your doctor to make sure it's right for you.
A breastfeeding story as told to “Breastmates”
By: Breastmates - About the Author :
Frances McInnes is the owner of Breastmates Maternity Store, which is a website dedicated to maternity and Breastfeeding products. http://www.breastmates.co.nz
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