My gosh. I thought I was the only one in the world, and here you all are! I'm 55. I had an hysterectomy when I was 41 and my ovaries removed at 43. I have been on estrogen only HRT since I was 44 with no issues. I had a normal mammogram six months ago. I started taking methotrexate for arthritis six months ago and my extremely sore and swollen breasts seemed to start when I moved to the higher doses of that drug. I even had some evidence of lactation from my right breast. My GP ordered hormone tests and they all came back in the normal range except SHBG which is a protein that binds to sex hormones to carry them around in the blood stream. I also had a mammogram which showed enlarged ducts with some debris. (My boobs are trashed after breast-feeding five kids but nothing they did is anything on this pain and tenderness.) I missed a couple of doses of methotrexate (taken weekly) and my breast pain seemed to start to diminish. I also stopped my HRT because I was so desperate for some relief. After a month, the pain has substantially subsided but I still have a residual tingly burn and they haven decreased much in size. I am yet to have repeat hormone tests or a repeat mammogram. I will try the flaxseed recommended above and post anything else that changes.

I need really good advice! My baby is now 4 months and has had thrush since he was only 3 weeks. I've tried just about everything I know. Nystatin, gention violet, vinegar water, baking soda water, those things just don't work. And I wash my nipples after each feeding and apply clotrimazole cream. I'm also using probiotics with 42 billion active cells per capsule 3 capsules a day, and I've been giving baby some as well. My daughter had the exact same problem and delt with it for over a year then we went to Mexico for vacation and I saw a doctor there and he gave me metronidazole for her, 3 weeks of that and her thrush was gone. But the docs here in Canada won't give anything but Nystatin. Can anyone help me?

Does anyone know how long is too long for a baby and mother to have thrush? My baby is 7 1/2 mos. old and has had it practically all her life! I believe this case is so bad because of a misdiagnosis by her first pediatrician. I told him about the thin white patches when I first noticed them before I even left the hospital after having her! He told me they were just milk curds from breastfeeding and not to wipe them away. Later on I told him about the "needle-like" pain I would feel every so often in my breast when I would breastfeed, and about the pink-pearly look of my nipples. I was told by the doctor's associate what I was feeling was pain from a crack in my nipple that was so small I couldn't see it. That kind of insulted me. I know the difference between pain on my nipple and pain deep within my breast. I did some research on my own and came across organic Mamaki tea from Hawaii. I drank the tea myself (my baby won't take rubber nipples). Those leaves worked wonders! I saw remarkable results starting the first day of drinking the tea. Then I got a bad sinus infection and was given amoxicillin. Right after taking that, with no success, the yeast came back. Then my baby caught some bug that had me rushing her to the emergency room with 104.9 fever! She was given antibiotics, antihistamin, and tylenol. She now has the worst case of thrush I have even seen with my own eyes! I myself am now getting over having a clogged milk duct which, once "unplugged", resulted in that one duct giving out "salty milk" (thankfully the salty taste hasn't affected my baby's nursing at all). I almost stopped nursing on that breast until I read nursing frequently is one of the best things you can do for a clogged duct. The saltiness is finally going away after about a week or so (curiosity led me to see what the milk from that duct tasted like after the lump started going down, since the milk was in there longer than normal). Unfortunately, I myself am no longer covered by medical insurance, so I'm doing alot of very careful self-dianosing. The baby still has coverage, thank God, but now I'm wary of just following doctors orders without a little research of my own along with it. I have since been given Nystatin for her by another doctor. It hasn't worked and just makes by baby throw up when I give it to her! I've tried gentian violet also, but now realize I didn't try it for nearly as long as I should have (was afraid because no one around me was even remotely familiar with g.v.). After some researching, I will now try the gentian violet again and Mamaki tea also (this time I will give her some directly as well as drink it myself as I did), along with some other alternative treatments such as garlic tabs and lecithin mentioned here on this informative website I came across during the same research session which led me to this forum. Go to: http://breastfeeding.com/all_about/smith_anwers1.html I'm near my wits end, yet hopeful that I'll make my way though this bout with the yeasty beast for the baby and myself. If anyone out there has any other helpful suggestions, please don't hesitate to share it!!! Other helpful sites: Concerning Plugged Ducts and Mastitis http://www.lalecheleague.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVMarApr93p19.html Helpful advice on the use of Gentian Violet http://www.angelfire.com/md2/moodyfamily/thrush.html P.S. Breast Milk is EXCELLENT to use on eczema! I saw miraculous results after using it on the advice of another mother from a baby eczema forum. Thank God for these forums! Good luck to us all! :) Here is a link that might be useful: Treating Thrush and Yeast Infections

Yes, SIDS still happens in the most careful loving homes. The last "S" stands for "syndrome" and the term is used when a child under the age of one has an unexplained death. Parents should know the recent statements from the AAP re SIDS prevention are receiving enormous criticism from medical and lactation circles. The controversy is complicated but you get an idea from the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee statement linked below. (I thought this link was more readable but you'll find the statement on the net through many resources/professional organizations.) The papers cited within are well worth following through links. It may well be that down the road different recommendations regarding bedsharing etc may be offered for breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding infants. Risk factors for SIDS continue to include exposure to cigarette smoke and not breastfeeding. The controversy stems from the fact that both separation and pacifier use compromise breastfeeding and, ironically, breastfeeding is one of the most important steps in protecting infants from SIDS -- in addition to many other well-documented protections. Mothers and babies are physiological regulators of one another, and breastfeeding assures this physical relationship in simple ways. Of course not every mother and child share a nursing relationship. Still, both nursing and non-nursing parents deserve to know the thinking behind the theories and the research, however incomplete. Too many mothers and fathers worry when they may very well be doing exactly what their babies need -- instinctively. The time with little ones is so fleeting! Many documented SIDS deaths involve some combination of alcohol / drug abuse, obesity, inappropriate bedding. And sadly, some babies die under the most loving and thoughtful care -- and we don't know why. I'm posting in the hopes that someone passing by will worry a little less, and enjoy her child a little more easily tonight. For those with interest, you can find some studies on the internet to catch more details. I have a friend who lost a baby to SIDS and I cannot imagine her heartache. She would say sometimes you do everything and your baby still dies. My heart goes out to anyone here who has lost a child. To protect our babies today and to come, we need more controlled research and accurate information free from bias, economic or cultural. (Re authors of letter below. Dr. Naylor heads Wellstart International and has an interest in anthropological understandings of breastfeeding. Dr. Lawrence is the editor of the classic reference, "Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession," now in its 5th edition.) Here is a link that might be useful: U. S. Breastfeeding Committee response to latest AAP SIDS statement