Diagnosed with Raynauds in Nipples

Breastmates Product Recommendations: Raynauds Breast Warmers (special breast pads that have an internal thermo-reflective fabric to provide warmth to your breasts all day) Wool Breast Pads Wheatie Bags

Mums have shared their own experiences:

—-

 Yes! Had this at the beginning of breast feeding my 2nd child & it was excruciating:( Get the special pads from Franny…..they are magic. Pain was completely gone when using them! Good luck.

—-

 I completely agree with Abi. Had the same thing with my 2nd baby and ordered gel pads from Breastmates. Very painful even to have a shower let alone feed. But got through it. Good luck

—-

 Yes. I had been diagnosed when younger (my mother and sister have it). Get very cold hands and feet etc. and terrible circulation.
Both children: shooting pains in breasts when feeding. Dr thought it was thrush, but nothing helped. Finally Dr clicked it was Reynards. Sadly not much that helped except time. Keeping the breast warm helped a little bit.

—-

I had it with my son (now 5) it was horrible pain feeding through to about 7months and sometimes even after. The main thing is keeping boobies warm. It’s about circulation so as baby grows and his/her mouth is capable of opening wider the pain slows

—-

It got better about 6/7 months. I wasn’t sure why but that makes sense. Almost gave up breast feeding many times because of this. But now still feeding my 11 month old and no pain unless it’s really cold

—-

 I had it and used the wool nipple warmers from Breastmates in between feeds which helped. I was also able to successfully (after initial intense pain!!) breastfeed by using nipple shields. Don’t know how or why but this reduced the pain I experienced during let down. Good luck! At the end of the day though, if the pain is too much you may need to consider formula, but in saying that I am glad I persevered as I had a good result. I think though that if you are in intense pain every feed like I was initially before I used shields it can really get you down, and you would need to weigh up what is going to be best for both you and baby (because I remember being in tears every let down which made me anxious every feed, which can’t have been good for anyone!) Hope this helps

—-

Yes I had this too, my breast came right after bubs was about 5 months old, I bought breast pads from Breastmates and they were amazing also use to use a warm wheat pack on my breasts when going to bed.

—-

I have/had it after 6 weeks of thrush treatment I got a script for a 2 week course of nefedine and have had no symptoms since I also got mini wheat bags made which was a life saver while waiting for meds to work

—-

It was excruciating, I have heard it described as like a hot knitting needle being poked through the breast. Keep warm, try the gel pads & warm showers. It did go away after a time though & I continued to feed painlessly after that.

—-

Yip it was awful!!!!!!!!!! Not sure how I managed to bf for 9 months. My leg used to shake when I’d latch. It got better over time. I used possum nipple warmers which helped heaps

—-

I had Raynaud’s before I got pregnant. It affected just my fingers, but when I got pregnant it shifted to my nipples. Painful!!! And showers were excruciating! I used possum fur nipple warmers and that helped, but I was really worried about how I would go breastfeeding. I did a breastfeeding course before I gave birth so I could be sure I knew how to latch on properly etc. That way if there was any pain I would know it was the Raynaud’s and not technique, so I could get help straight away. I was told there are drugs you can take (vaso dilators of some sort I think) Ask your doctor about it. As it happened I was very lucky. The Raynaud’s disappeared completely after I gave birth. I haven’t even had it in my fingers since! Good luck. I hope you find a way to manage it.

—-

 Yip very painful, I have had it with both of my children, I just seemed to get use to the pain, some people take medication for it. I just made sure I was always warm. I wore merino breast pads and made sure my chest was covered wearing scarves etc. Make sure you only use dry heat as wet heat with aggravate it. So that is hotty not a warm flannel.

—-

Use the breast warmer pads or merino breast pads to keep warm especially over winter, I nearly gave up feeding because of it but I had an amazing midwife and lactation consultant, I have done a couple of courses of nifedipine from the doctor and now just take omega3,6&9 and vitamin B6 and its so much better I still have pains but nowhere near what they were it starts to get a bit better after the 6 week mark, wheat packs are a must as well

—-

After reading these comments, I have just found out that I had this for three out of four of my children, I just put up with it, since no one seemed to care when I told them it hurt a lot! Baby number three I ended up weaning at 12 months because it was so bad & getting worse.

—-

I have it too, finding it is getting better as babe grows, she is now nearly 7 weeks, although not pain free, getting better. Stay warm is the best advice ever, good luck, it will get better x

—-

Found expressing didn’t hurt as much so I expressed as much as I could and also topped up with formula. I didn’t find much else helped

—-

 I found vit b6 helped and lots of info on this website. I breastfed till 14 months in the end after awful pain till 4 months.

—-

 I have this and also in other parts of my body. I’m also a midwife. I have a fact sheet that I wrote which you may find helpful. If you or anyone else would like a copy emailed to them please send me a PM with your email address

—-

 I had with 1st babe- HORRIBLE! I found a warm/ bordering on hot flannel held on for a few minutes before feeding helped and pressure after(wedge your arm against for 5mins or so) It did ease as baby grew and was gone by about 5months

—-

Yes. My midwife diagnosed me with this. I used nipple shields for first few weeks. Was very painful for first few months(feels like bee stings). But am happy to say bubs is now 3 months and it has improved a lot. So I’m so happy I stuck with it!! Hang in there.

—-

 I also use olive oil on the nipples as it warms up the more you rub it in this helps a lot!!

—-

 It’s something that I have always had but didn’t know what it was until I had my first. Thought everyone got it. Cold weather always made mine worse also got the woollen breast pads which were great! Really helped reduce the frequency.

—-

 I’ve had this with both my babes. Babe #2 is a week old and at night feeds I put on my electric blanket when I get up, use a wheat pack during the feed and snuggle into my human heater (hubby) when I go back to bed, always bad when it’s cold. Once #1 was big enough (5mths old) it went away, I feed him till he was 20 months without issue

—-

 Yep – not fun! Obviously don’t have it as bad as some as eventually breastfeeding becomes comfortable, but definitely cold weather no good, nor is hopping out of warm shower into cold bathroom…excruciating!!! Second the special warming breast pads and hydrogel breast discs (from the beginning) from Breastmates – Franny is amazing. Think many many people have some degree of Raynauds and it has been underdiagnosed…but when you start chatting with mum friends, someone else will almost always have had it! Good luck!

—-

 Can I just say please make sure it’s definitely this and not Ductal Thrush. My doctors had no clue as to what was causing my intense pain, which also started at about 4 weeks. I also couldn’t shower comfortably or have anything over my nipples. Even the midwife and lactation consultants weren’t sure. Turns out mine was actually ductal thrush. Symptoms are very similar EXCEPT for classic signs of Raynards.  Nipples changing colour as circulation goes/comes back. And heat never made any difference for me. Those were my two only real differences.

—-

 Yes I had Raynaud’s which was incorrectly diagnosed as thrush, try to keep them as warm as possible, if you get pain massage your chest up around near your underarm. I actually was prescribed nifedipine from the doctor as well which helped

—-

 I feel like I must have this!! Baby is 12 weeks but at 3 weeks I was really struggling and they decided it was thrush and we treated.. But it keeps coming back.. And even just now after feeding baby and put him in bed I’ve hot really really sore and was feeling cold so put another layer on. How do you know it is it?

—-

 Yes, don’t give up hope, it gets better! I started each feed squeezing the life out of my husband’s hand! A wheat pack helped afterwards and my lactation consultant recommended drinking a cup of tea before each feed (something about caffeine affecting blood flow) but I have to say that not much shifted the pain besides time. By 3-4 months, breastfeeding was very bearable and now at 7 months, I never have pain anymore. Good luck, you’re doing a great job!

—-

 Yes I had this with my first baby. I use to use wool beast pads and placed a warm wheat bag on my breasts when I went to be and night. It was pretty painful and my nipples white. I breast feed for nine months and just got use to it. Second baby now 4 months and don’t have it this time around.

—-

 Wheat bags are great, take magnesium too, and remember to avoid the fridge/freezer section at the supermarket. It does get better!

—-

 Yep. I had Nipple Vasospasm during both pregnancies, and after both of my children were born. It was so bad with my 2nd that I ended up on medication. If you want to PM someone for support or questions, feel free to send me a message. I remember how hard and lonely it felt going through it all when I was suffering from Vasospasm attacks.

—-

I found if I kept everything else warm it wasn’t so bad, had the most trouble feeding one baby while pregnant with the next. Coenzyme q10 helped. GP’s will sometimes treat this with low dose of blood pressure meds too, one gave me a script but I never filled it.

—-

I think this is what I had. Didn’t know much about it and stopped breastfeeding at 3 weeks because of the intense pain. Midwife wasn’t helpful and I was told to “just feed through the pain”. It made feed times horrible for me, my husband and our baby. On top of this, my nipples were cracked and bleeding from a poor latch. I’m determined to give breastfeeding another go with my next baby, hopefully we can plan a summer baby next time.

—-

 Yup, me too. Fed my twins to nine months, 80% of the time in pain. Itty bitty Wheat bags and a down filled vest were my life savers.

—-

—-

 Get some nifedipine. It makes it SO much better. Along with merino breast pads and heat packs. Your GP may not know much but a lactation consultant will know the dosing – It’s usually 30mg slow release once a day. It basically cures it. You will need 2-6 weeks of treatment only not permanent medication. I’m so glad the LC convinced me to take it – I was so miserable with pain and it is good to have it cured in time for winter

—-

 Ibuprofen can help with any inflammation as well. Caffeine is something to avoid.

—-

Yes. Keep warm and get some meds from your doctor. Perfectly safe for bubs and will only need to take for 2-4 weeks.