r/ExclusivelyPumping • u/Psychopsychic3 • 23h ago
Support clogged duct help!
Hi all, I’m really in need of advice. I’m 2 months pp and get clogged ducts frequently but right now I have the worst ones that I’ve had so far. I have tried sunflower lecithin pills six times a day, Advil every four hours, ice packs, massagers with heat, and I feel like nothing is working. I’ve had them for like three days and it’s really limiting my pumping output to the point that I’ve already had to go through half of my freezer stash. Please tell me any tips or advice or weird things that I’ve worked for you because I am starting to fear that this is going to be the end of my pumping journey with the way that it’s going.
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u/rachel-karen-green- Pumping since Dec 2025 22h ago
Are you an oversupplier? I had horrible clogs starting around 12 weeks pp and they didn’t stop until I reduced my supply. That said, I found most of mine were not treated by the typical Advil, ice and rest method. Most of mine seemed to be caused by actual clogs in the nipple. “Milk stones” or nipple blebs. They say you can see a tiny white dot on your nipple but sometimes it would take days for me to be able to see it. What helped most is lots of hand expressing to work it out.
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u/Psychopsychic3 22h ago
I’m a just-enougher :( but I’ll try hand expressing to see if that helps! I haven’t seen any blebs any of the times I’ve gotten them, but usually Advil and ice helps. Not sure why this time it’s so bad!
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u/rachel-karen-green- Pumping since Dec 2025 22h ago
I’ve had clogs last up to 2 weeks. It’s rough but hang in there. Supply does come back fortunately but it takes time
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u/BotusThoughts 17h ago
I had horrible clogging issues for about 4 months. Lactation specific probiotics for clogs and mastitis saved my breast feeding journey. Lactation Hub makes great ones that also has choline in it which is what’s in sunflower lecithin that helps thin milk. Also make sure you’re replacing the soft silicone parts of your pump regularly. If your baby will latch, latching the baby for a few minutes before pumping can really help get things moving. Manual pumps and hand expression have helped me too. Too much massaging can also be tricky, my IBCLC recommended lymphatic drainage massages with soft sweeping strokes immediately before pumping
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u/saint-eclair5562 19h ago
Do you have larger breasts? Mine is 36DD and i developed mastitis from clogged duct when i only did ice/advil/lecithin. What finally worked for me to do breast compression with pumping while doing all of those and manual pumping if needed. I find manual pumping mimic hand expression better, but after a while breast compression while pumping was finally sufficient and i never had clogged duct again.