Should I go to the hospital?

October 26, 2019 1:48 PM

YANMD, I know. I have “non-breastfeeding” mastitis. I got antibiotics yesterday and have taken two doses - I’m two hours away from the next dose. I’ve been in bed all day with a fever And now a headache. I drank some lemonade and a little water throughout the day and I just feel really awful. I’m worried about sepsis. Do you think I should go to the emergency room?
posted by dawkins_7 to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

Can you call the prescriber and get their advice ( or whoever is on call)?
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 1:50 PM on October 26, 2019 [3 favorites]

I've had this. It's terrible and so painful. I'm so sorry.

What does your breast look like? If it's red and streaky, mark it with a pen to track any spreading. What is your temperature, and is it rising?
posted by DarlingBri at 2:04 PM on October 26, 2019 [4 favorites]

You don't say how many hours apart your doses are, but in my experience (had it twice) I think it took about 24 hours before I started to feel better. It really was just awful.
posted by The AhForgetIt Tendency at 2:21 PM on October 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

Can you call a nurse line? Sometimes they’re offered by insurance or else through your clinic. When I had mastitis the fever made things much scarier, like I couldn’t think straight.
posted by beandip at 4:20 PM on October 26, 2019 [2 favorites]

You might be dehydrated. Can you try getting a couple of glasses water down?
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 5:14 PM on October 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

Your mileage may vary but my rule of thumb is always that when I start to go on Google and look up symptoms, it means I should go in. If you are going to be up all night worrying about it, go in.
posted by ficbot at 9:06 PM on October 26, 2019

Based on what I learned a few hours ago from a podcast re sepsis, you probably don't need to be worrying about that (e.g., do you feel like you might be dying?—that's a commonly reported symptom). But there's no reason NOT to call your doctor if you aren't responding to the meds. Maybe call a pharmacist first and ask if the antibiotics should have had more of an effect by now.
posted by she's not there at 9:21 PM on October 26, 2019

Hopefully you are feeling better now, either because the antibiotics kicked in, or you went to the ER. So I'm just leaving this here for future reference: when my mother had sepsis recently, she could barely open her door, let alone post on the internet. As she's not there indicated: when you have sepsis, you are very, very ill.
posted by mumimor at 7:18 AM on October 27, 2019 [2 favorites]

Call and ask if warm compresses or heating pad would help and if there's anything that can done for the pain.
posted by theora55 at 9:14 AM on October 27, 2019

Definitely drink lots of water. My rule of thumb is, if I think I should go to the ER, I go to the ER. Is your gut instinct about your health often correct? If so, go! Mastitis is awful; hope you feel better soon!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:21 PM on October 27, 2019

Best answer: I hope this question has been resolved for you already, but am writing to say that I have never felt as bad as I did when I had mastitis. It was absolutely flattening. I had never really thought about the phrase "flu-like symptoms" before then.

If the antibiotics don't help you feel better within 24 hours ask for a different one. I had mastitis three times before my lactation consultant said that most of her patients used a different antibiotic - and using the different one is what finally cleared it. Pretty sure dicloxacillin was the one that worked.

Drink lots of water, don't try to move off the couch before you have to.

Wishing you a quick recovery!
posted by Lawn Beaver at 9:01 AM on October 28, 2019 [1 favorite]