So, I have determined that I have mastitis... anyone have any secrets to tell me? How to survive mastitis? Or better yet, how to make it go away faster? I'm doing Emergen-C, cold packs and hot showers... anything else?

Also, how long do you wait until just giving in and calling the doc for antibiotics? I've never had this before :(

Call the doctor if you are sick..like flu symptoms..fever, chills, etc. If you haven't gotten there yet, hot packs and showers and massage the clogged area as much as you can. Feed baby on that side more often, and get in bed and stay braless all day..rest as much as you are able. Feed kid as often as he'll let you on that side.

For me, a really hot shower, putting hot water directly on teh spot and expressing while I massage it in the shower helps a lot.

But, seriously, if you are showing signs of illness, get the antibiotics..:D

I used to get mastitis all the time(I determined later I had OALD), and here is what worked for me,

5-6 cloves of raw garlic a day, chop it up into pill size pieces and chase it with oj.

grapefruit seed extract, liquid form, you can take it like 3 times a day, 10-15 drops in a little bit of water(it is crazy bitter, but this stuff works like a charm)

Lots of hot showers massaging the plugged area.

Nurse as frequently as possible, and doing breast compressions while nursing and after into a prefolc or something

And if it was super plugged I would put a little bit of peppermint oil on the affected area(not near my nipple however because I still wanted baby to be able to nurse)

If you start running a fever you should call a doctor or a nurse line. Good luck, mastitis is the worst, I hope you get well soon.