Hi, Lucy Towbin and everyone. We think this lady is having the same sort of
cyclic (as in menstrual cycles) soreness that many women have - and that it
is quite independent of the fact that she happens to be still breastfeeding.
Our observation is that it is more likely to happen as we get older, or may
worsen as we age. Various suggestions have been made as to why this may
happen and what may help alleviate the problem. So far we have had great
success in reducing the soreness when women have taken daily supplements of
1,000mg of evening primrose oil and fish oil (both can be readily bought in
capsule form). We've also asked the women to increase their weekly intake of
seafood. The rationale behind this is that the supplements have an
anti-inflammatory impact in the body, and more fish will supply more dietary
selenium which is selectively taken up by the breasts (according to a paper
written by an Australian doctor with the novel twin interests of nutrition
and preventative medicine). Many Australian soils are selenium deficient, so
our intake may not be adequate for  our physiological needs. (The bigger the
fish that the fillets come from, the more selenium should be concentrated in
the fish.) Anyway, one woman who was quite desperate with this soreness (but
no longer breastfeeding) tried this approach and rang back two months later
absolutely ecstatic that she was then pain free after many months of misery.

Robyn Noble and Anne Bovey, Brisbane, Australia