Very tender breasts...

Okapi42

...no, I don't mean chicken breasts.

Not sure this is the right place, but here goes: every few months, my breasts develop big lumps - sometimes the size of golf balls - that are very sore. I've been to see a specialist about it and she says it's benign, it's just glandular tissue and it's probably swelling because my hormones are out of whack.

While that's reassuring, it doesn't solve the problem of these things being annoyingly painful, especially if I then do high-impact activities like running or riding horses.

Anyone else around here have a similar problem, or better yet, a solution?

lilpoindexter

Id see another specialist. This isn't typical.

RobinvdM

I would get a second opinion, or at the very least find answers to these questions from the person who diagnosed you. I would assume they would have reasonable means to prevent prolonged discomfort. Frankly, if I were regularly dealing with random uncomfortable lumps forming (and going away I assume?) I would definitely want a lot of answers especially on the how to prevent them, and then on the how to cope with them on active times.

Good luck!

JenniTheVeggie

I second the second opinion and see what he/she suggests.

dynamitegalxo

your lymph nodes might be full/backed up. a lot of times breast tenderness comes from having too much fluid in the area because your lymph nodes aren't draining properly. the lumps you feel may be just that. there are specific massage therapies that deal with draining lymph, it might be worth it to check out. either way, i'd get a second opinion to have something done about it.

good luck, i hope you feel better soon!

5ftnFun

I developed this problem in my late twenties & was told the same thing. I went to another doctor, and was told the same thing. Get another opinion, it's a smart thing to do. You cannot be too careful. I've found that if I watch the caffeine, chocolate, sodium, etc., it is not a big deal most of the time. I had to have a biopsy in 2008, but it was fine too. Get that second opinion so you know it's ok.

Edit: Fibrocystic breast disease ....is this what the doctor said by chance? That's what I have. Or had. I'm 51, symptoms are def better theses days.

JuliaLee67

I would get another opinion, maybe see if you can find a doctor who'll do an ultrasound.

I've had smaller lumps and thickenings in both breasts that came and went with my TOM for years, and I was always told by various docs that they were normal and I was just one of those women with lumpy period bewbs, but a few years ago, I developed a large, painful lump in one breast that felt like half a ping pong ball in there. My doctor sent me to a specialist who did a mammogram and an ultrasound, and it was a big cyst (I had two other smaller cysts as well). It went away on its own, and since I've cut way back on my caffiene intake (on both my doc's and the specialist's reccomendation), I don't seem to have those lumps/thickenings much anymore.

melb_alex

Oh wow this does not sound normal! I would get a second opinion

mjculbertson4512

May be Fibercystic Disease. Sore, tender, lumps, etc. I am still hard to take a mammogram and I am in menopause! Cutting caffeine, Vitamin E and Ibuprophen got me thru the tough stuff.

Did not let the surgeon aspirate any of mine. (long story, but I walked out of the exam room in a gown- :grumble: )

The best part is when your gyn asks if you do self exams. Yes ma'am I do, but how do I tell one lump from another.

iluvprettyshoes

Sounds like Fibrocystic breast disease. I've had it for a long time due to hormonal imbalances. Losing weight helped me. Thing is its harder to lose weight when hormones are acting up.

runbyme

I would get a second opinion...just because Drs can make mistakes but I would also monitor my caffeine intake. My breasts would get very tender every month and my Dr asked me how much coffee I was drinking. Something about the dense tissue in my breasts would get tender because of the amount of caffeine I was ingesting.

Quit drinking coffee=no more sore breasts!

My breasts look like a kids sack of marbles. Big lumps, small lumps, crazy lumps. I've had numerous opinions, mammograms and ultrasounds and it all comes back the same...dense tissue and benign lumps!

Good luck to you!

melindasuefritz

Id see another specialist. This isn't typical.

melindasuefritz

Oh wow this does not sound normal! I would get a second opinion

Ruthannlandsman

Hi

Yep been there!! Ive been told it was just blocked ducts, due to hormonal swings. Some things to try; limit caffeine, and alcohol. Add evening of primrose and vitamin E to your vitamins in the morn. Wear very supportive bras. Also try reading "The Breast Book" I forget the author.
For me, that ended with menopause.... but then the hot flashes began..... I just cant win!! lol

Hopelessone

The best part is when your gyn asks if you do self exams. Yes ma'am I do, but how do I tell one lump from another.
[/quote]

I can so relate to this ^^^ :huh:

I agree with everyone who said to get a second opinion. I have the same problem and have had 2 cysts removed because I was told they would keep getting bigger, but that they were benign . I have even had cysts burst during mammograms, it is scary when you don't know what is going on. Good luck

Okapi42

Sounds like Fibrocystic breast disease. I've had it for a long time due to hormonal imbalances. Losing weight helped me. Thing is its harder to lose weight when hormones are acting up.

Indeed - and yet, they all seem to say losing weight will be the key to solving the hormone problem (which caused the weight issues in the first place), so I'm trying my hardest!

Lots of you seem to find that caffeine makes a difference, so I'll try cutting that out (or at least reducing it) for a while. I don't drink a lot of coffee, but I do have plenty of tea.

Okapi42

(As for the second opinion - even the first one took long enough to get on the NHS!)

lilRicki

I was diagnosed with fibroids in my breasts, but they don't hurt. You need to get some biopsies done. They freeze your breast so it doesn't hurt. You'll bruise quite badly but that won't hurt either. I even had my period when I went for the biopsies so my breasts were already tender. You need to get them looked at. If they move or separate, they can hit your chest cavities. That's what i was told, so my lumps get monitored quite regularly.

Sabine_Stroehm

IF it is fibrocystic breasts try evening primrose oil. If I RELIGIOUSLY take 2 a day I can run all month. If I get lazy it's extremely painful to run for a good part of the month.

emergencytennis

I used to get a sore lump every now and then when I was in my twenties. I had a couple checked out by ultrasound and was told they were fluid-filled cysts that would come and go with my cycle, and so it proved to be. I was told to make sure my bra fitted well so that there was nowhere squeezing and everything was supported evenly. They stopped after I had breastfed my first child, but if you didn't want to do anything that drastic a warm pad helped with the discomfort.

I sympathise with your NHS delay, but if you were worried I would definitely pursue it. The squeaky wheel gets the grease when it comes to health services in the UK.

Okapi42

Hmmm, I might try the evening primrose oil as well, can't hurt, at least. I suppose it is somehow connected to my cycle, because they come and go, but every few months, they get huge and painful. And I work with kids, so I constantly have to stop myself automatically rubbing them...

BunkyBumBum

Fibroid cysts that are acting up, likely due to caffeine.

I had some and had them removed, there are more in there but the doctors don't remove them unless they are painful. I'd see another doctor or ask your doctor about fibroids, they're very common and mine hurt like heck (almost a stinging ache).

Caffeine makes mine act up, the ones I had removed were pretty much constantly painful, but every now and again I have a stretch where the remaining ones hurt a lot. I had them removed twice, the first was the size of a golf ball and then a year or two later I had two others removed, the surgeon said there were many more in there too small and numerous to extract.

MyChocolateDiet

Sounds like Fibrocystic breast disease. I've had it for a long time due to hormonal imbalances. Losing weight helped me. Thing is its harder to lose weight when hormones are acting up.

Indeed - and yet, they all seem to say losing weight will be the key to solving the hormone problem (which caused the weight issues in the first place), so I'm trying my hardest!

Lots of you seem to find that caffeine makes a difference, so I'll try cutting that out (or at least reducing it) for a while. I don't drink a lot of coffee, but I do have plenty of tea.

okay i was trying to stay out of this topic which sounds painful, mostly because I have not personally had this experience but I was drawn to it because it sound painful and like you might want to look into how nursing mom's soothe their breasts while you get 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th opinions whatever it takes to get some releif.

THIS is what made me chime in though. IF you quit caffeine KNOW that you may have withdrawals that can last up to 3 days and will entail fatigue and headaches. Hopefully you won't and/or they'll be tolerable....but i just had to mention it because with the amount of pain you're already in you don't need one more thing, right? So if you have to quit really slowly, weaning is fine and just research quitting caffeine or PM me if it gets confusing. I quit over the course of a year because I had to be really really careful. I'd hate to see you have the problems I did, but it sounds like it might benefit you.:flowerforyou:

Sabine_Stroehm

Hmmm, I might try the evening primrose oil as well, can't hurt, at least. I suppose it is somehow connected to my cycle, because they come and go, but every few months, they get huge and painful. And I work with kids, so I constantly have to stop myself automatically rubbing them...

Yeah, it would be good if you didn't rub them at work.:happy: Give it a try. Mine is totally cyclical too, but taking EPO all month makes it so so so much better.