I'm two months shy of 46 and having intermittent periods and much stronger mood swings. Those were my only signs of being perimenopausal up until last month (apart from some increased hypoglycemia). A small lump appeared (it feels like it is just under the skin) between my breasts, just slightly above where my bra strap lies. The fact that it grew there in a 24-48 hr period reassures me that it must be some kind of cyst or boil or something like that, but it was still unsettling, because I've never had something like that before. It grew into a good-sized lump, about the size of a cadbury creme egg or maybe a little smaller than that. It was sore to the touch, with some slight skin darkening over the top of the lump, and stayed that way a couple of weeks. Then it shrank down a little but it remains to this day. It first appeared in mid-August. It was fairly sore and sensitive to pressure from the bra strap, but now it is no longer sore, except it twinges every once in a while.
Does anyone else have this? And did you treat it it any way and get rid of it? I tried warm towels on it a couple of times, but that seemed to have no real effect. Other than that, I've left it alone. I'm just wondering if this is something to do with perimenopause or more likely something outside of that. I haven't had either fibroids or cysts before, that I've been aware of. Thanks for any advice.
Mara

Hi Mara,

It sounds like it might be a boil. Is it soft and mushy when you touch it, or is it hard? Sometimes they'll just disappear, or they'll rupture on their own and just be oozy for a while. Could you have had an irritation that your bra strap aggravated? Or could it be a bug bite?

Anna

I was thinking it might be a seborrheic keratosis, but I don't think they normally get that large. But you might want to look it up anyway.

Mara - I have a largish cyst on my back that got infected. I spent the whole summer on antibiotics and doctor visits to "squeeze" the stupid thing. If I were you, I'd have it looked at by a doctor.