Please please can anyone shed any light on this peri madness?? Ive been having reccurent pain in and under my left boob for months on and off.It freaked me out so much to start with,which then with it came HEALTH ANXIETY so fierce and all consuming,ive made several trips to various Dr,s last one took me more serious and ran blood tests examined me,all blood came back NORMAL,couldnt really give me an explanation other than breast pain??!! Ive calmed down a bit about it as it went away(as it does)was replaced with 2 frightening heart weighty pressure episodes (sorry i,m rambling) to now appearing again,its an achey(not hurt)but i know its there pain.But what i really want to know is how can HORMONES keep targeting a particular area,i think if it was in both breasts i,d feel better(as when i was pregnant and thats hormones)so why does it just affect one and can after a while the pain and muscle it affects turn into something else?? Ive stopped wearing under wired bra,s as that aggrevates it more,ive read on costo and feel could be a bit of that,It just freaks me that these hormones can reap havock on our bodies! in my better moments my brain accepts it but when i,m down it scares me.
Anyone any thoughts? Anyone having theses boob pains?
Thankyou if anyone replies i,m feeling low. Can feel health anxiety getting a grip AGAIN Grrrrrrrrrrr
Kath S x

The only time I know I STILL have hormones is when my boobs hurt and thank God for the moment they don't. When they hurt I know my period isn't too far off...since it is all out of whack.

I hope you feel better soon.

Kathy I have had this also and know the anxiety it brings on as you feel like it is something else other than just hormones.

I also have had other breast issues, have you had a mammogram recently. I have cyst in the breast area that can be painful at times and the pain seems to radiate to other areas. The official condition is know as Fibrocystic Mastopathy and there are some thing they suggested to me to lessen the symptoms.

Refrain from coffee, tea, cocoa and cola.
Refrain from smoking.

Diet
High vegetables and fruits
High fiber
High Fish, Chicken and Veal
Low beef and pork
Low fat
Low dairy products

Vitaims
B Complex
C Complex
E 600 IU one a day


Have you considered taking something for the anxiety as that may help your worries at least til you get through all of this.

I know how scary this can be as I still have to battle this everyday. But I find the more active and engaged I am in other things the easier it seems to deal with.

I have a LONG way to go to get back to a normal life but I am going to try to take everyday and do that or I know I am only going to spiral into a place I really do not want to be.

You are not alone and there are many people here for support.

Hugs to you....try to relax and know there is an end to all of this at some point.

thankyou SO much for replying its a dark lonely place when youre down,so calming to know others are on this journey.I will cut out the above i,ll give anything a go.I think FEAR is my worst enemy and not knowing or understanding,as i said some days are easier than others then WHAM panic fear dread.
I think what i find so confusing is the fact Dr,s give very little meaning to this time in our life that makes me think can ALL this be peri,SURELY if it is this bad and this is ALL peri WHY isnt someone recognising it and dealing with us?? If i hadn,t tumbled upon this FANTASTIC site i,m sure i,d be in a worse mess than i am!And look at how many women are members and we are trying to help each other because nobody else is.
I can,t thank everyone enough here How lovely that total strangers can post back to you and you feel Sooo much better.
I feel i may have to visit Dr again i can,t keep living at this high level of dread every few months,i also am the sort of person that needs answers and i keep digging until i find an answer(not always the right one)rather than let things be.
I will definatley cut out your suggestions timeless thankyou,and i havent had mammogram Dr thought at my age(43)wasnt nessesary i may go back and ask for one,had various blood tests he said anything untoward would show up in one of tests,everything came back NORMAL,which poses the question how can they be normal when i feel so bad??
Oh how many years will this last!!!
Sincere thanks Fried and timeless Means alot
k x

Do you have any problems with heartburn/GERD/acid reflux? Mine is pretty bad and when I don't take care of it, I get stabbing aching pains that feel like they are coming from my breasts.

shot in the dark.....
when I had left pain, it was from the underarm area in the middle of my breast and below.
What I have learned since going to Physical Therapy for something else...is that when I am at the computer I would always lean with my left elbow n the table...creating a pinched nerve effect, muscle problem.
Pain in the rib area can also be pain referred from the back. In other words, because your pain is in the boob area, dosen't mean that is were the actual problem is!

OH!! I had not thought of that--and just last night I said in a closing remark that I had to get out of this computer chair because my posture was so terrible and I sit like a pretzle...thanks so much for adding this!!! And today I spent very little time at the computer and I have felt better than I have in days...also tried a day without caffeine (nice caffeine headache out of that) and less motrin needed--also took a nice long walk in the sunshine. Wishing everyone brighter tomorrows too!

Hi Webalina,
Haven,t suffered with acid etc YET!!! although i do get indigestion rather bad,have to get someone to rub my back for me to get it up???like winding a baby LOL this isn,t a dignified process is it?? So not sure if from that then,its an achey pain i get,trouble is i always think worse case scenario.
Dr did say it could be strain on a muscle also!!

When I was in my early 40s I had terrible pain in my left breast that went on for months. Of course, the more I worried, the worse the pain got. I had repeated mammograms, which showed really dense breasts, especially dense in the area that was painful - but nothing else. I didn't get much help from medical doctors (except some sympathy) but did get help from acupuncture. After a while - maybe six months - the pain lessened and gradually disappeared. But wait! That's not all! After almost ten years, it came back! (I'm 51 now). My most recent mammogram showed some "extra tissue" in the left breast so I have to go back for a six-month repeat mammogram next month. After bothering me for a few months, the pain on the left side suddenly switched to the right side and has stayed there for a few months. I'm really not making this up. The right side hadn't shown any problems on the mammogram. I have no idea what to make of all this. Of course I'm really stressed, and worry constantly even though my history with this shows that there's not necessarily any direct link between pain in a breast and breast cancer. So, don't feel so alone. Many women have problems during menopause and perimenopause, as you'll see on these boards. There's a decent number who seem to have significant breast pain that is just in one breast and doesn't seem to have any relationship to our periods. I suspect it's the pretty wild hormone fluctuations of menpause but have no explanations for why it hits one side, or, in my case, one side at a time. Hope this helps.

Let me chime in here. I am 53, one year post meno. I have been experiencing both chest (not palpitations) and breast pain/discomfort/aches for months now. It's getting much much worse. My breasts are so tender/sore at times that it is EXCRUIATING! I feel like I have 50 pound weights hanging off my breasts - and my breasts are TINY!!!!! The pain also goes into my arm pits and times and hurts so bad it almost "stings". It is scary and it truly wears me out physically. Nothing helps - vitamin E, evening primrose, heat, ice (all recommended). I am actually going to be scheduled for a chest MRI or cat scan this week because the pain is so bad.

I feel for you and hope we get some relief soon. You're not alone. Kathleent

thanks to all who have responded,it truly does make it easier knowing others have had same/similar experiences,it is a scary time with all these strange and unanswerable symptoms,feel like i,m going crazy sometimes.
k x

I have had many problems with GERD and everything else, to the point that i thought i might be having a heart attack, and no doctors wanted to listen, they just wanted to chalk it up to anxiety. I had a mammogram recently came back good, and a breast examine, scheduled to have some test on my stomach, I do know that this causes a lot of fears associated with these problems and glad to know i am not alone!

Hello, it's Pookie again. Been trawling posts and found this earlier one that you started. I have had very similar problems to you and wondered if you have seen an improvement, and if so how and when ? I am convinced that my anxiety contributes to my aches and pains butI am desperate for some relief and nothing that I try seems to help, apart from the reassurance I get from the lovely ladies on this site.
Hope you are OK.

Pookie

Hi Pookie,

I,ve too spent hours trawling the posts to find similar things.tried pm you again it must be disabled?
Can,t really say mine has gone it comes and goes sometimes my left ribs ache/sore and under armpit,then I get weired twinges buzzes/tingling in breast also,just drives me insane and health anxiety shoots thru the roof!!

even got re measured for bra thought that might help,it didn,t although the woman in the shop said suffers with the same thing,which made me feel a bit better,until my brain decided otherwise and went into panic again!
Have cut out caffeine,hasn,t made a difference!

I,m having another blood test tomorrow and go to breast clinic again soon,which I,m glad about yet so nervous.The last time I went he just examined me and told me to take high dosage evening primrose oil which I did and thought it helped BUT got an awful upset stomach,still don,t know if that or YET another symptom,so stopped taking them.

Does your,s have any cycle related pattern? and what sort of aches do you get?
Yes it,s a vicious circle "which came first" the pain then anxiety,or anxiety then pain,I,m sure mine was aches/pain then anxiety.

Can,t really offer any great words of wisdom to you,wish I could.
Have you been to Dr,s with it Pookie?

Glad you got in touch again

KathS

Dear Pookie
I am sorry to hear about your suffering with anxiety.It is the pits and yes it can lead to mild depression and all sorts of odd aches and pain.
Having suffered with anxiety for a very long time I do take Xanax on an as needed basis.It really helps to calm me down.I also do Yoga breathing and exercises and these help too.I have never become addicted and can go for a long time without any Meds. but sometimes my home circumstances really do highten my anxiety level very badly so do need the extra help.Anxiety tightens up the muscles which causes the pain to be worse.
Have you had a word with your Doctor about this as perhaps he could prescribe you a low dose anti-anxiety Med.
Please keep posting and I hope you will find something to give you the relief and peace of mind that all us women deserve!

God Bless
Elizabeth