Breast cyst

I woke up Friday night with my left breast in PAIN. I started poking around and found a lump. Saturday it was still painful, but better, Sunday again painful but better and Monday the same. I called and got into the gyn today. She felt it and said, wow, that is big. Then she asks if I had my mammo last year (which i did in June) and then she says something about my dense breasts. At that point I ask her if I should panic. She said, no, I think you have a cyst, but we need to schedule you for a diagnostic mammo and ultrasound, which I will be going to tomorrow.

My question is (assuming it is a cyst) what about this pain? It's better than Friday, but it's still pretty painful. My cycle is due to start this weekend. Will that help? Will I need to get off of birth control pills? I'll be talking to my doc, but I was checking to see what kind of experiences others have had.

I never had a cyst that was particularly painful, but on 2 occasions I had 2 cysts that developed piggy-backed and made for a visible lump in my boob. The first time was pre-kid and they were drained...they drained probably 1.5oz. fluid -- golfball sized blob. Same dumb cysts refilled when I was nursing, so my doc chose not to do anything with them, for risk of introducing bacteria and giving me mastitis. They resolved on their own.

Which reminds me, I'm like 6 months overdue for my own mammo.

My gyn said they probably would not drain it due to the exact reasons you mentioned. She said if it continues to be painful enough it can be surgically removed. I'm just hoping that when the cycle is over it's smaller or less painful or whatever. The pain seems to come and go. I'm guessing after it gets mashed tomorrow with the mammo the pain will probably be loud and clear.

Oooh, so sorry, thekarens. I used to have (prior to menopause) very sore breasts as a part of the PMS but never any large cysts like you're experiencing. After my period the pain would resolve completely, and my breasts would shrink a cup size. I can only imagine how uncomfortable a mammo with a large, painful cyst will be, and I wish for you that it goes quickly -- and that the results of that and the ultrasound show that it's nothing to worry about.

I used to have a large cyst in my left breast, it would get very painful before my period. Once I stopped birth control, and coincidently started menopause, it went away.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and kind words. Once the diagnoses is confirmed I'm going to ask my gyn about going off the pill. I'm only taking it to control bleeding, not for birth control so there's got to be other alternatives.

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

I'll just copy/paste the post I put in another thread a few days ago (mentioned to avoid confusing anyone).

I take a form of progesterone for heavy periods. It doesn't have the side effects that full bc has. (Medroxyprogesterone acetate). Have considered doing an ablation, but not ready to go there, yet.

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Thanks Muirenn! I'll mention it to the gyn. I was fine with the idea of the ablation, but the gyn wanted to try the pills first.

Ablation won't do anything for erratic/short cycles, FYI. If I didn't hate the way BCPs kill my libido I'd be back on them. At 42 my cycles are stupid short (21-24 days, typically), but I bleed for a solid 8 days. After ablation my periods are mostly spotting, but it's still a PITA being visited by AF so much.

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Originally Posted by zoom-zoom

Ablation won't do anything for erratic/short cycles, FYI. If I didn't hate the way BCPs kill my libido I'd be back on them. At 42 my cycles are stupid short (21-24 days, typically), but I bleed for a solid 8 days. After ablation my periods are mostly spotting, but it's still a PITA being visited by AF so much.

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I guess it affects everyone differently. I have 2 coworkers who had it done and neither of them has had a cycle since.

BC has the same effect on me, but it's worth it not to have have those heavy short cycles. However, it's not worth breast cysts.

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Originally Posted by thekarens

I guess it affects everyone differently. I have 2 coworkers who had it done and neither of them has had a cycle since.

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They're still having cycles, even if they're not bleeding (but I envy their total lack of flow...lucky!! Mine is greatly reduced, but still there). Short of removing ovaries there's no way to actually stop the hormonal cycle before menopause, unfortunately. I suspect I've been battling perimenopause for nearly a decade, already (IIRC I was ~35 when my cycles went from ~26-28 days to 24-26...and now <24) so I hope I'll stop with the cycles nonsense early. I almost certainly had endo since my first period at 12 (heavy bleeding, severe pain)...wasn't diagnosed until my tubal at age 30. My doc tried me on 10 days/cycle of 200mg Prometrium for a few months to help regulate things, but it didn't do squat. Fortunately I otherwise feel great and haven't had any other issues, am just tired of the inconvenience of it all.

I wish I could remember if my first cysts were while on BCPs. I think they probably were, but I don't know if they were due to the hormones or not. 2nd time I wasn't on BCPs, I don't think. Not sure how wonky my hormones would have been while lactating, though. I didn't get my periods back until DS was maybe 9 months old and I think the cysts came and went around the time he was maybe 6 months old.

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Originally Posted by zoom-zoom

They're still having cycles, even if they're not bleeding (but I envy their total lack of flow...lucky!! Mine is greatly reduced, but still there). Short of removing ovaries there's no way to actually stop the hormonal cycle before menopause, unfortunately. I suspect I've been battling perimenopause for nearly a decade, already (IIRC I was ~35 when my cycles went from ~26-28 days to 24-26...and now <24) so I hope I'll stop with the cycles nonsense early. I almost certainly had endo since my first period at 12 (heavy bleeding, severe pain)...wasn't diagnosed until my tubal at age 30. My doc tried me on 10 days/cycle of 200mg Prometrium for a few months to help regulate things, but it didn't do squat. Fortunately I otherwise feel great and haven't had any other issues, am just tired of the inconvenience of it all.

I wish I could remember if my first cysts were while on BCPs. I think they probably were, but I don't know if they were due to the hormones or not. 2nd time I wasn't on BCPs, I don't think. Not sure how wonky my hormones would have been while lactating, though. I didn't get my periods back until DS was maybe 9 months old and I think the cysts came and went around the time he was maybe 6 months old.

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I can't blame you for hating the inconvenience. I'd hate it too. That's a major PITA.

I never had problems until my 40s and then my cycles went wonky with the heavy irregular bleeding, which is why I got put on the BCP. To my knowledge I've never had a breast cyst or if I did it was small and I never noticed. Certainly I never had pain in the past.

Ow. Hope you get it sorted ASAP.

The wonky cycles are a normal part of perimenopause. I started with that when I was around 37-38 and was miserable for 10 years, when my periods stopped at age 48. My already horrible PMS (physical symptoms) got worse. I did have a breast cyst when I was around 33, but after a mammo and an aspiration, nothing came of it and it's never returned.
Glad to be done with all of that! The worst thing was, my periods stopped for 11 months, twice! I thought I was done and then it started up again. Hot flashes were nothing compared to the PMS that i suffered with almost 2 weeks out of every month.

Funny thing, they tested me for perimenopause and said I wasn't going through that so then they did a biopsy on my endometrial lining and cervix. Those both came back fine.

Just got done. The radiologist says it's a lipoma. She says it's fine, but wants to biopsy due to the pain

Hope your boobies are 100% clear!

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

That is what they told me, too. Pain generally, but not always, is a good sign.

Did it show on the ultra sound, or the mammogram?

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It was barely on the mammo. They wouldn't have found it if not for the ultrasound. It was headed close to the arm pit

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

What I learned today is that it's easy to see cancerous cells on a mammo. Cysts often require the ultrasound to be detected.

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That's both interesting and good to know.

Double yay--first Muirenn, now you. I've had two needle biopsies and one surgical biopsy. So I don't say yay frivolously. :) But so very glad it's a lipoma.

Thank you! It's a very scary experience as you know, but I'm glad all is well and it's given me a new appreciation for what other women have and are going through.