Prickly Pins & Needles Feeling & Long Hard "Line" in Breast?

GoldenGirls

I am awaiting an appt to have an ultrasound on a lump in my breast that doesn't really feel like a lump and wondering if anyone else has experienced similar symptoms. It feels more like a very hard vein or 'line' inside my breast that extends from behind the nipple to just a cm or two above it. It's smooth but very pronounced. I had also been having sharp stabbing pains in my nipple which led to my finding this in the first place. Around the same time that I have had this, I have also had a prickly feeling like pins and needles in my upper back--no idea if it's related.

Yesterday the doctor felt what I did and said he didn't feel anything in the other breast, but after having a good feel around this morning i feel a similar line or vein that is not quite as hard in the other breast and another one on the outside of the same breast as the original lump/line that also feels quite hard. I am not breastfeeding and don't even have children, so though it sounds like a clogged duct, I don't think it can be.

I have very lumpy large breasts and mammo 9 months ago said they were mild to moderatley dense. The left (the one they're concerned about) has been notably bigger than the right for approx. 4-5 years now, but again my entire left side from shoulder to leg is bigger as well. (Yes, I am lopsided!

Anyone have a similar lump that feels more like a hard line or vein in the breast? Or prickly pins and needles feeling?

MCurr

I have the same feeling it feels like its about the length of my pinky and it is in my breast almost in the armpit. Altho, the Dr says it just feels like thickening to her. I have recently started getting the falling asleep/cut off circulation feeling going down my arm to go along with the burning and pinching I already get in my underarm. Also, an irritating ache in my shoulder blade and a pulling feeling by my ribs. I had another u/s on Mon and my follow up with the surgeon is next week so I really dont know anymore than you do at this point.

bluepearl

Mondor's? BTW"thickening" is also one of the features breast cancer has....not to be dismissed as an "only". Lobular presents as this, but so does IDC since that was exactly my diagnosis and mine was not palpable except for a "slight" thickening easily passed by other than by a mammo which discovered it. ANY abnormality must be checked.

GoldenGirls

I just returned from my mammogram and ultrasound and though it's not the official final report, the radiologist was happy with all of the tests and said that she does not see anything. The tech who did the mammo also told me that while she could feel the same thing that I and the doctor felt, she believed by the shape and feel that it was just some hardened breast tissue. They compared today's images to my previous mammo from 9 months ago as well as other ultrasound images from the year before and just to be on the safe side have requested my mammogram images from a couple of years back before I moved to this area. They weren't sure how long it would take to get those and told me to always follow up with my family doctor who will have the final report in a week or two, but as of now she didn't see anything on the images. They normally wouldn't say much, but since I was visibly upset and anxious and they were aware of my mom's recent stage 4 diagnosis, I guess they wanted to make things a little easier. I don't think I will fully be able to relax until the radiologist has had the time to sit and examine things in more detail for the final report, but for now I am doing better than I was this morning!

Mcurr, I hope you get the answers you need and that it's good news! I was told that the prickly feeling could be coming from a pinched/trapped nerve in my back or even in the breast or chest area.

Red_Umbrella

Hi Canadagirl,

I've been dealing with something very similar. I've had a lump behind my aereola for about two years. When I push down on it, it feels like a firm roundish lump. But when I really feel it, it is more like a long tube. It's thicker than a vein though, but it's definitely more long than round. It's very hard and the edges are smooth. Does that sound like yours? I also have a prickly sensation it. Some days it is more like a shooting pain that radiates through my nipple. 

Over the past 20 months, I've had three ultrasounds on this thing, and it never shows up! I've been told it's so many different things by different doctors (cyst, fibroadenoma, dilated duct, normal ducts) and the uncertainty is driving me mad. I have a fourth ultrasound on Tuesday. At this point I'm not sure why they keep sending me for ultrasounds. I'm planning on insisting on something else if it doesn't show up again. I keep reading posts about lumps that don't show up on ultrasounds that turn out to be cancerous and it keeps me in a constant state of worry.

I hope you get answers soon and it turns out to be nothing! I'm glad to hear your doctors have been so proactive.

Scaredbigtime

I'm having the same exact symptoms. Waiting on my MRI results. Really frightened. What was your diagnosis.