Possible Injury Following Mammogram

amy4141

Hi All,

Just curious if anyone has experienced anything similar. I am recently 30 and have been going for yearly mammograms since I was 25 (mom diagnosed with breast cancer at 32). While I know mammograms can be painful for some women depending on various factors such as breast density, etc., I felt lucky in the sense that I never experienced anything outside of minor discomfort. However, last Wednesday, I went for my routine mammogram and I noticed it hurt more than I have ever experienced on both sides. At the time, I did not think much of it and went on my way. I did receive a call back for additional images and ultrasound, but the report did not seem to be too alarming at this point.

Oddly, within two days following the mammogram, both breasts have been increasingly painful, swollen, lumpy/hard feeling, and I have developed pain under both my arms. I did not have any symptoms of pain or "lumps" prior to this appointment. I had seen my regular doctor just before the mammogram who did a breast exam and a full physical and nothing was painful or able to be felt. I am a little nervous that I have received a call back, but also afraid to do any further damage since my breasts are quite uncomfortable since last week.

Has anyone ever experienced this? Are injuries possible from a mammogram? It just seemed I left with more problems than I went in with!

Thank you in advance for your input! It is greatly appreciated.

Recap

I had a casual conversation with a tech when I was in for my mammo-guided core needle biopsy and asked if they have ever split open someone's skin and she said no, but she heard of implants rupturing during the mammogram. Technique is everything and I think that includes when they lay out your breast on the plate before compressing and also speed of compressing. Slow down is my motto. But I also notice when I am retaining fluid the mammo is far more painful.

NotVeryBrave

It could be a factor of where you are in your cycle and hormonal changes. I would recommend letting them know what you're experiencing currently. They may want to wait to do any further work up.

amy4141

Thank you both for the replies! I had the mammogram done the week after my cycle so I thought I should be alright, but it was very strange. My breasts are very slowly feeling better almost a week later, but the pain under my arm is still there. One interesting that did happen was that the machine broke after my images. It was very warm in the office and the air was not functioning so they were worried about it shutting down and low and behold, it did. Just the whole experience was strange this time. Hopefully everything will be alright when I go back next week and get a second look

Egads007

My last mammo was a nightmare. The tech (very young) was afraid to hurt me, she said I was her first survivor, no matter how many times I told her I was good with it and to go ahead and make a crepe out of my breasts. I wanted good images. She positioned me very strangely, and couldn't seem to get me positioned properly...took forever. I ended up with bruising on my breastbone. Of course I got a call back for a diagnostic mammo to take place 11 days later. My cancer side breast started aching 3 days after the call back. I told myself it was psychosomatic but the ache didn't get better. The new mammo went fine and they did an US which showed that I had a bunch of benign cysts which got even more tender after US (tech & rad went over them like a steam roller to be sure) It took a few days to a week and the ache disappeared. So yeah, sometimes I guess there can be injuries or stirring up of cysts. Hang in there, most findings are benign. Keep us posted!

gb2115

I wonder if it's delayed muscle soreness from tensing during the mammogram?

amy4141

Possibly! This is all just very strange to me. I have not been diagnosed with anything and have never had any previous surgeries or trauma to my breasts and had zero issues the weeks leading up to my mammogram as well as the day of. Doctor gave me a breast exam and full physical and everything looked great, including the blood work that came back. It is now one week since the mammogram and my breasts are still swollen, hard/lumpy feeling. The pain is slightly better, but under the arm next to my breasts on both sides is still really tender. If this does not improve, I am afraid to go for more images and cause more damage.