Still worried

Lemonslemons16

I just had a 3D mammogram and ultrasound due to breast pain (everywhere from sharp pains at nipple to pain in the outer area near under arm.)

The radiologist said my mammogram looked fine and they didn’t see anything in the area of my pain on the ultrasound. I know she wanted to be reassuring but she was kind of dismissive when I brought up how it even hurt when she was doing the ultrasound. She didn’t mention anything about dense tissue as my MD had noted.

I asked her about my breast density and she said “not super dense” “somewhere between dense and not dense at all”. She said my density is pretty much average.

I should be reassured but why the pain?! No cysts were seen or anything. I have a meeting with a NP in the breast surgery/oncology dept tomorrow and I’m keeping the appointment. The radiologist said “come back at 40” (I’m 35). Should I ask for an MRI? Should I ask for another radiologist to take a look at my mammogram? Am I being neurotic? What is this pain? It’s not cyclic and it’s unilateral. And it’s persisted for maybe a year. What do I do now now

Laurenjeanine

I completely understand your concerns. I have been dealing with the same stuff since January trying to find answers.

The pain has decreased for me but the is still some pain in the area under my arm. Ive had 3 ultrasounds done, one of those being done on my neck since there was discomfort and everything came back fine including the mamo. I was told I had dense breast tissue and a small cyst but everything was fine. I asked for a MRI but insurance denied it based on the findings from the tests. No one can tell me why there is pain. Im also dealing with mid back pain that doctors just tell me to take advil for....

you are not being neurotic at all. Its very stressful and doesn't help when doctors give you the  brush off and its hard to concentrate on everyday life when there is an uncomfortable pain...

Did you have to have a referral to see a breast specialist? I have to beg and scream just to get any testing done.  

Lemonslemons16

Laurenjeanine,

Sorry to hear about your ordeal. I did get a referral to see a breast care specialist as part of my initial referral for the imaging. I’m not sure I needed one though... that could be dependent on insurance. I don’t need referrals to see anyone on my insurance (I just have fluctuating out of pocket costs if I don’t choose preferred providers). However, my insurance isn’t widely accepted... my local hospital does but some larger urban hospitals in my area don’t (or at least my out of pocket costs would be much higher.)I'm seeing a NP tomorrow at the Breast Care center where I had my imaging done. I have a long list of follow up questions.

I suppose my insurance may deny the MRI as well. I'm not sure I'll get a referral based on today's visit. The radiologist even said to me “I don't see evidence of cancer". She also said pain isn't associated with breast cancer which sort of made my heart sink since I've read too many accounts on here to the contrary.

My husband is on board with me continuing to pursue this... my anxiety is too much for me to just let it go. It's a hard pill to swallow that this pain is nothing... I know it's not within a radiologist's scope to tell me what may be causing my pain but she seemed also put off that pain was my own symptom.

Wishing you the best... I'll post updates

Lemonslemons16

Laurenjeanine,

Sorry if this is intrusive, are your breasts on the larger side? Our pain sounds similar. Though mine hasn’t really improved... though it seems really awful right now but I’ve been prodding that breast relentlessly for the past week.

I was a 40D and lost about 50 lbs but kept on wearing the same bras. They are a bit loose in the cup and they’ve seen better days but I just switched to a sports bra without wire to see if that makes a difference. So far, my back aches so much more than it ever did. So not really an improvement.

Did you ask for a repeat ultra sound or did they want to follow up since the pain persisted?

Just checked and MRI is something my insurance has to preapprove. I’m freaked that something is being missed. And admittedly depressed that I’m not feeling reassurance... I want to, boy do I ever. I just keep wondering WHAT is causing my pain. It’s to the point that I don’t want my kids to touch my right side (they are two, so that’s not easy) and I avoid touching my own breast because of the discomfort. It even feels weird to reach for something with that arm.