Itching and pain scared of IBC

Livysmom13

Hello. I am a 38 year old female in good health. I do suffer from pretty bad health related anxiety,, probably due to my father passing away from cancer about a decade ago....Approximately 3 weeks ago I started getting an itch on the lower part of my left breast. It would itch a couple times a day on most days. The itching became less frequent but is still bothering me from time to time. I also get an occasional shooting pain through my breast. It is not terrible pain. It last for a few seconds and might go on like this for a minute or two then subside for a few days then come back. Aside from these two intermittent symptoms I have no changes to my breast. No redness, rash, bruising, tenderness or anything. Of course with my health anxiety, I did some googling of itchy breast and convinced myself this is the beginning of IBC or possibly pageats disease of the breast. I am just wondering if anyone out there is experiencing anything similar. I've decided to make an appointment Monday but don't know where to even start. Obgyn?....im going to be worrying myself sick all weekend so I was just hoping for a little reassurance. Thank you in advance to anyone willing to respond.

exbrnxgrl

Livysmom,

Although you could call a gyn, you might consider calling a dermatologist first. IBC is very uncommon but skin conditions, itchiness and rashes are not, and your breasts are covered by skin. IBC tends to progress fairly rapidly and doesn’t come and go. What you describe does not sound like IBC but regardless of what anyone here has experienced, please check with a medical professional. It is unlikely that it’s IBC so a visit with a doc could give you some peace of mind. As to your health anxiety please consider dealing with that as well because that type of stress is not at all good for you. Take care

Livysmom13

Thanks so much for your quick response. I sincerely appreciate it. That alone puts my mind at ease.... The only reason I would think not to go to a dermatologist is because I can see absolutely no rash or sign of skin irritation so I think they wouldn't see anything either. Then again a gyno probably wouldn't see anything but might refer me for a mammogram to detect any possible skin thickening, etc? I do know i need to address my health anxiety as well. It is not any kind of way to live. Once again I sincerely appreciate your quick response. It means a lot to me

MinusTwo

Just think about an itch anywhere else in your body. You likely wouldn't think about cancer.

The recommendation to see a dermatologist is a good one. It isn't necessarily a matter of "seeing" something, but there are prescription creams that will help.

Livysmom13

That's true. Thank you. Thinking of it that way helps. An itch usually is nothing to worry about. I was just combining the occasional shooting pain I was getting with the itching and panicking. The itching on its own isn't really enough to even bother me as it isn't frequent enough. And the shooting pain on its own is the same. Not bad enough or frequent enough to worry me on its own. I do believe that my brain starts going and connects things that aren't connected to get me worried for (hopefully) nothing. I am just always afraid of not catching something soon enough to successfully treat it so at the slightest sign of something abnormal I panick.

LivinLife

I agree with the derm recommendation. Also, breast pain is not unusual... a fairly common experience - could even be nerve pain... I wouldn't be too concerned about that in and of itself. Certainly mention it to the derm though. You could schedule with your PCP too though if they don't see anything you'd probably just get the "blank look" and that would likely be the end of that. I would hope a derm would offer you more....

Livysmom13

Yes I don't want to get the blank look. Thats why I have yet to even make an appointment. I feel like I have nothing to show a doctor. Just a description of what im feeling.....Thank you for the advice. I will try a dermatologist first. I appreciate the encouraging words and advice very much.