I need to vent

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MJ85
MJ85 Member Posts: 4
edited October 2014 in IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)

I just want to say how much I admire all you ladies for what you have gone/going through. I need somewhere to vent the fears and anxieties that I am having. 
About two weeks ago, I was having pain in my chest/breast area. At first I thought maybe I slept wrong and it would go away. The next morning I felt a lump on my rigjt breast. I was scares because I didn't have insurance but I went ahead to the ER. 
They did an ultrasound they thought it was an abscess but weren't 100% sure so they prescribed an antibiotic and scheduled a mammogram for the next day. 
The results from the mammogrmam showed the impression of an benign absecess no sign of cancer but also that I had dense breast tissue. The results did not ease my mind because I was still having some pain, even though my breast weren't that red or swollen anymore. 
I shouldn't have done it but I looked on the internet and found out about IBC. I had never heard of it but it could be misdiagnosed as an infection. I am 28 and African American and I know that IBC is rare but I can't shake the feeling. I am on my  day of the antibiotic and it hasn't seemed to 100% help. I am scared that when I stop taking the antibiotic all the symptoms will flare up. So far I haven't noticed any changes in the size of my breast or any discoloration but my breast are still warm to the touch with some pain. I can't talk about this with my family because they want me to stay calm. They don't know that I've been researching IBC, they just know that I'm having trouble eating and sleeping, which happened when I heard about IBC. 
I have a follow up appointment with the breast specialist on the 14th and I just need someone to talk to about this before the appointment. Any advice on what kind of questions to ask? I want to get a biopsy for my piece of mind and a correct diagnosis. On the plus side of this, I did end up getting insurance. 

Thank you all for listening and I hope to hear from some of you soon. 

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Comments

  • Meow13
    Meow13 Member Posts: 4,859
    edited October 2014

    I think you are doing the right thing you can also ask for sonogram or get it biopsied.

    Good Luck I hope it is abscess that can be treated.

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  • MJ85
    MJ85 Member Posts: 4
    edited October 2014

    Thank you! I appreciate it. I'm really praying it's an abseces

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  • WinningSoFar
    WinningSoFar Member Posts: 951
    edited October 2014

    If the antibiotic helped, that would tilt the evidence toward an infection and not IBC.  IBC isn't affected by an antibiotic at all. It just gets worse (but in no case, does it get better).

     If you stop the antibiotic, the infection might flare up again--but that isn't IBC.  As someone who has had IBC, I'd think your experience with antibiotics would be reassuring to you. 

    I'm glad you got insurance.  That's great.  

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  • MJ85
    MJ85 Member Posts: 4
    edited October 2014

    I've been taking the antibiotic with no change so that's the part that is worrying me. 


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  • WinningSoFar
    WinningSoFar Member Posts: 951
    edited October 2014

    Oh, I thought you said the antibiotics didn't 100% help, which I assumed meant they did help some. 

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  • MJ85
    MJ85 Member Posts: 4
    edited October 2014

    They did take away the redness but I'm still having pain.

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  • bride
    bride Member Posts: 382
    edited October 2014

    Hi,

    None of us are doctors and IBC can present in many different ways. Statistically, given your age and your vaguely positive response to antibiotics, it is quite possible that you don't have IBC. Just as a personal opinion, I'd suggest a biopsy-- mammograms and ultrasounds can be suggestive, but a biopsy is more reliable. I hope your DX is not IBC!

    bride

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  • Kicks
    Kicks Member Posts: 4,131
    edited October 2014

    MJ85 - What did you learn at your appt on the 14th?

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