Radiologist says Lump is a bruise but

UPDATE: pain in my shoulder has also diminished. I didn’t mention before because it never occurred to me they could be associated but reading about cystic breasts it seems they could be. The shoulder pain that radiates down the arm has been building for the last month but I was told by primary care it was probably a pinched nerve and didn’t pursue.

I was told years ago I had cystic breasts but never had a problem or symptom so didn’t think anything of it but now I am really thinking this is all related.

Question is,is this dangerous or just a nuisance? Shoulder pain that has been building for a month is almost 90% gone (woo hoo) but again is this dangerous? A sign of a change? Shoulder pain was keeping me up at night and I was going to pursue treatment options for my ‘pinched nerve’, sssheesh! I was popping aspirin, melatonin and ibuprofen at night to sleep also. This AM woke up comfortable for the first time in awhile. Yeah

I was taking aspirin then 4 or more hrs later ibuprofen (the second dose when I woke due to discomfort) to avoid toxicity yet alleviate the pain but thank you for the warning.

When you say sounds like bruising, yes I know I had a bruise the day after the lump but I'm looking for a cause of the lump and subsequent bruise. There was no blow to the breast. No reference by this doctor to cystic breast, just bruise, as I understood it a blow to the breast.

Am I missing that a cystic breast will look like a bruise if it popped? I mean I have so much relief it is incredible but after 61 years, this is the first time I've experienced anything like this. Maybe my old doctor should have warned me, maybe I should have read more. It seems like the doctor thinks I was hit which just blows my mind and makes me wonder about the validity. If the lump hadn't popped what would have happened? Do cystic lumps pop? My old doc said I had cystic lumps but I never even felt anything besides premenstrual fullness until now. Do cystic breasts get worse with menopause?

Thank you for entertaining my questions, I was so floored at the “bruise due to injury” I was flabbergasted. When I said there was a lump and pain preceding the bruise she still thought it was a large bruise. The recheck is to ensure the bruise heals? Again, no blow to the chest

agreed I need to talk to someone regarding pain and OTC relief. I had talked to my primary about shoulder pain and was supposed to go to Tylenol for the second dose but ran out of tylenoland took ibuprofen. The shoulder pain was becoming life altering and I was going to go back to PCP for help but now I think it is related to the breast since this all happened at the same time and shoulder has been progressing for about a month with swift resolution of shoulder pain after lump/bruise. I only have a lingering tinge in my shoulder right now. Thinking through it, I can imagine a cyst slowly growing causing shoulder pain, pain gets pretty bad and I take aspirin/analgesics causing large cyst to pop giving relief. My problem comes with blow to the breast as a cause. Isn’t popped cysts visible? Maybe cyst is not in breast? But the breast tissue was path of least resistance? So confused with the “blow to the breast” part of this. No blow.

I do wear a seat belt but no rubbing, acicident, etc, etc. I am so confused and the more I think, the more confused I get. Now I'm dredging up old memories that seemed inconsequential until now.

In my early 20s I had a tumor on a peduncle (sort of a stalk) that took some time to find. My primary, gynocologist and Grastric Docs could palpate it externally but I went back and forth between drs. Gynocologist telling me it was prob. lower GI, Gastro guy saying it was not. Turned out it was an ovarian (benign) tumor on a peduncle that floated. It was finally pinpointed by an exploratory. It was the size of a grapefruit. I did sort of mention this to Ultrasound tech but just said a benign ovarian tumor. I'm sure she thought "cyst". Ovary was resected and end of story. Does a person tend to have growths on peduncles? I thought one rarity and done.

who is my next stop? Primary care? Not impressed with him honestly,recently moved so I'm meeting my doctors for the first time. I would be open to the bleed theory due to aspirin/ibuprohen usage but the shoulder pain went away with the lump/bleed so bleed was not causative of shoulder pain although could be of lump but if lump was from bleed why did shoulder pain that was becoming unbearable suddenly get better? I am post menopausal so lumps shouldn't be worse per the internet, but a condition that never caused problems except on mammograms previously pre-menopausal is now getting worse. It may not be dangerous but internet says it's unusual.

I had an MRI of my neck recently due to a lipoma (right,front of neck). Maybe we should do one of my chest/shoulder. I hate going for all this workup but would feel really dumb if I ignored it and it turned out I could have treated something if caught on time. I did recently have a month of respiratory infection that was successfully treated, but only after 2 courses of antibiotics. Seems it can't be related but I never dreamed the shoulder could be related either. Thanks for your input. If anyone has doctor type suggestions I'd be interested. Maybe someone who knows breasts, if it's not breast he or she would probably know what it could be thinking breast is most likely. Thanks again to all.

Thank you all for your suggestions and comments it helps, it also helps to discus ideas with others. Melissa I will remember to mention the analgesic's but was only taking an adult dose with the reccommended time between doses. I don't have a history of bleeds or bruising but appreciate this may be a factor. The bruise and lump were not small but remember the shoulder pain has now all but disappeared. I had building shoulder pain for a month that suddenly goes away shortly after a lump and bruise. Do cycstic lumps pop? It seems they may. would a cystic lump look like a bruise if it was blood filled? I don't know. I will add it to my list of questions.

I think I need to find a breast doctor, is there such a thing? What are they called? Even if this is a 'big nothing' i would rather get good news then regret making sure. It may also save me from unneeded pinched nerve care.

I'm wondering if my previous radiologist would give a second opinion looking at my new films? She told me about the cysts my first visit with her and did an ultrasound too. My care before her entailed yearly call backs for "dense tissue". I think I always had cystic breasts but wasn't told because perhaps people get alarmed? Don't know, but I'm not an alarmist and would have appreciated knowing earlier about the cystic breasts. I truly wish I knew shoulder pain was also associated with cystic lumps. Did not know, but since my shoulder pain has miraculously disappeared with the "lump and bruise" I think they are related. yeah! . Again thank you everyone. I am feeling better and have a course of action. Anyone know what a "breast doctor" is called. I will update and hope I will update with good news. my most troubling thing now is my age and the fact that I seem to have more trouble post-menopause then pre-menopause but my course of action should address that.