Should I get a second opinion?
This is going to be a bit long as I have a lot of background info to give. First off I am 24(female) and I know that changes the dynamic a lot according to the doctors. So 3-4 years ago I started a new birth control. Within the month of being put on the birth control (lo Orval) my LEFT breast swelled up. It became red (angry), it was itchy, tender, and painful (it hurt so bad to wear a bra). Within the month that birth control landed me in the ER due to some serious side effects. I brought up my breast and it was examined. I was told that I was "allergic to estrogen based birth control" and that my breast would return to normal within a few weeks. During this time we moved across the country and I got a new provider. so 3 months from the start of all of this my breast was still that bad. I saw a general practitioner (PCM) at my new location. She examined my breast and ordered an ultrasound. I was told that the birth control "likely activated some cyst" and I had fibro cystic breast. I was told that my breast would return to normal when the birth control got out of my system and I would more than likely always deal with this and the pain and "lumps" would come and go with my cycle. So later my breast returned to normal (about 8 months from the start of things). Fast forward a little and I can feel a lump on the bottom side of my left breast. it is tender and about the size (or smaller) than a pea. Fast forward about a year and a half and I got pregnant and had my baby. Breast feeding off my left breast was AGONY. my right breast was painful but not "bring tears to my eyes I can't do this" painful. My left breast barely produced milk (Lactation consultant said this was normal). I could get 6-8oz out of my right and I would be lucky to get 2oz from my left. I stopped breast feeding. Fast forward to last year. My lump in my left breast seemed to be bigger (almost dime sized). So I had new(better) insurance and I was in a new location so at my gyno visit I brought it up and my past problems, the pain and tenderness, and if we could do something to drain or remove the cyst. She felt my lump, said it was a cyst, was fairly rude to me. Emphasis on rude. and said she would send a referral out for a mammo and US. A week goes by and I call up to her office and to make a long story short after 4 weeks they didn't and wouldn't refer me out (This was November of 2017). In Feb of 2017 the lump area was so painful and I started having a few droplets a day of clear discharge. and it seemed like it is getting bigger still. So I go to a different doctor (a general practitioner). She does an exam and feels a "spot" in the 2 o'clock area (that i didn't know was there) and she also confirmed she felt the spot where i was complaining. She sent me off immediately for a mammo and US. The results showed ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. The mammo noted that I had "extremely dense" breast tissue. That was it. So i followed up and she said that I had nothing to worry about and as for the pain to manage it with over the counter noninflammatory and compresses. Fast forward to Aug 2018. The 2 oclock spot that the doc felt is horribly painful and I can feel a lump/spot. I'm still leaking about 10 droplets of clear discharge. And also note that the spot in the 6oclock spot hurts but it is not agony..And this weird sensation has popped up in my mid back. not a pain but an uncomfortable spot when I laugh, cough, or sneeze. So I go back to the same general practitioner I saw and I couldn't see her (out of the office) but I saw a Nurse practitioner and insisted that I see someone who can biopsy and possibly drain the spots in my breast if it's drain-able. She thought the first course of action should be antibiotics but I disagreed. So she sent me to the local surgeon who reviewed my mammo and US, felt the one lump at 2 oclock (he said there was nothing there) and then felt the area at the 6oclock spot and said he could definitely tell it was fibro cystic tissue. He said that there was nothing on the Mammo and US and therefore he wasn't going to biopsy and he could not feel a "palable" lump or mass. I just can't understand how I feel something there and how if "there is nothing" there I could be in so much pain. He also said that if it was cancer it wouldn't hurt(i've read enough in the threads to know that is B.S.) and it would be statistically very low for this to be "problemmatic" he also said that many women complain that fibro cystic tissue is unbearably painful. After leaving the general surgeon I called back to the nurse practitioner and had her call me in antibiotics just to try something to see if the pain will ease.
Should I get a second opinion? Who should I see since my Gyno didn't take me seriously, my regular doctor said there wasn't anything more we could do since nothing was on the US or mammo. And the surgeon said there is nothing there to biopsy.. Or is it really time to accept that this pain is my "normal" and that the doctors are right ( I mean technically 3 of the 4 said it was cyst/cysitc tissue) and this is nothing. I hope this all makes sense. I'm not wanting something to be wrong but I just can't understand how up until the birth control I had perfectly normal pain free boobs and now I can't stand to hug my spouse, lay on my belly, or have my kid lay on my chest because it hurts so bad.
Comments
-
Was the surgeon a surgeon who specializes in breast surgery? I'd consider seeing someone who is...if you post your general location (state, whatever) perhaps others in that area can send you a DM with recommendations.
If you are in that much pain, something is wrong. That doesn't mean you have bc (odds are you don't), but you shouldn't have to live with that type of pain... I'd go for another opinion. Best of luck and keep us posted.
-
Yeah, maybe a breast surgeon just for peace of mind. Maybe they'd order an MRI, which is super specific and good for dense tissue. I think they're probably right though, if they can't find anything on imaging, it's hard to biopsy because they won't know where to put the needle. They can't just stick a needle in an area that the patient says is tender, without something on the screen to guide them. It does sound like they are trying to help you and have made appropriate choices but can't really find anything specific.
-
if you have to ask then a second opinion is what you should do. See a breast surgeon. As an ongoing plan, find yourself an internest for your primary care provider. Your Gyn is fine as a pcp when all is normal (healthy, no need for sick visits) but with your history,even after this is solved, i would find a pcp who you can see regularly for overall health.
-
I had a palpable lump that I could feel just fine but others had difficulty feeling, my doctors thought it felt normal, and I was told was normal breast tissue after a mammogram/us.
I should have been sent for an MRI instead because that lump turned out to be cancerous and was allowed to grow untreated in in body for almost two years and I can see it on the first mammogram but apparently I have dense breasts.
A lump that is suspicious to you but has not been seen should never be designated as benign. Demand an MRI or see another breast surgeon for a biopsy and do not be afraid to help them find the lump.
-
Hopefully you have stopped the new birth control method that may have triggered something. You didn't say if you continued even with reactions
-
I don't know near as much as any of these ladies as I am simply going through my own scare right now and am still confused as to what everything means.
I just wanted to say I am sorry you are going through this and have so much pain. Trust your gut. If you need more to have peace of mind don't be afraid to push for it. It is YOUR body and YOUR health and if they are wrong the only person who it effects is YOU. They aren't the ones who will pay the price if something is off and they missed it.
That being said, do remember that four doctors have said all is okay. Doctors are human, they make mistakes, and push until peace of mind but also remember that is reassuring.
I hope everything is okay with you. You are your only advocate so don't be afraid to push for yourself. You are the only you there is. -
I would push for a breast surgeon. Just so I’m understanding this correctly, you had 1 US early on and the result of that was what? A cyst? Or did it show nothing? Then later you were able to get both a mammogram and US which both came up clear? Did they say anything to about the density of your breast tissue? I have heterogenous dense breast (very dense!) and from now on will receive 3d mammos because it can be so difficult to see anything on the 2d ones. Maybe something to ask about. The surgeon who you saw most recently, was he a breast specialist? Has anyone addressed the issue of fluid leakage from that breast? From what I learned on this site spontaneous leakage out of just one breast/one orifice is not necessarily normal although I suppose it could be residual from breast feeding. Any leakage out of the other side?
It is possible to simply have very painful breasts. Perhaps the birth controlled triggered some sort of hormonal imabalance in your body which is giving you these sort of painful fibrocystic symptoms. Bottom line though, don’t feel bad about pushing for answers if you’re worried that something isn’tright
-
@Erin Ashley 19: The first ultrasound almost 3-4 years ago I was not told specifically. Just fibrocystic breast and handed a pamphlet on fibrocystic breast. A week or so at the follow up I was told by my provider that it was cyst. I cannot confirm if they visibly saw cyst or not. The mammo and US came up clear in March of 2018. I do not know if it was 2d or 3d, and I was told my breast tissue was heterogeneously dense. The surgeon i saw most recently was not a breast specialist. And I have told them about the fluid leakage and the third provider I saw who sent me for the mammo and US thought it could have been hormones and checked them (my hormones were normal). No leakage out of the other side.
To another poster: I stopped that birth control when it landed me in the emergency room because it made the left side of my face and my left arm go numb and slack.
-
To another person I am about an hour south of Huntsville, Alabama
-
so then as suggested before, see if you can find a breast specialist. If it were me I’d find a specialist who can at the very least review the last mammo and do an exam him/herself and possibly order an US to check again for cysts. But it really is possible that this pain is just fibrocystic breast tissue giving you hell.
Does the pain come and go or change with your cycle? You said the lump has grown? Does the size change at all with your cycle?
I have a few cysts in one spot upper inner portion of my right breast that caused significant pain (took my breath away just to get a hug) but I never felt any lumps or bumps. Got a mammo and ultra sound. Mammo showed nothing (and I was told cysts often don’t show up on mammo) but my US picked them up fairly easily. It is entirely possible to have cysts that cause pain with no lumps but if they’re in there I’d imagine an US should find them if you have a specific area of pain. I also had nipple discharge although it was not spontaneous and it was out of both nipples which was nothing more than normal hormones which was news to me!
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team