Had mammo today but still worried

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Emmeline
Emmeline Member Posts: 11
edited September 2018 in Not Diagnosed But Worried

I went for my mammogram today and after being examined by nurse who didn’t feel anything alarming, she came back after mammo and said it was clear and I could go home.

However I’m still worrying because they didn’t do an ultrasound and I’ve seen people on here who had clear mammo but then went on to be diagnosed.

Am I right to worry still or should I accept that it’s my anxiety and that two GPs, a breast nurse and a clear mammo should be enough to reassure me

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  • Mominator
    Mominator Member Posts: 1,575
    edited September 2018

    Emmeline,

    You have been worried for a while and I hope we can reassure you. 

    I've looked over your other posts. 

    It looks like your joint pain came first, for a year or more. That could be many things, fatigue, fibromyalgia, etc.

    The electric shock pain and pulling pain in your right breast for a couple of months: could be trapped nerves, pinched nerves, a pulled muscle. 

    Lumpy breast and tender before your period may be caused by your period. 

    A dried up substance in both nipples, like the sleep you find in your eyes: sometimes dirt or dried up sweat gets trapped in the nipples. Here's more from WebMD https://www.webmd.com/women/guide/breast-nipple-discharge#1


    I think two GPs, a breast nurse and a clear mammo, if not enough to reassure you, are perhaps a good start. You may have other things going on, as I listed above. Perhaps an appointment with your PCP to discuss your symptoms may be reassuring. 

    Best wishes. Let us know how you do. 

  • Emmeline
    Emmeline Member Posts: 11
    edited September 2018

    Thank you. It’s hard not to let the health anxiety run away with me and think the worst.

  • Erinashley19
    Erinashley19 Member Posts: 104
    edited September 2018

    Hi Emmeline!

    I was reading over this and another post you made and you reminded me of myself a couple months ago! I suddenly had stabbing localized pain in my right breast (upper inner about 2-3 inches from the nipple). I felt no lumps ever and still don’t but the pain was unreal. It hurt if my right breast jiggled at all and was especially painful if someone gave me a hug. It was always a sharp stab in the same spot. I’m used to tender breasts from my cycle but this was NOTHING like that. I had no other symptoms but the localized persistent pain. Fast forward a month or so and I saw my ob who also felt no lumps but ordered a mammo and US. At this point the pain had actually gone down quite a bit. My mammo ended up being clear but US showed a cluster of cysts right in the area of pain. The tech even tried to feel them and she felt no lump either which surprised her. They’re quite small but apparently it’s not uncommon for cysts to cause a lot of pain even when they’re this tiny. Also my cysts did not show up on my mammo. They only showed on the US. Now that it’s been a couple of months I’m also able to track the pain with my cycle. Hurts terrible the week before my period and then I get relief during my period and right after. Also I have tugging sensations like you mentioned. Only when I stretch or do something that pulls on that breast/muscle, I can feel it inside my breast where the cysts are located. This is the only thing that I’m not sure is normal for cysts but I’m trying not to freak out about it. I go back for a follow up in a few months. It is possible that you have cysts as well that you just can’t feel but are the source of your pain and tugging. An US would most likely show this. Anyways, Sorry for the long post but just wanted you to know that I felt so much like you do now and my situation turned out ok.

  • Mominator
    Mominator Member Posts: 1,575
    edited September 2018

    Thank you, Erinashley for an excellent description of the cysts. That sounds a lot like what Emmeline is describing in the other posts.

    I never had cysts so I'm no help there. 

  • Erinashley19
    Erinashley19 Member Posts: 104
    edited September 2018

    mominator-I think that’s what was so troubling to me in the beginning. My cysts didn’t present like cysts I wasfamiliar with. My husband and I have both had other types of cysts elsewhere in the body in years past and they were always easy to distinguish. Very mobile and “jelly” like with no pain. So when this pain popped up with no lump, cysts were definitely not what I believed it to be. Even most websites I read said that mostly larger cysts caused pain. It wasn’t until I read posts here that people responded that their tiny cysts were quite painful as well. So I can understand how it’s easy to get to scared over some of these sensations because they just don’t often feel like what you would expect.

  • Erinashley19
    Erinashley19 Member Posts: 104
    edited September 2018

    Also Emmeline, I wanted to suggest getting on supplements for breast health in general. Evening primrose oil is the go to that many doctors and women suggest. I do think it helps. Also vitamin E. And then get a good women’s multi vitamin. Take a good B vitamin if these breast issues are causing you a lot of worry. You need B vitamins badly in times of stress. And when you have pain try a warm compress (I have a rice pack that I microwave) and see if that gives you any relief from the sharp pains. It doesn’t take it away completely for me but it does help a bit when it’s bad.

  • Emmeline
    Emmeline Member Posts: 11
    edited September 2018

    Thanks girls. If I go back to my GP and tell her I’m worried about cysts now, I’m sure she will be quite annoyed with me. Nothing was explained to me at my appointment at the breast clinic. A nurse just came to me and said the mammo was clear and that I could get dressed and go home. That’s it.

    I’ll try and accept that it’s nothing sinister and if it gets any worse I will go back.

    Thanks for taking the time to reply :).

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