(Super LONG) Rapidly Worse/Better, Persistent Swelling/Lump

Hi, I'm Blushie, and I am currently 38 years old. I've been happily married to my wonderful husband for going on 19 years, now, and I'm grateful to be mother to my daughter, nicknamed Bunny, since 2012. (She was born January 2013.)

Ever since puberty, my life has been riddled with difficulties relating to my hormones.

Firstly, I began suffering from PCOS, and I would intermittently have very painful cysts develop and pop on my ovaries. I still suffer from that, to this day. However, the frequency of my cyst popping has greatly decreased, though hormonal acne is now a "thing."

Sometime in mid 2012, I began drinking drinking Juicy Juice apple juice pretty consistently--as in, every day, practically all day. I'm autistic, and I tend to do things like that, from time to time. At any rate, though I didn't know it, drinking the juice this often was affecting my body very negatively. Somehow, it affected my hormone levels enough to activate hidradenitis suppurativa in my body.

I was miserable, every day. Horrible, incredibly painful boils under my armpits. I had to often sit with a wash cloth and a microwaveable hot pack under the afflicted armpit for hours and days until it would come to a head and drain. Afterward, I would use raw honey to keep it clean and disinfected, as well as speed up recovery time.

The cycle kept repeating. Until I got pregnant.

I thought that because of the hormonal shifts from pregnancy, my hidradenitis suppurativa went into remission. It's highly possible that that was the main reason that it went into remission, however, I had also stopped drinking the Juicy Juice every day.

The reason I keep mentioning the Juicy Juice is because, a few years after I'd given birth to my daughter, I fell of the Juicy Juice wagon. I started drinking it, again, pretty heavily. A couple of weeks later, I started noticing the early tell tale symptoms of a boil trying to form in my armpit. It usually started out as a stinging, followed by itching, and pain.

I was terrified. I thought my hidradenitis suppurativa was coming out of remission, and I was very scared. Because, as anyone who has been through hidradenitis suppurativa outbreaks, they know that it is a very unpleasant experience. I started thinking of what I had changed, in my life. What could be the cause for this to be coming back? And, the only thing that I had started doing differently, that I'd done in the past, was drinking the Juicy Juice a lot. So, I stopped immediately. Very quickly, the symptoms of the boil disappeared. And I haven't had any problems with that, since.

Sometime late June 2018, I was told by my primary care physician that my blood work showed that my cholesterol levels were high, both good and bad. I was told to go on a low fat diet, and because I find that incredibly difficult to do with the limited amount of money I get from my disability, I figured I'd look into the other ways to help me along the way. So, I wanted to try taking supplements to help with my cholesterol.

I ordered flaxseed oil and fish oil capsules, both of which contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. The flaxseed oil capsules also contain omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids. Additionally, because I had taken some to help with my cysts/boils in the past, I got some curcumin capsules to help with my hormonal acne. I received all of these on July 5th, and because I was taking two of a similar type of supplement, I decided I'd only take them once a day. So, I took them in the morning with my other medications.

Fast forward to July 19th, 2018. I began noticing an unfamiliar pain in my left breast, near the nipple, that concerned me. So, in my monthly tracker for my cycle, I began leaving notes about my symptoms and experiences, so I could share them with my doctors.

At first, I thought it could be a new cyclic-based hormonal issue, so I wanted to wait until after my cycle had come and gone for the month, but it wasn't going to happen for another 3 weeks. So, as my symptoms progressed really quickly, I became concerned, and decided to visit my OBGYN.

Because of my earlier experience with my hormones changing from drinking lots of apple juice, I followed suit in my logic regarding this new situation, thinking that the supplements that I'd started taking could have had a negative impact on my body. So, I stopped taking them the morning I went to go see my OBGYN.

Daily Log

19th -- Soreness when pressed, behind left nipple, toward inner side of breast, slight swelling. No other symptoms noticeable. No discernable lump, maybe a little warm but not definite, no discoloration, no discharge, etc.

20th -- It's more tender than it was yesterday, and there is a slight increase in the firm / swollen tissue inside my breast, but it's still not visible from the outside. No other symptoms. Need pain management, taking 8-10 ibuprofen every 6 hours for pain. Doesn't seem to help much.

21st -- Again, more tender than it was the day before, and another slight increase and swollen / firm tissue inside my breast. Not visible from the outside. There is a slight redness in a small area next to my nipple, but it is so mild that I don't really know if it's mentionable. No other symptoms. Iced it down for an hour in 10 minute increments. Taking 10-12 ibuprofen every 6 hours, not really helping.

22nd -- Same as before. Increased tenderness? Bigger red spot. Little bit of heat to it. Starting to ice it down occasionally. Worried about how quickly this is getting worse, calling the doctor in the morning. Taking 10 ibuprofen every 6 hours for pain, and it's not seeming to help.

23rd -- Morning:

I stopped taking my supplements, just to see if they are exacerbating my symptoms.

Afternoon:

Dr. Coffman said there's peau d'orange. Felt something for sure. Completely skipped over antibiotics, didn't even seem to consider them. Ordered mammogram, ultrasounds, and potentially x-ray guided biopsy. Scared. Really scared. First ultrasound in TWO WEEKS. Next one the days after that. Ugh.

Night:

I noticed, toward the end of the night, that there is another inflamed spot on practically the diametrically opposite side of the initial spot on my breast. No pain or tenderness there, yet. Keeping an eye on it. It does seem to have peau d'orange, though, without orange coloration... just pinkness and slightly thicker texture. Maybe it's my imagination. One Aleve and two Tylenol every 12 hours for pain.

24th -- Morning:

I don't know if it's the Aleve that the nurse practitioner suggested, or not, but there isn't as much pain. I don't know for sure, but I think the swelling might be down a little bit. I slept really well, even though I took off my bra sometime during the night. Again, not taking supplements to see if it makes a difference.

Day:

Occasionally, my left breast itches. It's not a persistent itch, but it happens occasionally. It itches, I scratch it, and it stops. I don't know if this counts as a symptom, but I'm mentioning it.

Night:

I'm starting to notice a sore throat, and there's an ear infection trying to start up in my right ear. Perhaps unrelated to everything else, but worth noting. Just in case. One Aleve and two Tylenol every 12 hours for pain.

25th -- Morning:

I may be trying to delude myself, but I really think that it's getting better. The swelling is down, the redness is down, and the peau d'orange seems to be gone or, at least, lessened.

Of course, I'm still going to be getting all of the tests, and I'm going to be keeping an eye on it. But, I honestly think that the supplements that I had been taking may have caused my body to react in a very negative fashion.

Because I haven't taken the supplements since the day before I went to see Dr. Coffman, I really think that this is making a difference in how my body is behaving. The swelling does seem to be down, anyway I look at it. There is still redness, there's still heat to it, but it's mild. And, I'm hoping that it will dissipate as time goes on. I'm hoping that this is a similar situation to my Juicy Juice disaster.

Sore throat gone, and taking ear drops for right ear. Taking one Aleve and two Tylenol every 12 hours for pain.

26th -- Morning:

I slept really well. There is no discernible increase in swelling or pain. As far as I can tell, there is no real significant change for the worse. However, there is a growing line of redness from the original swelling spot that seems to be moving upwards. I don't know if it's an infection, but that would be the best-case scenario, all things considered.

I need to call Dr. Gujjula's office and make an appointment to have him look at it. I need to tell him about the story of my hidradenitis recurrence, and quick remission, after the Juicy Juice debacle. And, tell him about all of the supplements, and why I think it might have had something to do with the the situation with my breast. One Aleve every 12 hours for pain.

27th -- Morning:

Slept very well. Woke up feeling fine. I feel like the swelling is even less than it was in the previous days. Tenderness seems to be almost negligible; I only notice it if I'm careless. There is still redness, there is still heat. The redness is still seeming to move upwards in a sort of line. I couldn't get an appt with Dr. Gujjula until next Wednesday, and he was concerned about my symptom description. So, on his recommendation, I will be going to the walk in clinic later.

This is in stark contrast to the second or third day when I was in pain almost constantly with an ache. To be honest, the only thing that makes me feel bad is the worry that this could still be IBC. However, the sharp decrease in swelling, redness, firmness in my breast, and pain, makes me think that's not likely. From what I gather, IBC is painful, and remains so? One Aleve every 12 hours for pain and swelling.

28th -- Morning:

I am amazed. From the outside of my breast, if one were to simply be looking at it, the only indication that I have an issue going on with it is a slight redness. In a small area. It doesn't even look like an infection, at this point except for the direction that it's going. It's not swollen from the outside. All of the peau d'orange is gone.

There is still a swelling inside, but, it is obviously shrinking. Tenderness is almost nil. However, I will be going to the walk in clinic, because I wasn't able to go, yesterday. I think that this is the best news that I have gotten from my body, at least, to say that it's not cancer. Cancer doesn't really get better like this, especially not IBC, right? Right?

However, I do want to note that, no matter what, I'm going to get all of the ultrasounds / mammogram / whatever else might be done from Dr. Coffman, regardless of what happens with my current situation. No pain medicine needed.

29th -- Morning:

Barely there pinkness that sometimes looks a little darker, but comes and goes depending on if I'm wearing a bra or leaning on it or what-have-you. Zero consistent pain. One or two shock-like jolts, but I've experienced those as a normal part of cyclic breast pain. Both nipples welllll tender now as part of PMS, as expected.

Swelling/ lump still there and hasn't decreased in size, from what I can tell, and only feels tender if I dig around it toward the nipple; can't tell if that's cyclic nipple pain or not. Concerned that the pain is just...gone. If it's an infection, or an abscess/cyst, shouldn't it still hurt? When I went to the walk-in clinic, I had a low grade fever, 99.1 or so. The doctor gave me a prescription for Augmentin, and took my first pill this morning. Still no need for pain medication.

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END of Log

... And that brings me up to date, and my reason for joining. Sorry for the novel.

Basically, I'm scared. Most of the people who come here are... But, I'm trying to combat my fear with knowledge. The worst thing about this, is the unknown.

When my mother was in her early 60s, she was diagnosed with hormone-related breast cancer. She went through chemo, radiation and all that is involved, and came out the other side cancer free. Because a lot of my conditions are related to hormone issues, and because of the rapid progression of my symptoms earlier in this cycle, I thought that this was potentially IBC.

I'm feeling less concerned that it's IBC, but I'm not sure what it could be. The fact that there isn't any pain, but there's still a sizeable swelling, or lump, inside my breast... That's concerning. I am on Augmentin, and I'm hoping that that will reduce the size of the swelling that remains, but I'm concerned that there isn't any pain. Is it possible that this is some other form of breast cancer?

For anyone who is still reading, I will absolutely go to my ultrasound appointment, and I will do all of the test that my OBGYN wants to do. I want to make sure that this is not cancer, and if it isn't, I really want to find out what it is.

I think I'm just needing some reassurance from others who've been there, and have some ideas about what it could be. The anxiety involved in having to wait for 2 weeks to have an ultrasound for something like this, it's unreal. I still have over a week of waiting before I can get my first ultrasound done. Before, when I was in real pain, and before things started getting better, I was really sick about it. Now I'm just very concerned, I'm trying to educate myself through the experiences of others.

I was feeling so miserable and depressed, almost certain that this was going to be IBC, and then I started seeing a sharp reduction in pain and swelling and redness, and that made me feel very happy. For a while. Now, all I can worry about is why there's still a swelling / lump and what it could be. Why doesn't it hurt? If it's an infection, shouldn't it hurt?

If you've read all the way through this, thank you so much for enduring through this with me, and I really appreciate your time.