Hoping for some words of wisdom here if anyone has any experience.
I am 40 and have had lumpy, tender breasts for years and increased soreness in the couple of weeks before my period. I know what this feels like and know it's not sinister. I have also had episodes of other breast pain on and off for the last few years which might be cyclical but there really doesn't seem a strong pattern and the right one is much worse. This pain can be burning, aching, stabbing, throbbing. It comes and goes during the day so not constant but could be there for minutes or hours, and it seems to move around to different places in my breast. Because it had come and gone I had tried to rationalise it as hormonal but it has been really quite bad over the last 6 months and there aren't many days when I don't have some pain, mostly in the one breast.
I don't think I can feel any new lumps or differences since I last went to the breast clinic in 2010 for lumpiness but I am so worried about the pain because it isn't just cyclical tenderness and one breast is so much more affected.
I put off going to my GP because I have a history of health anxiety and have been through phases of checking and investigations for various medical issues in the past but finally went the other week. She did an examination and is not concerned but she knows me and puts a lot of my symptoms down to anxiety which I really don't think this is. Obviously I am anxious but that's because of the pain, not the cause of it.
Anyway I asked her to refer me and my breast clinic appointment has just cone through for Friday. I am now crapping it.
Sorry this is so long. I have been stewing about this for ages without talking to anyone so it is all a bit rambling
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General health
Breast pain concerns
spacechimp · 30/05/2015 23:31
I've had breast pain on and off for the last 12 years or so, and whenever it flairs up I get worried about it, despite having had it checked out several times, including a visit to the breast clinic (I was crapping it too!)
The time that I went and had it checked out at the breast clinic was when I was in so much pain that I spent the best part of to weeks having to clutch my right bosom permanently. Finally worked out that I'd caused that one by playing a game on the Xbox Kinect that involved jumping around a lot 
I know mine isn't cyclical either, as I'm on Microgynon so don't have periods at all. I have a theory that it's caused/triggered by activity (eg the jumping around), as like you mine is mostly in the right breast. As I'm right-handed I think there is much more stress put on this side of the chest...for example, if you are cleaning and rubbing at something your right breast/chest area will be moving around more than the left. Not explaining myself very well, but if you stand in the shower and rub yourself with a sponge you'll see what I mean!
Anyway, if you're worried you're doing the right thing going to the breast clinic, even though it is scary. I was examined and then had a scan of he breast with a handheld scanner so they could see what was going on. Other than a tiny cyst there was nothing, but then I wasn't in pain at the time...I kinda think that if I'd gone when I actually had the pain there might have been a bigger cyst, maybe.
Breast pain is apparently very common, and usually not a sign of anything sinister...sinister things are not generally accompanied by pain either. Either way, the breast clinic should be able to reassure you, and in he very, very unlikely case that there is anything sinister you will have done the right thing in getting it checked out. Try not to worry too much 
Glad everything went okay, although I know it's frustrating when there are no real answers! But at least you know they checked you out thoroughly 
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