Hard lump in armpit

[LauraJLewis]

Hi everyone.
I hope everyone is well.
I'm writing to see if anyone has been in a similar situation to me.
About 12 days ago I was in the shower & found a lump in my armpit.
It's deep in my armpit & I can only feel it when I put my arm down.
It feels hard,round & when I press it,it's seems to slip from under my fingers.
I am breastfeeding at the moment.
I have seen my GP about the lump & have been referred urgently for an ultra sound so understandably I'm feeling very stressed & anxious.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation?
Much love
Laura x

A couple of my friends found lumps in that area and in both cases it was nothing at all to worry about! Like PP have said, just lymph nodes.

Thankyou for the reassuring message ..... I hope it is something like a blocked milk duct but I'd have thought it would have gone down by now ..... fingers crossed the ultra sound has positive results xx

So so glad your friend is cancer free & im glad she eventually got a referral.
My GP didn't suggest watching it or anything straight away referred.
X

I got quite a few hard lumps while breastfeeding. I also get blocked lymph nodes sometimes, especially around this time of year when there are bugs going round. GPs are not experts and (rightly) just tend to refer onwards when there's any doubt. It;s definitely right to get it checked out but it's very likely to be something innocuous.

Fingers crossed it's just a lymph node it feels really hard though not squishy at all.
Did you friends had ultra sounds? X

Thankyou I hope so.
We're your lumps in your armpit too? X

Not a BFer, but my armpit lymph nodes have been very sensitive for years now - it started when I began shaving my pits I think, the skin would become irritated by the shaving/deo combo, make boils and my lymph nodes would swell.

Since then I have noticed that they tend to come up with a vengeance if my body even thinks of getting a cold. Sometimes they can be so large and painful that moving my arm in certain ways hurts. They’ve always felt very hard like marbles covered in flesh.

It’s good you’re getting checked, OP, but I’d say there’s a very good chance that there’s a normal infection lurking in you - maybe a BF-related one, due to the proximity to your armpits (could be why no other glands have woken up) or some Winter lurgy.

Thanks for reply lovey that's what mine feels like .... a hard marble that moves - I just hoped it would have gone down by now & as it hasn't is concerned me x

I had them both times when BF. They were galactacysts - cysts from the breastfeeding basically.

Best of luck x

Thankyou!Thats very interesting!
Did you have ultra sounds on them - Did they ever go? X

Believe me OP, it's best not to try and diagnose yourself. They can't tell what it is until they do the ultrasound, and GP's will refer you as a matter of course. It's very likely not to be serious, I think it's 90% that are benign, but even if it is once they know what it is a treatment plan is put in place very quickly. I hope that helps a bit.

Try not to worry OP. Doctors have to investigate all lumps and bumps even if they think it's probably nothing.

I am waiting on scans for a "irregular something" that is sitting behind my diaphragm/enlarged spleen and causing pain so I know exactly what you are going through.

I'm just having to put it to the back of my head.

xx

Thankyou for replying I will do my best x

Thankyou for replying I do hope you get good news from your scans - The wait is awful its consuming.
I guess I was hoping the GP would know what it was just by feel I guess the referral has just frightened me a little xx

My DD was referred for an urgent scan on a hard lump in her armpit last week. She had the U/S scan this week and all was well - it was just a cyst.

Should have said, all the best and I know it's easy to say, but the chances of it being anything serious are so extremely small.

Thankyou for this!
So happy for your DD .... was hers deep in armpit like mine or on surface - Did they give results same day? X

I had exactly the same thing under my armpit a few months ago, worried myself silly and it went away on its own within a few weeks. Prior to that I had one on my bikini line which went away after a few weeks. In my case I believe it was down to the razors I was using.

It's likely a blocked hair follicle or swollen gland which has come up in response to a slight infection somewhere (it doesn't need to be under your armpit it could be as trivial as a common cold or virus, even a cut somewhere)

It's even less likely to be something sinister if your breastfeeding as I've read that it's quite common to get little lumps there when BF.

Try not to worry.

I had a pea sized lump in my groin a couple of months back. Thought it was a lymph node and put it out of mind until I realised it had got a lot bigger and very sore. I finally went to the doctor, turned out it was an abscess and she sent me straight off to the surgical assessment unit at the local hospital to have it drained. Which I really don't recommend. Just keep an eye on it is what I am saying!

@LauraJLewis yes, I had ultrasounds and confirmed. Went away eventually- I can’t remember when but they did

Meant to say abcessrs can be treated with antibiotics if caught early enough not that tbey always need to be drained.

Thankyou for your reply - I'm hoping it is a BF related issue or a cyst .... I was hoping it would have gone down by now but as it hasn't that's what is makjng me worry more x

I will do Thankyou - I've had it for 12 days ish now - Well that's when I noticed it,it likely to have been there weeks prior to this.
It isn't sore but I will watch it - The ultra sound will show more x

Thankyou @DamsonWhine x

I had this as a child, it was an infected lymph node, they had to do surgery under full anesthesia. That was 33 years ago though, the techniques for dealing with one have likely changed now.