I am wondering if anyone knows anything about a possible link between alcohol consumption and breast pain...?
I developed breast pain a few months ago - in both breasts - ranging from tenderness to a really nasty burning feeling (which reminded me of mastitis).
The first thing to say is that I saw my GP and was referred for a mammogram promptly - so I know it is not cancer or anything 'serious'. The consultant's opinion was that it was 'fibrocystic breast changes'.
While I was waiting for my referral, I had a sense that my breast pain might be made worse by alcohol. I was drinking a whisky nightcap one night, and I felt an unpleasant burning sensation in my left breast: it gave me the sense that the whisky was flowing through the duct, which was obviously not literally possible, but was how it felt. 
It was such a powerful sensation that I decided to give myself a break from alcohol, and I cut back my consumption very sharply while I was waiting for the mammogram - from 15-20 units per week to nothing, though perhaps having one drink every 2-3 weeks.
The breast pain stopped, and I didn't really miss alcohol, and it felt like a good 'detox', so I have continued to drink very little... I had even forgotten why I cut back... Until yesterday...
I have just had a short break with friends, and drank 3 days running (Tues/Wed/Thurs nights) for the first time in months - probably 15-20 units in those three days. Yesterday I noticed pain in my left breast again, in the same place as before, and the same burning sensation - though not as bad as it was at its worst.
To me, this seems to strongly suggest that the alcohol consumption is causing the pain.
So my questions are...
- Has anyone else experienced this?
- Does anyone know of an established link between alcohol and breast pain?
- If so, is there any evidence that the alcohol is causing damage?
Thanks in advance.. :)