Bra and boob gurus, over here please?

[JemimaPuddled]

I've gone up a bra cup size. About a month ago, I thought I was premenstrual as my boobs felt sore and appeared bigger than usual. No change for the last month and I've given in and bought new undies, a size bigger in the cup, ah heaven!! Any suggestions as to why? Is this a Thing when you're 44?

Bumping for daytime folks

Have you put this in Health because you are worried it's something sinister - ie cancer?

If you have any pain in your boobs that doesn't go away, see your GP, and the same for any change in shape, dimpling, rashes etc.

If you have put on weight overall your boobs may change. The other thing is that all bras are different- I can be a C cup in one style and a DD in another.

You might be perimenopausal and your boobs are permanently PMS-ish due to fluid retention.

Are your periods still the same- ie no change in cycles?

I'm not one to assume everything's serious, in fact pretty much the opposite.. I'm assuming it's hormonal / perimenopausal, last time I had blood tests there was no sign of it but obv things change. Just that I'd never heard about this and wondered whether anyone had experience, whether it's a fluctuating thing or this is a long term state!!

Not uncommon, apparently, and not always linked to overall weight gain.

lljkk thanks. No, overall still underweight... interesting study though. On postmenopausal ladies, obv, but still relevant. Cheers.

If you are experiencing sore PMS type breasts that are bigger, it's hormonal and caused by cycles not always having ovulation, so progesterone is lower. PMS gets worse in peri for this reason.

Boobs change post menopause - you lose the glandular tissue and it's replaced by fat - see here. www.nhs.uk/Livewell/women4060/Pages/breast-changes-in-older-women.aspx

If you use HRT this doesn't happen.

The link by lljk shows this . It explains an increase in breast size happens in 20% of women post menopause and in most cases it's due to overall weight gain.

This doesn't sound like what you have- but if you are worried see your GP. I know when my mum was peri she said her boobs were so sore /full sometimes she could hardly bear to wear a bra.

Polly, the permanently PMS thing sounds exactly it. There's other stuff going on, similarly excessively-premenstrual kind of things, including feeling intermittently horribly crampy, pretty moody and I know well enough my hormones must be up the wall. It all started months ago with a ruptured ovarian cyst, hence me sticking the thread in health assuming hormones were to blame and the whole thing's probably connected. Thanks so much for the links and info, all making sense now.