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Original poster

Lumpy Breasts - would you be reassured by this GP appointment?

29 replies

worriedoncemore · 01/04/2022 14:42

I have bad health anxiety which I've just started getting help with. One of my current obsessions is breast lumps.

I've noticed my breasts can sometimes be quite lumpy & "ropey", whereas sometimes they're really quite soft - seem to feel different everytime I touch them! I think the lumpiness is linked to when I'm on my period.

When I find these lumps it freaks me out and I poke and prod until I'm sore. I've considered speaking to the GP before but they disappear after a few days only to pop up again a few weeks later - often in different places!

I think I'm due a period (perimenopause so a bit eratic) and my boobs have started getting lumpy again. Last night I felt one lump which worried me as it felt harder than others I've had. After a sleepless night of prodding I called the GP this morning who asked me to come in.

She examined me and said she could feel nothing but normal breast tissue and I wasn't even that lumpy. I made sure she felt the bump I was worried about and still said it felt normal. She told me to examine with the flat of my hand and not dig about with fingers. I said I was worried I couldn't tell the difference between normal lumpy breast tissue and something more worrying but she just said to check once a month, didn't seem to have an answer for that.

She said, health anxiety aside, if she had felt something she was unsure of she would've referred me, but she wasn't worried and urged me to persevere with tackling the health anxiety.

Should I be reassured by this? Hopefully, the lump will go soon like the others (fingers crossed).

Anyone else have boobs that behave like this?

Thanks.

OP posts:

Marilla1966 · 01/04/2022 14:49

I get achy breasts and get referred to the hospital every couple of years for a mammogram as my mum and Nan both had breast cancer. I was told there that I have the cystiest breasts she’s ever seen🙈. Don’t be scared to go back to the doctor and ask for a mammogram. Check your breasts in the shower every week and know what they look like in the mirror so you can notice any changes. Xxx

Original poster

worriedoncemore · 01/04/2022 14:54

Thanks. I had one 18 months ago, and due another in another 18 months x

OP posts:

Tippexy · 01/04/2022 14:56

You have posted a few times over the months, haven’t you? You need to accept what a qualified professional is saying.

Original poster

worriedoncemore · 01/04/2022 15:01

@Tippexy I know, I know, that's why I'm getting help (Sertraline & Talking Therapy ) but I can't help but worry when I can feel a lump that is real!

OP posts:

ServantofthePeople · 01/04/2022 16:53

Yes, mine do. I also have a family history.

I have annual mammograms.

Your view that the lumpiness makes self-examination harder chimes with what doctors have discussed with me. It seems reasonable. That’s why the nhs drains my cysts at taxpayer’s expense - they don’t hurt! But they make breast checking harder.

My guess is that all you can do is note each new lump and its changes. Perhaps give each lump a few weeks before reporting? If you give each lump a set period before reporting then I think you’ll be taken more seriously.

ServantofthePeople · 01/04/2022 16:54

Additionally, my GP refers me on with each new lump even when S/he is fairly sure it’s a cyst.

ServantofthePeople · 01/04/2022 16:54

....I think you have a postcode lottery problem here....

lljkk · 01/04/2022 17:02

If I poke my breasts hard enough I find ribs -- they are very hard lumps indeed.

I think OP is saying she's causing her breasts damage by prodding so energetically. Cannot be good to self-harm.

Chummy21 · 01/04/2022 18:30

I could've wrote this myself. I'm constantly checking my breasts. I can be sitting reading and all of a sudden I get an overwhelming urge to check. It's becoming a daily obsession. They mildly ache after ovulation and then they become swollen and unbelievably painful for the week before. I've never found actual lumps but the thought is slways there.

H/A is awful. Even though you know logically it's nothing absolutely nothing can reassure. I have my first CBT session next week and I'm dreading it!
I take sertraline and although I'm much better I still have very bad days. I've just had diarrhoea which is becoming quite frequent and I'm wondering if it's the sertraline or something more sinister....

Diagnosticdigressions · 01/04/2022 18:35

Another one here with 'lumpy breasts' - I've been to the GP a few times with them (in one case it was picked up in a health check in fact) the first two times I was referred for a mammogram, which was clear, the last time the GP told me he didn't think I should worry about it and I accepted that. I sometimes think I ought to get checked again when new lumps come up but have been told that if they are smooth (rather than jagged) that is a good sign?!

Specter123 · 01/04/2022 18:38

Lumpy breasts before a period is completely normal OP - hormones and all that.

Hope you can get some health for your anxiety

HardRockOwl · 01/04/2022 18:41

It's not helpful for anyone to give you reassurance about your breasts but you know this. It only helps 'in the moment' and then it all comes back

You know the high chances are that there's absolutely nothing wrong with your breasts and next month it'll be something else

The best thing you can do is concentrate on treating the real problem - the health anxiety. Good to hear you're trying to tackle that as that's the key

Original poster

worriedoncemore · 01/04/2022 19:07

Thank you for your replies.

There is definitely a hard pea shaped lump. Health Anxiety or not I can feel it. I swear it wasn't there before I found it yesterday - I should know, I check enough! Hopefully, it is hormonal & will go down like the others I've had. If not, I have an appointment with a different GP in 3 weeks to review my anxiety meds so will mention to her. This GP is quite young, whereas the one I saw today is old school so will see what she says.

OP posts:

ServantofthePeople · 01/04/2022 19:09

Good luck.
Will keeping a diary help?

Lougle · 01/04/2022 19:43

[quote worriedoncemore]@Tippexy I know, I know, that's why I'm getting help (Sertraline & Talking Therapy ) but I can't help but worry when I can feel a lump that is real![/quote]
You could check them every day and keep a diary. You will probably find that a pattern emerges, where they are lumpy at a certain point, go smooth, then get lumpy again.

Lumps that are worrying are ones that don't move easily and are irregular.

Most women get lumpy breasts due to hormones, so it's good to know your breasts.

Evening Primrose oil can help, as can vitamin E.

HardRockOwl · 01/04/2022 22:12

I think the worst advice to give someone with anxiety is 'check every day!'

HardRockOwl · 01/04/2022 22:12

And also, breast cancer charities do not advise you do this at all

Lougle · 01/04/2022 22:19

NHS site says "Get used to how your breasts feel at different times of the month. This can change during your menstrual cycle. For example, some women have tender and lumpy breasts, especially near the armpit, around the time of their period."

If the OP knew that 3 days before her period she gets lumpy and 5 days after her breasts are soft again, then she may be reassured that she is just experience hormonal changes.

SirChenjins · 01/04/2022 22:23

Yes mine do.l - and I have had a couple of lumps which appeared and didn’t go. However, my GP has referred me twice now - neither times they could feel the lump but their policy is to refer if the patient feels something as the patient knows their breasts best.

Both times I was right, there was something there - but fortunately just cysts.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 01/04/2022 22:29

@HardRockOwl

I think the worst advice to give someone with anxiety is 'check every day!'

I agree. You're advised to check at the same time monthly so you become used to how they feel and what is normal for you.

Tanfastic · 01/04/2022 23:08

I have been through this and also suffer from a bit of HA. I had my gp check mine about five years ago as I thought I felt a lump. What I actually felt was normal breast tissue. I wasn't convinced though so got a second opinion from a different gp who said exactly the same but was a lot more reassuring and spent a long time explaining to me the anatomy of a breast!

I haven't been back since and boobs are still lumpy but I feel confident now that a sinister lump would stick out like a sore thumb amongst my normal lumps and bumps. I've got used to what's normal for me now so tend to go by that.

janeseymour78 · 01/04/2022 23:14

I have fibrocystic breasts OP - loads of small cysts which are lumpy. Could you have similar? Mine was diagnosed

Original poster

worriedoncemore · 02/04/2022 09:17

Well the lump is still there this morning but smaller & softer, least it was until I started poking again, and it took me a few minutes to re-find it. I guess I'll have to try my hardest to leave it alone and see what happens (Sitsonhands).

OP posts:

Stresseddddddddd · 11/01/2023 20:20

I changed to the mini pill back in July 2022 and started with breast and nipple pain in right breast a couple of months later. Had a breast referral in December where they drained two large cyst. They were happy it was benign and sent me on my way. Found a lump a few days ago and I still have pain so went back to the doctors yesterday. He said although my breast are lumpy he isn’t concerned and that they have ruled out breast cancer already. He said he will refer me anyway and it may take longer than last time as this one isn’t an urgent cancer referral. I then missed a call from the referral unit tonight and now I am stressing out! I now fear the worst again. I’m so fed up of the pain but so worried they are going to tell me I have something horrible wrong. Has anybody experienced nipple pain and cysts? Or changed pills and had a problem ever since?

Healthfreak95 · 21/09/2023 08:05

@Stresseddddddddd how did everything go? I’m in the same boat awaiting clinic appt 🙈

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