Breast pain - severe health anxiety

[1245TD]

Hi everyone,

Before I start, im actually not sure what I want from this post. Possibly to see if anyone has ever been in the same position or even better, someone qualified to give medical advice.

I am a long term sufferer of health anxiety. I feel it consumes my life to the point where I have found myself not looking forward to things as I often think I won’t be around for them (I feel very embarassed admitting that as I know to some, that seems crazy!) I’m 30 for reference.

Anyway, for a long time I’ve been having intermittent breast pain, only one breast and not localised to one area - it spreads from my collar bone, to the side of my breast and my shoulder blade. The pain isn’t unbearable, it does peak and then settles - I did notice a pattern linked to my menstrual cycle but the more I fixated on the pain, the pattern seemed more sporadic. I have no lumps, dimpling, discharge or anything else.

I have been to my GP who gave me a breast exam and said he saw no reason to be concerned. When leaving my gp, I instantly felt better & did not feel the pain for a whole month. I then read of a girl who had BC and my symptoms began again.

It doesn’t matter how many times I read that pain is rarely a cause of BC, I read the one comment that disagrees & instantly fixate on it. I don’t want to waste a drs time again but not really sure where to go from here.

Thank you if you have read on this far. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

I will preface this by saying I have HA and have undergone treatment for it.

Your GP knows far more than a random internet webpage.

you can either go private for an ultrasound to put your mind at rest or you can step away from Google.

i know how hard it is. I am currently fixated on something too. I’ve been told there’s one more test I can have to be 100% sure but they’re pretty sure I don’t have cancer and I’m literally taking it day by day trying to decide if the extra test is to relieve my anxiety or because I physically need it. The doctor seems to be under the impression it’s not necessary physically but I am in a mental war about it so I do understand.

I am so sorry to hear you are also finding it difficult just now. Health anxiety is the worst, especially because the symptoms are very much real - hoping everything goes ok with you !

Ca I asked, you mentioned having treatment for health anxiety - do you feel it had an impact ? I have attended CBT after a car accident and felt I didn’t get much from it. My goal for 2025 is to find help for HA

Having help with your HA is probably a good plan.

you said you noticed a link with your cycle. Not sure if this helps, but I get breast pain during ovulation. BUT only in my left breast when I ovulate on my left side. I only ovulate on the left every other cycle.

could it be that?

I get this around ovulation and leading up to AF. Sometimes it's so bad I have to take painkillers.

Not minimising what you are feeling, but it very likely could be this

Try the DARE app for your anxiety.
I really do get it.

Honestly? Not really. Last Christmas 2023 I knew I needed help and it was my 2024 goal. I had 16 weeks of intensive CBT. I have a better understanding of my behaviours and how they’re causing a problem to me. But I cannot stop them. I have OCD as well which makes it a bit more challenging, although apparently HA is a branch of OCD.

as an example, the other day I was making chicken for dinner but I’d bought a big pack of breasts so was wrapping and freezing the rest. I wore gloves (which I changed part way through, I washed my hands multiple times, I felt like I’d contaminated the rest of the bags I was using, I anti bacced the entire kitchen. I felt like my freezer was contaminated. I had strong thoughts about going veggie so I could stop this shit every time we had chicken. I wanted to cry, my hands were getting sore and I KNEW it was excessive and unnecessary. I knew before my HA and OCD that I absolutely didn’t do this and we never got food poisoning. But I couldn’t stop.

so, no. I have a better understanding but I’m not better. I still Google. I still obsess. It is very difficult and I really feel for you because I know how awful it is.

I can’t tell you how many meals I don’t enjoy or don’t finish because I get an intrusive thought that the food is out of date, want defrosted properly, hasn’t been cooked correctly, has been left out too long. I get packs out of the bin when I sit to eat sometimes because I realise I forgot to check the date on it before I started cooking. A scratch of the throat and I’m worrying it’s flu or covid.

and that’s without the big stuff. Trapped gas? Bowel cancer. Headache? Brain tumour. Sore back? Cauda equina. Tingling foot? MS.

HA is incredibly debilitating.