Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

alittleconcerned Posted: Jul 30, 2003 09:18 AM

Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

Sorry to be posting under an alias but this is kinda personal. Apologies in advance if this is TMI but I need your thoughts. Is there anyone who can advise me about doing a breast self exam and what exactly I should be looking for? See, I've tried doing this for about a week now and my breasts feel generally 'lumpy' but I don't know if I am feeling 'a lump,' per se. All I know is that I get a little pain on the sideds when I touch them during the exam. How do you know if there is something unusual there? I can't seem to figure it out and am getting a little nervous.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Samanthas Mom Posted: Jul 30, 2003 09:20 AM

Re: Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

WHEN in doubt, see your doctor! Id rather have her laugh at me if its nothing than it be something

eroxgirl Posted: Jul 30, 2003 09:23 AM

Re: Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

Definitely go to your gyno and have him/her check. BUT I felt a lump of my own once, and since my mom has had a few cysts removed from her breasts, naturally I worried, but I felt it about a week before my period and my gyno said that is normal, and that you should not check right before that time.

Sassyz75 Posted: Jul 30, 2003 09:25 AM

Re: Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

I would go to the DR... but I will give you advise my Grandma & Mom have given me...

If you feel a lump and it hurts... then that's a good sign (probably NOT the big C)

Chloegirl Posted: Jul 30, 2003 09:26 AM

Re: Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

I have had a fibroid removed...all I can tell you is that it was big...about the size of a golf ball and the way the doctor knew right away it wasnt just lumpiness was that when he touched it, it moved around. Regular lumpiness doesnt move to the touch. Also lumpiness should come and go with your period.

I hope this helps a little. I would go to the doctor and have it checked. Your rather be safe than sorry. Also, I found my lump,(luckily benign) if I didnt, it could have grown to double the size which would have meant double the scar.

NovemberSue Posted: Jul 30, 2003 09:26 AM

Re: Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

Hope this helps.
self breast exam

Sassy Posted: Jul 30, 2003 09:27 AM

Re: Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

Definitely go to the Doc, also if the lump is hard then I would be concerned, if it's mushy, not as much, but I would still go.

We're here for you. Good Luck and prayers

NovemberSue Posted: Jul 30, 2003 09:27 AM

Re: Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

Good luck. I hope everything's ok.

alittleconcerned Posted: Jul 30, 2003 09:30 AM

Re: Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

Thanks, all. It's more mushy than hard so maybe it's just my cycle or something. I did put a call in to the doctor though just to be safe...

alina Posted: Jul 30, 2003 09:36 AM

Re: Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

Also, if its on both sides, and you did chest press kind of exercises, it may hurt from that too... But that doesn't explain the lump

jenny2penny Posted: Jul 30, 2003 09:57 AM

Re: Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

definetly go to your DR, they are the professional. I know it's scarey. When I was in High school I had a small lump under my arm/side of breast, that would get very tender. After goign for sonograms, they found nothing. hey felt it was a gland that get's tender monthly. 12 years later I am fine. It's a relief to get checked out.

I do commend you on performing a self exam. It's never too early to start and you begin to learn what feels normal and can notice changes. Women should at least go for anual exams, epecially is you are sexually active or on BC pills

daisybride Posted: Jul 30, 2003 10:21 AM

Re: Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

Breast cancer runs rampant in my family and the best advice I can give you is go to a doctor. I am sure that it is most likely nothing, but you MUST get it checked out. You may have fibro-cystic breasts. They are very common and run in my family. There is no problem if that is what you have except they make it harder to detect if there is a real problem. Fibro-cystic breasts mean your breast feel lumpy all over. Kind of like there is extra fiber in there. I hope this helps! Please let me know if there is anything else I can do.

Sasha96 Posted: Jul 30, 2003 11:46 AM

Re: Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

I agree with the other ladies...see your doctor. He/She can explain how to do a self-exam and may even have something to help you out with it (like a shower hanging card). Your lumpiness may come and go with your cycle and may be exaggerated by eating certain foods (i.e. those with caffine)...you may be fibrocystic. If so, when you do regular exams you get to know the regular lumps and can tell if there are any changes in them. Going to the doctor is a good idea because they can tell if something is problematic. There are also many breast cancer groups that will give out information on self exams.

StayandJohn Posted: Jul 30, 2003 11:48 AM

Re: Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

If you tend to consume a lot of caffiene (SP?) it can cause cysts in your breast just around the time of the month, and they can be painful. This happend to me, I was taking diet pills (ephedra) and my gyno told me to cut down the caffeine and I havnet had a reoccurence since.

kmcwed Posted: Jul 30, 2003 11:56 AM

Re: Longtime user with a personal problem, need your advice please!!

Where are you in your cycle? You should ALWAYS examine your breasts on day 7 or 8 of your cycle (day 1 being the first day of your period). This is when your hormones are at their best levels for a breast exam).

Anywhere from ovulation on, there are changes in the breast tissue that occur from changing hormone levels, changing fluid levels, and if you have lumpy breasts in general, they will feel lumpier from ovulation until you get your period.

Also, some women get tender breasts after ovulation. I get them all the time. They are most tender along the outsides of each breast, especially if I push in on the sides slightly. Sometimes even the n*pples can feel sore and tender. This is all normal. So the tenderness you feel COULD be related to your cycle.

With all that in mind, I would still make an appointment to see your doctor. It's probably NOTHING at all, and most likely the normal changes in breast tissue that we all get, but when it comes to things like this you really have to be cautious. Rather safe than sorry!

So reassure yourself with the information from everyone, but make an appointment anyway. Also, your doctor can teach you the proper way to do a Self Breast Exam. Don't let fear keep you away from a quick checkup!

No worries!!