bloody discharge ..

[lizzy100]

hi im 24, never had kids, and the other day i noticed my right nipple had suddenly started leaking blood for no apparent reason. a couple of hours later it happened again. then a day or so later i noticed my areola looked a little swollen. i also noticed my breasts also produce some milky substance though not spontaneously like the blood, only on slight squeezing. i am on the pill, but i dont think any of the discharge is likely to be due to hormone levels since i just had them tested a few weeks ago and they were all fine. im going to the doctors next week but im really worried in the meantime. should i be worried?

[japdip]

Well I won't tell you not to worry .... we all worry when something happens that we know isn't exactly normal. This could be a ductal problem but it could also be something more serious. You are very wise to have this ck.d out. It's impossible to speculate as to the exact cause of the discharge without examination but I would refrain from stimulating the nipple which always encourages some breast discharge.  Regards ....  

[lizzy100]

what exactly is a ductal problem>? u mean like a benign tumour in the duct ? im really scared.

[japdip]

The discharge you mentioned is sometimes a symptom of Papilloma of the milk ducts. Papilloma is an overgrowth of cells within the milk ducts.  This information is in no way an attempt to diagnose your specific problem and you should have this ck.d out by your Dr. as soon as possible.  Anything concerning the breast should always be evaluated by your Physician.      Regards ....

[notgoingdown]

First off I am not a Dr! I am a patient. I just had this to happen to me. Here is what I know as of now. 85-90% of the time bloody discharge is a papilloma in the milk duct. I was told that I needed surgery to remove the milk duct for futher testing because I met the 3 pieces of criteria (maybe for my Dr or just in general) which was that the discharge was bloody, came from only one breast and lastly because it would come out with a manipulation of the nipple. My surgeon required that I have a mammogram and ultrasound (I am 38 btw) and both test showed nothing but the surgery was already gonna be done deal cuz of the 3 things I mentioned. My surgery was yesterday evening and I have taken nothing more than 600-800 mg of ibuprofen for any pain. The surgeon told me that she could tell me nothing more until the lab tests are back on the milk duct. Cancer of the milk duct is VERY rare and even if it turns out to be cancer it is a very slow spreading cancer had and extremely high rate of completely removing it without it coming back.
Like I said... not a Dr just passing on what I was told & my treatment  for the same exact thing.  

[notgoingdown]

CORRECTION
3rd thing was the discharge comes out WITHOUT any nipple manipulation... comes out all by itself.
sorry bout that

[lizzy100]

hi thanks for the replies. yes with me it came out spontaneously not with manipulation, but it hasnt happend since. yes iv heard of the papilloma thingy and that they often seem to do sugery :( did they just remove the one duct with you then? im scared.

[notgoingdown]

Yes they just removed the one duct. I had no lumps to be felt or seen on the mammogram. I would tell you not to be scared but it would be the pot calling kettle black as I was TERRIFIED! I couldnt find anyone who had went thru what I was experiencing so every time someone would tell me it is probably nothing & not to worry I couldnt help but still worry. Other than your age and the fact that you have no children our symptoms are very similar. So I will tell you to at least try not to worry.

[lizzy100]

thanks notogoingdown. yes im pretty terrified too, especially since they do seem to do surgery for the duct removal stuff even if they think its a benign problem. although im pretty terrified just about going to the docs for the physical exam, so god knows what i'l be like with the other tests! i dont have anyone to tlk to here either, just the web. but people have been helpful.

[notgoingdown]

The one thing I was lucky about was that due to job reasons I asked my Dr to hurry with anything they had to do. I saw the surgeon to discuss if I needed the surgery 3 days before I had it which gave me the added benefit of not having time to worry too much.
Probably they will send you for a mammogram & ultrasound of the breast first. Then they may want to send you for some special MRI... I am glad they skipped that step with me cuz according to my surgeon I had to have it taken out no matter which tests showed what and I have a big deductible on my insurance. Since the test would have been a moot point I am glad I didnt need to pay for it for nothing. Keep that in mind if you have insurance/ payment issues.

[lizzy100]

do u think they will, because i read somewhere that they dont always do mammograms if your under 30. the ultra sound thing do they do that on just one breast? and the mammogram on both? yea i do have private health insurance but i dont know if id use it or not, as still have to pay the excess, prob wait n see if surgery is suggested and how urgent it is to be done. why did u have to have it out if its benign?

[notgoingdown]

I would say that with the symptoms they will go ahead with the mammogram but that is just a guess. For me they did mammo on both breasts but the US only on the one with the blood. As for having it out if it is benign there really isnt any way to tell that it isnt cancer in the milk duct without testing it, hence the surgery. They take the entire duct I guess to test all of it.
As for not using your insurance that is up to you... but it can get pricey I would imagine and if it does come back all clear it wont be like there is a pre existing condition (at least I dont think so) You could probably call the accounting dept at whatever place they are sending you to and see if they could give you prices... myself I dont think I want to know the prices LOL till after it is all said & done then I will work out a payment plan for my part of it.

[lizzy100]

dont know where ur from but i wouldnt pay for it on the NHS, and private theres a wee bit of a one off excess to pay. but i'll wait and see. i also kind of have two homes at the moment so it depends where i am at the time, im not sure what the hospitals are like round here but at home they're quite good. iv recently changed docs, because of moving house and my old doc left. i really miss her , it would have been so much easier with her.
thats pretty stingy of the US isnt it! i expect they do both here.
er did the op hurt? and afterwards? how much time off work did u have to take?
im really hoping my doc will tell me im just being stupid and theres so reasonable explanation, but i dont think there is. i read somewhere that they have to do surgery to investigate bleeding.  
thanks for all your help!

[notgoingdown]

I am in the U.S. but I take from your post you are either in Canada or the UK. I buy my own insurance and I cant afford the best so I have a pretty high deductible which is my portion to pay of any medical charges per year.
I was pleasantly surprised as to how easy the surgery was. I only used over the counter ibuprofen for pain. I had it done Friday evening so I didnt have to work the next day but if I had to I could have... I have a desk job. I doubt I could have done anything that required lifting or using my arms a lot. The discharge papers said no lifting over 10 pounds for a week.

[lizzy100]

im actually in pain now, dont know whats going on :(

[notgoingdown]

After I discovered where the blood was coming from and the initial panic attack from that I noticed burning tingle sensations from inside my breast. I am not sure if it was always there but I just didnt notice it (not a bad pain but enough for me to go 'what the heck is that feeling') or if my mind created the pain cuz of my worry. Be sure to discuss it with your Dr when you go in tho.

[lizzy100]

yep got to go for more tests, ultrasound at some breast unit. said its very unlikely to be anything malignant since im young and low risk, but that doesnt make me feel any better tbh.