breast pain

[joi]

is it concerning to have tenderness in one breast? it is not in one specific area but in many areas all over my breast..I am 7 months pregnant so I know that pain is normal but my right is not really that tender anymore..it hurts when I press on different areas on my left breast..I did have a negative ultrasound of my breast last month..

[desert girl]

I am a 45 year old female, married, and have never been pregnant. I hsve been having off and on pain behind/under my left breast and under my left arm in the underarm area for about year and a half. At about the same time I started having menopause symptoms like hot flashes and my periods went from being 28 days apart to 21. I am not on any medications or hormone replacement therapy. About 12 wks ago, I was having extreme shoulder pain around the top of my left shoulder which I think was caused by a new exercise I did in which I raised both my arms over my head while lying down. I felt an excruciating pain in my left shoulder so immed. stopped doing the exercise.I had the shoulder xrayed and it came back negative. My Dr. thinks the shoulder pain was due to a torn rotator cuff. At the same time that I had the shoulder pain, the pain under my arm got really bad for about a week. Since then, it has gradually lessened and gone back to its original degree of pain ( a 3 out of 10). Since the pain started, I've had 2 mammograms, one in Oct 2002 and another in Oct. 2003. a chest xray, and chest Catscan. All have come back negative. I've also had 2 Drs perform breast exams on me and they felt nothing abnormal. My Dr wanted to send me for another screening mammogram but after talking to the lady at the Breast Care Center here she said I should be having a diagnostic mammogram since I am having pain. So I am going in for a diagnostic mammo. next week.

Is it normal to have on and off breast pain and underarm pain for this long? Do you think I should have additional tests done and if so, what?  I am so frustrated and scared at this point! Thank you.

[joi]

I have been complaining about this since the beginning of my pregnancy..they keep telling me it's normal..like I said last month I did have a ultrasound done of my breast and it was normal..should I pursue any thing else? it's been a few months now..

[surgeon]

Tenderness is very common, and even more so during pregnancy. It's very often not symmetrical. Breast cancer, much more often than not, is painless. It's good to have any new persisting symptom checked out, but generally the worry is very low in your case.

[surgeon]

I've said elsewhere, "rare things are rare, and common things are common." Which means what you describe is almost certainly normal. Could it be something else? It's not absolutely impossible -- that's always true with humans. If you don't find yourself comfortably reassured by your doctors, you could ask to see a breast surgeon.

[CCF-RN,MSN-JS]

Dear joi, Breast pain/tenderness is a common breast symptom and may be related to normal fluctuations in hormones due to pregnancy.  It is not uncommon for breast pain to be only in one breast.