DEALING WITH BREAST PAIN IN PERIMENOPAUSE

Breast pain, known as mastalgia, is a symptom that a lot of us ladies suffer with during our perimenopause years. Fortunately, breast pain should become a thing of the past once you’re in your postmenopause years. However, like most things menopausal there’s no guarantee of this.

If you suffer with breast pain yourself you will know just how uncomfortable it can be.

I’ve added some tips for relieving your breast pain at the end of this blog. I hope you find them helpful.

So What’s Causing The Pain?

Breast pain might not come as much of a surprise to most women. After all, even before you reach your perimenopause stage you’re likely to have suffered with breast pain at some point. Most probably on a regular monthly basis along with your monthly bleeds.

Nonetheless past experience doesn’t always make it any easier to cope with.

The cause of breast pain during perimenopause is the same as the cause for the pain you experienced during your normal monthly cycle or when you were pregnant.

Hormonal fluctuation.

Because hormonal fluctuation can be erratic during perimenopause breast pain can be erratic too. When you have a fairly regular monthly cycle you tend to know at what point in the month you’re likely to get PMS symptoms, breast pain included.

But when your cycle begins to be disrupted things are no longer easy to judge. This means you can experience breast pain more often as your hormones dance a jig.

What Does Breast Pain Feel Like?

Breast pain can feel different from woman to woman. And you won’t always necessarily experience the same type of pain. It can vary in type and intensity. Either way it can be extremely unpleasant.

For example you can feel:

• Burning
• Throbbing
• Soreness
• Aching
• Stabbing pains

You can get more than one type of pain at the same time or find that the type of pain changes between each episode. Episodes of breast pain can be short or prolonged. We’re all different so your experience is unlikely to be the same as mine, or any other woman’s for that matter, but it’s just as valid.

Other Menopause Related Breast Changes

But it’s not only pains that can affect your breasts at this stage of your life. You are also likely to notice other changes to your breasts during your perimenopause and postmenopause years.

Because the breast’s milk system shuts down it means that the glandular tissue shrinks. This leads to your breasts becoming less dense in texture and more fatty. And, not surprisingly, they start to sag.

For most women this means that their breasts become smaller than they were in pre-perimenopause years. Although, oddly given the shrinkage of glandular tissue, some women find that their breasts actually get bigger.

You can also find that the texture of your breasts change too. During perimenopause in particular, you may find that your breasts feel lumpier than they used to. The changes to the glandular tissue make your breasts feel different to the touch as well as changing their appearance.

Which leads me to the next important point about breast changes.

All Women Need To Check Their Breasts Regularly

Because your breasts are likely to become lumpier anyway it can make things a little harder to judge. But if you check your breasts and armpits regularly you get to know how they normally look and feel. Which means that you will spot anything out of the ordinary sooner rather than later.

This can save your life.

Changes to look out for include:

• Unusual Lumps
• Discharge form the nipples
• Redness
• Increase in size
• Change in appearance such as puckering of the skin

A lump is not necessarily cancer and more often than not it isn’t. It’s important though to get any lumps or changes you find checked by your doctor as soon as possible. If you find any of the things I have listed above, or anything that is unusual for you and is causing you concern make an appointment with your doctor.

The Importance Of Routine Breast Screening

In the UK routine breast screening will be offered to you when you reach 50. You can ask to be screened earlier if you have a family history of breast cancer or other concerns about the health of your breasts.

The screening will be repeated every 3 years. I would strongly advise you to take up the offer. Breast screening can detect early changes in your breasts that may indicate cancer. While not all changes are cancer the earlier a problem is diagnosed and treated the better.

It only takes a few minutes of your time to be screened. It may be a little uncomfortable but it’s not painful. The process is discreet and professional and the results don’t take too long to come through. It’s really worth your while getting it done.

Remember that you will still need to do your own regular breast examinations as problems can arise between screenings. And don’t forget to check your armpits too as they are an important part of checking for changes in your breast health.

Tips And Tricks To Relieve Breast Pain

• Pain relief is probably the first thing that comes to mind. Over the counter pain relief is widely available e.g Ibuprofen or paracetamol. Ask your pharmacist for some advice. They are medically trained and discreet when it comes to personal matters. A lot of pharmacies/ chemists now have a private consultation ‘booth’ for people who prefer to ask for advice in private.

• A supportive bra is important. A surprising number of us are wearing the wrong size bra. Have a proper bra fitting done. A lot of reputable stores offer a free fitting service and advice on suitable bra styles. Underwired bras may be a contributing factor for breast pain. So if you usually wear an underwired bra it’s worth trying a bra that has supporting wide elastic under the cups instead.

• A warm shower or warm bath can help the pain. Don’t have the water too hot though, nice and warm will do. Especially if you suffer with hot flushes and night sweats. You don’t want to trigger one.

• Heat pads may also help relieve the discomfort. You need to read the instructions though as some are not suitable to be placed directly on the skin. Remember you need warm not hot, particularly on sensitive areas of skin such as your breasts.

• Caffeine and smoking can make the pain worse. Cut down, or if possible, cut them out completely.

• Hydration is important for all aspects of your health so it’s important for your breasts too. Poor hydration leads to water retention (I know that sounds odd) and water retention can cause breast pain. So keep yourself well hydrated with plenty of water.

• Alternative/ natural treatments and remedies are widely available. B vitamins, Vitamin E, Omega-3 fatty acids, Evening Primrose Oil, Starflower Oil and acupuncture are a few examples. These treatments are usually based on traditional use rather than medical trials so you will need to make your own judgement. It’s also worth asking friends, family and colleagues if they have found something that works for them.