Arghhh loosing my mind!! :(

[ElectricAlice]

I'm on the 5th day of my period and my left breast is still warmer than my right and still bigger. It's not sore or anything. But it was always the right one that was bigger.

And now I've noticed (this is embarrassing :( ) that the left nipple is smaller too and doesn't stick out as much at all :(

Is this normal?!

Anyone else have any of this?
I phoned my dr and they don't have any apointments today, she said it was fine on Monday.

[BettyIW]

I saw a Dr on TV who said the only symmetrical breasts she had ever seen in real life were fake ones. So thats normal.

[debs71]

Hi ElectricAlice,

I know you are very anxious but please do try to do the following things:

1. Stop examining/looking at/touching your breast as this may well be contributing to the heat and the fact that eveything appears bigger to you. We notice things that sometimes are not even the case when we constantly look at something with HA.

2. STOP GOOGLING. I have been guilty of this too when I discovered my breast and ovarian cysts, and all it does it exacerbate your fears when 9 times out of 10 you are not seriously ill.

3. Distraction. If all you are doing all day is looking at your breast(s) and not focusing on other stuff your anxiety just grows. The mind cannot focus on the concern if it is busy out doing other stuff - shopping, walking, tv, music, etc.

I am on my period right now, and my breasts are warm, one considerably more than the other, but I only know now as I touched it. This is hormonal. It is normal. Breast heat is not a sign of cancer, nor tenderness. My nipples also enlarge/decrease dep on the time of the month. One is also inverted whilst the other isn't, and yet other times, neither is inverted. Our bodies are not always static as our hormones are not.

Please be reassured by your GP. They see hundreds of patients and are used to distinguishing between the normal and the abnormal or if they are in two minds, referring patients to a specialist. I am certain that if your GP had any doubts she would have referred you for further investigation/scan, etc. When I went to my GP about my sore breast she found a lump and referred me, straight away. Your GP would have done the same if she even had an inkling that the heat wasn't normal as many, many GP's like to be on the safe side rather than dismiss anything they are dubious about.

I do so hope that things calm down for you hun.xxx

[ElectricAlice]

Thank you Debs, seriously that was such a good reply for me to read just now. It made me feel lots better. thank you :) I think my breast has decreased a bit in size too.

I'm going to re-read your post if I feel bad again.

My sister also pointed out that there's not really anything else that can go wrong with breasts (apart from infection and cysts I think) so if you type anything into google to do with breasts it'll most likely be cancer that comes up.

I just need to trust doctors more. I have a real problem about that because my mum went to the DR's twice before she suddenly passed away :( and I have resentment towards them for not realising something was wrong, so this makes me terrified they've missed something. But it might have been the case the DVT wasn't there when she went, because if they saw that they would have referred her.

But that's where most of my HA comes from. Thinking I'll miss something, if you get what I mean? It's such a fear that if I don't check I'll miss something.

Thanks again though, you've been a big help for me through this :)

[debs71]

Aww, I'm sorry about your Mum.xx :hugs:I think things like that OF COURSE would stick in the mind and colour your own experiences hun. No wonder you are so worried.

A similar thing happened to my Nan. She had an ulcerated leg and it wasn't taken very seriously. Her GP referred her to hospital (but not urgently) and told her to stay in and rest her leg up on a cushion. Anyway, shortly afterwards she died very suddenly at home as a clot went to her heart from her leg. It coloured our view of healthcare a lot, making us think 'if only', and it does make you quite suspicious sometimes for sure. I try to give GPs the benefit of the doubt though as they see tons of people with all different things.

Anyway hun, I am sure that things will be just fine for you.

Lots of love.xx

[ElectricAlice]

I'm pretty much finished my period now. Well day 6. And I'm still having one warmer than the other. I know that's a symptom of IBC and I'm still a bit worried :(

I thought it was m period but it's still like that :(