More breast issues and need some logical thinking

[Unicorn1985]

Thanks, I hope so too! Saw the doctor and she said there seems to be an issue with the muscles between my ribs, most likely caused by carrying a heavy toddler too much, haha. It’s also possible that one of my ribs on that side is cracked (my daughter likes to jump up and down on my ribcage), but she thought the sensations are most likely caused by cramped muscles.

Im glad you’ve been seen and hope it puts your mind at ease.

my armpit/side of breast aching seems to be getting worse. It’s really stressing me out which I’m sure isn’t helping things at all. X

thanks for your response Lucy, I know from all the googling most things present as a lump but then you find those odd cases where pain is the only symptom and you think that’s what’s happening to you x

[Unicorn1985]

This seems to be getting worse

my chest is so achy, I keep obsessively checking my armpit on the side it’s aching as the aching won’t go. I swear it feels lumpy towards my breast but my husband has checked three times and said he can’t feel anything. To me it’s bumpy almost feels like a dent in the skin but you can’t see a dent there. The armpit is aching a lot and side of breast. Armpit also feels like I’ve got shaving rash at times, that kind of soreness in the skin but no rash. My chest feels really tight this morning and sore, all of this is the Kerr side. It was aching when I laughed yesterday. I don’t get why it’s getting worse again. It felt like it was better after my check up but now it feels worse and this armpit thing is really stressing me out,

i read about bout a woman who was misdiagnosed with costochondritis but had breast cancer. I wwsnt scanned and my breasts aren’t small. What if there is a lump closer to the chest muscles and you can’t feel it through manual exams. I’m really spiralling

[BlueIris]

Do you think that hypervigilance could maybe be at play here?

[Unicorn1985]

Do you think that hypervigilance could maybe be at play here?

I keep jumping between the two to be honest. I know I’m much better in some ways as I refuse to google anymore. I know it will tell me I have cancer so there is nothing to be gained from it (story about the woman popped up on my newsfeed on fb) but then the other part of my brain says what if your anxiety isn’t creating this. What if by not scanning you they missed something!

It all all comes back to my daughter being stillborn. I knew something was wrong and they refused many times to take me seriously. She died a horrible death over the course of about two weeks the consultant thinks. He told me what happened to her when she was dying and it’s heart breaking. It kills me just thinking about it. I always come back to this and think am I being fobbed off again, why do they always assume because you have no family history and are in your thirties that it couldn’t possibly be anything bad. I was the only one in a very large family to lose a child. My brain struggles to stay rationale about this.

[BlueIris]

I'm so very sorry for your loss, Unicorn - I wasn't aware. Put that way, your fears make a lot more sense.

Have you explained your worries to any of the doctors you've seen?

[Unicorn1985]

I did to the gp that diagnosed the costochondritis. He suggested counselling and I’ve had that for quite some time but it’s not helping anymore. I don’t know what to do anymore to be honest. I just want to get back to who I was and I don’t feel I ever will be. This fear of death has taken such a hold on my life. The physical symptoms tip me over the edge every Time! I’m now getting this tingly feeling in the breast that is the same side as the aching armpit and costochondritis. It just feels like as soon as I get over one issue another comes along with in days. Another symptom, another pain, another lump, another bump. I was always so blasé about illness.

[Nicole0134]

Hi Unicorn

My costochondritis has flared up again as well! I'm pretty sure it's the chest wall but like you - feel that one breast seems to be suffering more that the other. This has been going on for months. I did contact the Breast cancer helpline earlier in 2019 and like I said earlier in the thread (I think!) - they said that without constant pain in the breast (mine is intermittent) and no redness etc, it's unlikely to be anything sinister. I still worry though - good old HA.

I do move from having one thing after another - at the moment the tightness in my chest and chronic cough is causing me more issues that the BC worry. Then my little finger might start shaking and I think - bugger, it's MS after all!! But I really feel for you - you are so young to have to put up with this. Like you, I too was pretty relaxed about health stuff - I'm generally more anxious now I'm older. You've also had such a traumatic event to deal with too.

Maybe you should consider alternative therapies if the counselling isn't helping. Go back to your GP and ask "That didn't work - what next?"

Hang on in there - and know that you're not alone x

[Unicorn1985]

It’s just horrible Nicole isn’t it. I wish the constant thoughts would just go away. I see other people who just don’t seem to worry about this type of thing. Even my friend told me she found another breast lump but because she has several which are benign she’s not worried. I had anxiety on her behalf over it! I wish I could be relaxed.

Im sorry to hear yours has flared up again. I don’t think I would worry so much if my armpit wasn’t aching and hurting so much. I just don’t understand why it is. I know I tend to lay on my left side a lot more but I’ve done nothing strenuous so this is why I keep thinking it’s cancer that’s spreading. Even just pottering around in the kitchen now when I’m moving about I’m getting this horrible sore feeling in my armpit. Am I being over aware? Would it go away if I didn’t pay attention to it? Is it all in my head and that’s creating a physical symptom? It seems to move around the armpit. Sometimes towards the breast, sometimes higher up, sometimes towards the back. Then the top of the breast keeps tingling loads. I’m just so drained with it all.

I think maybe finding another counsellor who could do some cbt would be useful. Mine wasn’t doing that just talking but I need techniques to help me push these thoughts out of my head. I’m willing to do it I just don’t know how.

I really hope yours calms down and this cough goes away for you soon. It’s all adds to the worries xx

[Unicorn1985]

Morning everyone.

Sad to be posting again about breast worries but I can feel it building up. I can feel a spiral coming and I need someone please to help me before I get sucked in to it. I’m trying, but I’m so tired and tearful!

Over the past year I’ve had a lot of issues with my left breast, it’s always my left breast and I don’t know why.

I now have a rash thats come up. It’s on the underside of the breast and it’s red. It’s not overly sore or itching even. I think I’ve caused it or could possibly be yeast infection? I’ve stopped wearing underwire bras as they cause me pain and again always on the left side where the wire seems to dig in. So I’ve got these vest sports bra type ones on. I find they create a lot of boob sweat. On Saturday we went out and did a morning of archery and axe throwing (I am right handed though) then took the dog for a walk, so I didn’t end up having a bath until about 9pm. Just before my bath I noticed my boob was itchy underneath so I gave it a good scratch. Itching stopped put it down to sweat, but since Sunday morning I’ve now got a red kind of rash right at the bottom of the breast underneath and the crease bit is very red. Is this caused by itching? Sweat? Rash hasn’t gotten worse or better but I’ve put cream on it.

Im trying to stay logical and not poke or look at it loads.

Ive bee having pain in my amprit for a few weeks now, period has just finished. Seems to jump around the armpit though. Ranging from skin burning feeling to deep aches. Sometimes top of the armpit, sometimes towards breast. If I tense and touch the the side of the armpit just above the breast that’s very sore and I can feel the discomfort in my breast on the same side. Don’t really have that on the other side.

Just generally feel achy adown the left side, front of left side and back of left side. Even carrying a heavy bag on the right shoulder caused pressure type feelings on the left side. Shoulder aches but I have jaw issues so beleieve that’s linked in with that instead.

I know as we focus on a certain area we tense more and I’m aware of that. I can feel myself tensing up my left side,

my costochondirits has flared up again, stabbing pain in the breast has gone but now getting a dull ache deep in the breast. Sometimes close to the sternum, other times closer to my armpit side. I never had deep aching in my breast closer to the armpit when this first flared up a few months ago. If I knock my breast of lean on it I find I keep getting w deep ache. Probably doesn’t help that I seem to sleep on my left side most of the time. When I get really anxious I tend to sleep really deep and I think I stay on one side most of the night which is usually the left. I always wake up on my left side.

So logic can explain a lot of this but the anxiety keeps saying because they didn’t scan me when I was diagnosed with the costochondritis that they didn’t detect any cancer, as it’s deep in my breast which can’t be felt. My husband has done my manual exams (I just can’t do it) every month since I was checked by a dr. He says he can’t feel any lumps or skin changes. Due my monthly check this week which he will do tomorrow now my period has ended.

Ive also noticed I have a small kind of dip on my right breast, it’s diredtly above when two veins cross over. These two veins puff up a lot but not constantly. So I’m thinking it’s the veins causing this slight dip? I can straighten it out if I pull the breast taught and so lump can be felt underneath.

I just can’t seem to distract myself from this and of course the more we focus the worse it becomes.

Bit of background and I know we all have our trigger that caused our health anxiety. My daughter was stillborn 11 years ago. I knew something was wrong, I was measuring small at every midwife check, I expressed my fears several times about not feeling right and movements not being right. I was constantly fobbed off, because I was 22 and it couldn’t possibly be anything as bad no family history! Well it ended up with my daughter being starved to death slowly over the course of a few weeks (yes fetuses can feel pain, they’ve even been shown to cry in the womb) and dying a horrible death. I then had to give birth and I kept forgetting she was dead when I was in labour. It was horrific. I then found myself sat in a funeral directors choosing music and a coffin.

I share that because I know how devestating it can actually be when the Drs don’t listen to you, when they dismiss you and tell you everything is fine, when that happened to me my child lost her life and now im terrified all the time, next time I will lose my life as it couldn’t possibly be cancer or anything bad!

The problem now is my gut feelings were so right back then, now I feel the same constantly but I know I’ve been wrong many times already. My head is fried from this constant battle of what if this is something this time. Why am I so fixated with this breast? Have I caused this costochondritis from constantly being focused on this breast? Why the left side always? I just wish someone could promise me everything will be ok but I know nobody can.

Sorry for war and peace x

[BlueIris]

No worries. I'm sorry you've had such an awful time, but I know you'll be okay.

Remind me: are you getting help with your anxiety right now?