breast tenderness

[hawk]

Any help here? Every month I have breast tenderness from 5 days to two weeks out of every month.
There is no way I can use the treadmill tomorrow. I'll have to use a bike. For some reason it's really bad this month. I avoid chocolate of course and I cut down coffee to one a day. Some months it is not so bad. This month I can hardly stand the pain to walk. I cannot hug anyone and holding a grandaughter today was almost too much to handle the way they climb all over you.
I wear good support. I hate this.

[Gaelen]

Hawk, this isn't going to be a happy answer, but...
Before chemo sent my hormones into craziness, I was not in menopause. Although things were slowing down, and periods were getting shorter, I was still relatively regular. About five days a month, I also regularly experienced breast tenderness. I found my degree of sensitivity wasn't about the support the bra offered, so much as whether it was smooth inside..and while with the new bras I was definitely more comfortable, it just made the issue bearable. It didn't fix it.

My gyn told me this was normal for a woman who was entering a deeper phase of perimenopause. Unfortunately, about five days immediately prior to my period, I also had something else very 'normal' in women who've never carried a child to term...morning sickness!

I did a little research when he told me this, and unfortunately, there does seem to be a correlation between increasing age, getting closer to menopause, and breast tenderness (and morning sickness) immediately prior to and/or during your period.

Wish the news was better...the single thing that did help me was changing bras until I found a style that didn't press or otherwise stimulate my breasts.

[hawk]

Greeeeeaaaaaattttttttt! I cannot change what I am but I sure have not liked it ever since I was 15. I wish it would just get itself over with. I don't see it happening soon, even at 51. My grandfather was number 6 of 21 kids. My great grandmother died at age 98, Was always healthy and had a huge farm. She could remember all our names and who was in our family and there were over 200 of us great grandkids and spouces. My greatgrandfather died before I was born but he loved them all was a wonderful jokester and read to them all nightly.I believe she had kids till she was 60. All healthy and at home. THe last one in a hospital. The oldest paid to tie her tubes. Only one set of twins. Same parents for all.
I would love for this to be over. sheeeesh.

[Mitra]

Thanks, Lynn for raising the question, and Gaelen for the info. Gaelen, were there any sources that you found particularly informative? With my 45th birthday looming large, I'm getting interested in this stuff!

[Shadow]

Lynn - Back when I was young enough to suffer from this ;), my gyno had me taking Vit E the week before PMS and the week during TOM. It helped me immensely :). But since I never knew when either was occuring, I took it all month long :rolleyes:. Anyway, the dosage she recommended (if I remember right) was 1000 to 1500 IUs per day. Whatever it was, I took 3 capsules a day - and if I remember right, my capsules were 400 IUs.

[hawk]

Today I spent an hour in the pool at the Y in the middle of 53 5-12 year olds for spring break camp. They were leaping all over me playing tag and me gritting my teeth and trying to keep a smile on my face while I peel a kid off of me who is using me as a hiding spot. There were 4 life gaurds out of the pool and two in the pool. What a zoo.When I don't have this, I feel great and love to wrassle around with the kids.

[Gaelen]

Mitra, it's been awhile, but I'll try to look the stuff up. The down side of chemo is that my cycles stopped...but as soon as I'm off chemo for longer than a month, things start to normalize and I bet if I'm ever off chemo for long enough, they'll start up again.

I can tell I could still return to active cycling because, among other things, the breast tenderness returned this month during week 8 off-chemo. :rolleyes

[Mitra]

Something for you to look forward to :rolleyes:.

I'm going to rummage through my cupboard tonight and see what alternative bras I have to see if that helps. I have pretty regular cycles, and usually some degree of tenderness for a week or more after ovulation. It's less noticeable for the last few days - probably drowned out by the rest of the PMS ;).

[deirdra]

A year & a half ago, just as I turned 50, I had a 5-wk-long stint of breast tenderness before my second period in 12 months. My gyno recommended evening primrose oil & it helped more than Vitamin E. Look at the positive sign - soon you will have no more PMS!

[hawk]

Please?????????? Could I really be done with it all???????
I will certainly try the evening primrose oil and the vitamin E. What about the feeling that I turn into Donald Duck have to have so much self control or I lose it and want run through a wall? By the time my cycle starts, I get so lethargic. I want to sleep for three days . I cannot sleep when I get this way either.
The next three or four days is when I paint whole rooms and rearrainge all furniture. Summer is best because I can be out in the garden to I drop.I am very blessed to have a husband of 33 years that will take me out walking at 3 am or to the batting cages or anything to let off all this steam.. I don't think I could live with me if I was him . The only reason I do is that I'm stuck with myself. The rest of the month I am so easy going and relaxed. My gyn said to take B6 but it gives me nightmares.

[Mitra]

I have been taking evening primrose oil, but stopped recently and the breast tenderness has been less this month (without it) than it was for the last few months when I was taking it. It varies anyway, so could be nothing to do with the EPO, but it didn't give any noticeable benefits for me.

[hawk]

Ok Back to square one.

[SherryJ]

Maybe, Hawk... how will you know until YOU try it???

Sherry

[Mitra]

Absolutely. I know it's helped some people - it just isn't the answer for everybody.

[Relief]

The first strong symptom that I had that I was getting deeper into perimenopause was such severe breast tenderness that I couln't even hug anyone without gritting my teeth. It is a primary symptom of estrogen dominance which is the most common type of hormone imbalance at perimenopause. I started using over the counter progesterone cream and it totally fixed the problem. The reason evening primrose oil helps is that it can smooth out hormonal imbalaces, provided they are fairly minor. once you get into a major imbalance, the EPO can help but may not be enough of a big gun to solve it totally. I also found Broage oil--which contains even more GLA, which is the fatty acid that helps, to be more effective than EPO.

If indeed estrogen dominance is the major issue then there will be other symptoms which can confirm the diagnosis, if you need that to feel better about trying this. Read this site about estrogen dominance to answer your questions: http://www.drnorthrup.com/menopause-4a.php#solutions

Using the progesterone cream solved the issue in one cycle for me.

Interesting that when I started the protocol that I'm now using from the compounding pharmacist, I had a couple of bouts with breast tenderness. The DHEA I was using was helping me create more estrogen and I needed to up the progesterone cream to balance it. again fixed it within one cycle once I got the dosage right for me.

[hawk]

Ok, Ok:D Today is worse than yesterday. Know anyone who makes steel breast plates to size? I hug alot of people and I find myself sideways hugging them or holding them at arms length,or simply gritting my teeth. It was great this morning when I laid down on the couch for a minute with a cup of Java and the dog leaped upon my chest to get up on the couch.I almost spilled all my coffee.OUUCH:cool:

[Shadow]

Lynn - I agree that you'll have to experiment to find something that works for you :). The Vit E did more for me that EPO - but that's just me. Obviously it works different for all of us. But you'll never know what works for you until you try something ;). I am totally a confirmed progesterone cream user - I would lose my sanity without it :eek:! But I didn't start using it until I actually entered menopause. But I do 3 weeks on, 1 week off - and that one week is miserable! Anyhoo... Hopefully today or tomorrow a book Deborah recommended will come and I can read up and find out exactly what I need to quit feeling like "dog dirt" all the time :p.

[Relief]

another thought about Evening Primrose oil or Borage oil. GLA is an omega-6 fatty acid. and hence controls the so called " bad " eicosonoids and one of the results of having too much of that is pain and inflamation. Most of us really don't need more omega 6-we need the omega-3's a lot more. My practitioner took me off the borage oil--which I was self administering-- and upped my fish oil instead. He feels supplementing GLA is just adding fuel to the inflamation fire.

Maybe that's why you feel better off the EPO, Janet?

[Mitra]

Maybe. My body certainly seems prone to inflammation - I easily get a high temperature, have hay fever-type allergies. I feel recently that the inflammation is worse in the first half of my cycle - when everything's a bit hyper. In the second half, I don't have enough energy to over-react!

[Janis]

Oh, swell...the sore boobs are just going to get worse. :(

[hawk]

Janis , yours comes in flashes. My inner child keeps playing with matches. I don't think I ever have a hot flash, I'm just always hot. I wear sleeveless in the winter. Except the day I start. That day I just want a blanky and a warm fire with a book. Never happens, I ussually have to work but I wish.

You women are priceless. Somehow I know there will be something that works. I'm willing to try anything. If you told me taking a bath in cow pies would cure it I'd probably do that.

[Janis]

You know, Lynn, I was thinking about all my gripes with perimenopause, including the one in this thread about the sore boobs, when I realized it could be worse - at least I'm not posting in the PP Pregnancy thread!

I need an attitude adjustment.

[mdauster]

How can I find progestrone cream at the store? Is there a common brand name?

[Relief]

mdauster--most healthfood stores will carry it. My local Walgreens drug store does too. ProGest is one good brand as is another called FemGest. You want a cream that has standardized progesterone in it--not just a wild yam cream or some such which will not have enough vital hormone in it to be effective. Use it twice a day and use enough! about 1/4 tsp each time. You can vary the site you put it on--inner arms; inner thighs; abdomen. some women have reported soreness from putting on their breasts so you might want to avoid that. Good luck. You can probably find it on-line too if you have no luck locally.

[Missy]

I just found this thread...and I just wanted to add that I too take compounded (exactly for me) bio identical hormone replacement. Cream specially formulated for me each day of the week, and Progesterone caplets days 12-28 of my cycle.

I used to have major pms mood swings, tender breasts,depression, and that lethargic sleepy days like you mentioned Hawk...and I love my bio identicals..and I don't "worry" about the horrors of being on it compared to the nightmare of the other non "natural" hormone treatment!

Dr John Lee's book "What your Dr. MAY NOT tell you about Perimenopause" this isn't his site..but it talks about his book and his theory:

http://www.power-surge.com/transcripts/johnlee.htm

That's where I began learning about the safe alternative...and how to go about it. If you'd like MORE information...it's good to call your local compounding pharmacy...I'm sure they'll be "up" on this subject, and may even give a seminar to help explain it.

As with everything..so it seems, as we age, our bodies just aren't able to keep up...and these symptoms we are experiencing are just the "signs" are body's are using to tell us that something's out of balance.

I'd be glad to talk more about this subject with anyone who's interested. I "invested" myself learning as much as I could when I realised that this sounded just what I needed.

[jennifer r]

Hello,
I used to have breast tenderness, and moodiness, and sleepiness during the week before my period, and I found that taking a good B complex everyday eradicated the problem completely.....:rolleyes: