Anonymous
2 years
Breast Pain at One Side
Hi, I’m a 20-year-old female and I started experiencing breast pain since 5 years ago. The pain were mostly on left side, rarely on right side. The location of the pain is mostly on left upper breast (close to armpit), lower left breast, occasionally sharp pain in nipple. It is mild, comes on-and-off, but disturbing. Once it happens, it lasts for about 10 minutes. I am not sure whether if its related to menstrual cycle as it also happens during normal days and mostly occurs in one side, but I do notice it getting more frequent and worse in 10 days before/during my period.
Also, I notice that when I’m stress (eg rushing to write an essay, playing an intense song on piano), my chest feels tight and the breast pain will occur again. Sometimes, when I lift very heavy objects, I might also feel the pain on right breast.
5 years ago, I’ve did blood test and chest X-ray and everything shows normal, just a bit high cholesterol. I also don’t have any medical conditions. I’ve done some basic self check, no lumps or changes in texture/shape of breast. But I notice that my left upper breast tissue is stiffer and larger than right side, and has larger axillary breast tissue.
Side notes: Since last year, I get heart palpitations and feels breathless occasionally. Done ECG before and the doctor said it’s probably due to stress. Not sure if its related but I wrote it down just for reference.
This condition worries me a lot and often affects my mood… What could be the possible cause? Should I get any specific breast screening? Please advise.
Dr Nur Syuhada binti Zulkifli,
2 years
Hello and good afternoon.
Thank you for your question.
Based on your question, I understand that you are worried about your problem. I will try to help you.
According to your description, the symptoms you are experiencing can be due to several factors such as:
- Injury around the breast area
- Poor-fitting bra
- Hormonal changes
- Pain originating from chest wall (pulled muscle, inflammation around the ribs etc.)
- Breast infection - usually will come with lumps or redness
- Medication side effects
For your information, cyclical breast pain which is affected by hormones and is related to your menstrual cycle, occurs in both breasts most of the time.
However, if you notice any of these symptoms occurring, please immediately seek medical help:
- Lump in the breast
- Any skin changes over the breast e.g. redness, blisters, dimpling, skin breaks leading to pus or blood leakage
- Severe chest pain
- Chest pressure / squeezing pain
- Difficulty breathing
In order for us to provide you with an accurate choice of treatment and management, we will need a more thorough exploration of your current complaints.
Seeing how these symptoms have been ongoing for a very long time and is beginning to affect your mood, I would highly recommend arranging an appointment with your nearby gynaecologist outpatient clinic to get a thorough check and physical examination for proper further treatment. You can also contact our doctor online for further information and advice too.
I hope this answer helps you. Thank you.
Click here to speak to a doctor