Question for the ladies/mothers who ever breastfed

[Ellebel 67]

So i had my baby 5 weeks ago and i am breastfeeding. Because of breastfeeding i massage my breast often and i notice things. One is what i thought was a huge thin hard lump Covering a quarter of my breast at least, a semi thin thing not going towards the nipple but ‘horizontally’ over the upper outer quadrant of the breast. En sync with the round shape of the breast.  Been there at least these five weeks. Had an ultrasound and the doc said not to worry, normal breast tissue. Milk glands probably. But why so ‘hard/firm’ and why does it feel softer on the other breast? Is this normal? Should i trust the doc? Can breast tissue be firmer on one side? Could it have to do with breastfeeding since i never noticed before?  

[Jennifer1 8]

4 hours ago, Ellebel said:

 Because of breastfeeding i massage my breast often 

What ? Why ? There's no reason to be massaging your breasts often. 🤦‍♀️

You've had an ultrasound and been told it's normal breast tissue. 

What answer are you looking for?

[Ms.Moon 18]

On 5/10/2020 at 12:16 PM, Ellebel said:

So i had my baby 5 weeks ago and i am breastfeeding. Because of breastfeeding i massage my breast often and i notice things. One is what i thought was a huge thin hard lump Covering a quarter of my breast at least, a semi thin thing not going towards the nipple but ‘horizontally’ over the upper outer quadrant of the breast. En sync with the round shape of the breast.  Been there at least these five weeks. Had an ultrasound and the doc said not to worry, normal breast tissue. Milk glands probably. But why so ‘hard/firm’ and why does it feel softer on the other breast? Is this normal? Should i trust the doc? Can breast tissue be firmer on one side? Could it have to do with breastfeeding since i never noticed before?  

I asked my mom since she breastfed all us kids.  She said sometimes one breast produces more milk than the other that may be what is the issue here you may be producing more milk in that breast and the firmness you’re feeding is the breast duct filling with more milk than the other.

[Ellebel 67]

On 5/10/2020 at 10:26 PM, Jennifer1 said:

What ? Why ? There's no reason to be massaging your breasts often. 🤦‍♀️

You've had an ultrasound and been told it's normal breast tissue. 

What answer are you looking for?

Because the lactation specialist told me to 

[Jennifer1 8]

13 hours ago, Ellebel said:

Because the lactation specialist told me to 

Since this recommendation is causing you anxiety, maybe it's time to stop. (You've had an ultrasound, you've been told it's normal breast tissue and you can't seem to let it go, that's a problem)

Maybe this massaging thing is something new, do you have trouble producing enough milk? 

Is massaging supposed to get the milk to let down? 

Nature is amazing, you can just think about your baby.. hear your baby cry and literally feel the milk tingling down your chest. 

...and yes, I breast fed 2 babies (1 year each) and had a lactation specialist, no dr, nurse, lactation specialist ever suggested I massage my breasts. 

At this point, ask yourself if it's helping or hurting?

 

 

[Holls 1505]

On 5/13/2020 at 9:08 AM, Ellebel said:

Because the lactation specialist told me to 

Ellebel! Hi. I'm so excited for you! Being a new mom has so many emotions. Remember I told you that after the baby is born anxiety rises.  It's all hormone related so your worries and over concerns about your breast is anxiety and nothing more. You got it checked out so now just take a deep breath and enjoy that baby! Hugs hun!!!!!! 

[Ihadcancer 321]

Be sure to have baby empty both breasts if possible without over feeding.  Don't switch to the 2nd side until you feel empty AND don't favor one side.  Put a pin on the side you finished on and rotate regularly.  

 

[Ellebel 67]

Thanks all.. i cannot seem to let this one go easily 😫. Maybe its because im confronted with my breast constantly while feeding. I found this orange coloured plague on that same breast a few weeks ago and now a tiny second one. First i hardly thought anything of it but now i am suddenly convinced that there is something wrong and the US missed it and these are skin metastasis 😭. Dear god i am driving myself nuts but i cannot ignore it since i am faced with this ‘skin lesion’ 8 times a day

[Holls 1505]

50 minutes ago, Ellebel said:

Thanks all.. i cannot seem to let this one go easily 😫. Maybe its because im confronted with my breast constantly while feeding. I found this orange coloured plague on that same breast a few weeks ago and now a tiny second one. First i hardly thought anything of it but now i am suddenly convinced that there is something wrong and the US missed it and these are skin metastasis 😭. Dear god i am driving myself nuts but i cannot ignore it since i am faced with this ‘skin lesion’ 8 times a day

My best advice is get it looked at this week..  not Bec I think something is wrong but Bec you are missing this precious time with your baby.. when you look back years from now I don't want you remembering anxiety fear over your breast instead of nursing your baby. Go once more and when the Dr says no... Stop and go home and hold on to that sweet baby. 

[Ellebel 67]

20 hours ago, Holls said:

My best advice is get it looked at this week..  not Bec I think something is wrong but Bec you are missing this precious time with your baby.. when you look back years from now I don't want you remembering anxiety fear over your breast instead of nursing your baby. Go once more and when the Dr says no... Stop and go home and hold on to that sweet baby. 

Ohhh Holls this is why I love you! You are soooo right... it is keeping me from enjoying my little bub so i should go and get the comfort i seek because this time isnt coming back!!  I was ashamed to go back to the docs but this is the most important reason ever to get over that and go. Thank you so much 🥰. Will call them first thing in the morning!

[Holls 1505]

2 hours ago, Ellebel said:

Ohhh Holls this is why I love you! You are soooo right... it is keeping me from enjoying my little bub so i should go and get the comfort i seek because this time isnt coming back!!  I was ashamed to go back to the docs but this is the most important reason ever to get over that and go. Thank you so much 🥰. Will call them first thing in the morning!

Don't ever be ashamed to go and talk to a Dr for peace of mind. Having a clear mind and no worries is everything! 😘😘😘

[superscared 0]

I can relate 🙂 whilst I was breastfeeding, my cousin had a terminal BC diagnosis and so with hindsight I can see I was overly nervous about any lumps and bumps. I have breastfed both my babies for a total of 5 years. What I can undoubtedly say is breastfeeding boobs are lumpy and bumpy! You might aswell know right now that it likely won't be the first time you'll find a lump. Your breasts are still adjusting to bf but they will often get lumps and bumps. In a particularly scary case of mine, I found and fixated on one lump in particular. It felt very hard and everything I googled scared me. I kept feeling it and squeezing it until I literally burst it underneath the skin. Please do not do this, just know that fluid-filled bumps under the skin feel hard. They can feel solid. You have been checked over and you are fine. Enjoy bf cuddles 🙂 xxx

[Ellebel 67]

So i went back to the doctors in order to get piece of mind and stop worrying and enjoy my lovely baby.. Boy was i wrong in doing that! Doc looked and felt and actually was quite worried and used words as ‘strange, worrisome, ‘i have to be honest with you here’ etc). Suffice to say i freaked out completely. Got an emergency referal back to the hospital and just came from there.. another ultrasound and a meeting with a breastcancer nurse.

thankfully she was a bit less panicked! She said ultrasound most often picks up on something bad and she could feel the tissue being harder but wasnt worried.. i was super relieved at first but once i got home i got super confused about the discrepancy between the two docs.

 

also, the gp told me some orange patch on my skin could be related to (advanced) BC, while the nurse said: nahhh just a skin thing. Picture below. Been there for a month pretty much unchanged but a second tiny one popped up last two weeks (or i just didnt notice it before). Kinda worried. Who is correct?

So basically it is probably nothing but if its something it is advanced and i am screwed? What the H should i do? She said Mammo will only be optional after breastfeeding and to be honest i wasnt ready to stop just yet for quite a while! But is continuing and postponing a mammo dangerous in this case? Shit so confused! Any advice? Anyone recognize the orange patch on skin... it is very slightly scaly, no itch or pain? (ps its difficult to get a clear foto of it because of the angle)

 

[MARC 431]

Many years ago, I had a growth on my chest and I went to a dermatologist and they biopsied the growth and said it was a basal cell carcinoma and left me a message on my home phone to call a surgeon and have it removed. The surgeon removed it and said it was benign. 

[Holls 1505]

On 6/4/2020 at 8:15 AM, Ellebel said:

So i went back to the doctors in order to get piece of mind and stop worrying and enjoy my lovely baby.. Boy was i wrong in doing that! Doc looked and felt and actually was quite worried and used words as ‘strange, worrisome, ‘i have to be honest with you here’ etc). Suffice to say i freaked out completely. Got an emergency referal back to the hospital and just came from there.. another ultrasound and a meeting with a breastcancer nurse.

thankfully she was a bit less panicked! She said ultrasound most often picks up on something bad and she could feel the tissue being harder but wasnt worried.. i was super relieved at first but once i got home i got super confused about the discrepancy between the two docs.

 

also, the gp told me some orange patch on my skin could be related to (advanced) BC, while the nurse said: nahhh just a skin thing. Picture below. Been there for a month pretty much unchanged but a second tiny one popped up last two weeks (or i just didnt notice it before). Kinda worried. Who is correct?

So basically it is probably nothing but if its something it is advanced and i am screwed? What the H should i do? She said Mammo will only be optional after breastfeeding and to be honest i wasnt ready to stop just yet for quite a while! But is continuing and postponing a mammo dangerous in this case? Shit so confused! Any advice? Anyone recognize the orange patch on skin... it is very slightly scaly, no itch or pain? (ps its difficult to get a clear foto of it because of the angle)

 

Ellebel! I'm so sorry that getting peace of mind made things worse .  So I would go with the breast cancer nurse who knows what's she's looking for .. what did the ultrasound show? Also.. if they are concerned they would tell you to stop breastfeeding for the mammogram.. I don't think they would take the risk. 

[Ellebel 67]

2 hours ago, Holls said:

Ellebel! I'm so sorry that getting peace of mind made things worse .  So I would go with the breast cancer nurse who knows what's she's looking for .. what did the ultrasound show? Also.. if they are concerned they would tell you to stop breastfeeding for the mammogram.. I don't think they would take the risk. 

Yeah it was so unexpected, i really thought i went there for peace of mind, not a panicked GP 🤣..  indeed i should probably follow the nurse.. she does this daily. The ultrasound showed only normal breast tissue. Not anything odd at all. The nurse could feel that this normal tissue was firmer on the right side compared to left, but thought it would be nursing-related and nothing special. Odd she couldnt feel my swollen node tho? On the other hand: a node swollen for 6+ months should be noticable by her if it was bad, right?

[Holls 1505]

9 hours ago, Ellebel said:

Yeah it was so unexpected, i really thought i went there for peace of mind, not a panicked GP 🤣..  indeed i should probably follow the nurse.. she does this daily. The ultrasound showed only normal breast tissue. Not anything odd at all. The nurse could feel that this normal tissue was firmer on the right side compared to left, but thought it would be nursing-related and nothing special. Odd she couldnt feel my swollen node tho? On the other hand: a node swollen for 6+ months should be noticable by her if it was bad, right?

Yes hun... She would have felt a swollen node. Trust the nurse. She sees this day in and day out. She would not have sent you home and not have scheduled a mammogram if something was wrong.. legally she would be in trouble too. The ultrasound is clear. You are clear. 

I'm sorry this happened... But you did get a test and it's all clear. Hugs!!! 

[Ellebel 67]

27 minutes ago, Holls said:

Yes hun... She would have felt a swollen node. Trust the nurse. She sees this day in and day out. She would not have sent you home and not have scheduled a mammogram if something was wrong.. legally she would be in trouble too. The ultrasound is clear. You are clear. 

I'm sorry this happened... But you did get a test and it's all clear. Hugs!!! 

thanks lovely ❤️  How are you doing?

[Holls 1505]

2 hours ago, Ellebel said:

thanks lovely ❤️  How are you doing?

I'm doing well, thank you!!! Wishing the world would heal and we can all move forward with a fresh start. 

Hugs. Squeeze that cute baby for me! 😘😘💗😘