excessive breast pain after mammogram

It was irony. If there were a way to delete my every response to the poster's comments, I I was being ironic.

I got it :) I lost a lot of blood from my breast, after being mugged by two mammogram techs, so I am a little loopy now, and I find irony quite fun!

Your responses have always helped me greatly! Keep up the great work!!!

I had a mammogram about 4weeks ago and my breasts are still sore to touch. I'm very miserable and was wondering if this was normal? I did have to go back for a second mammogram about two days after the first so I don't know if that had anything to do with it.

Very sorry that you have this soreness. Warm compresses may help. Things to consider may be: are you premenstrual, or were you premenstrual when the mammogram was done, do warm compresses help. Have you called the facility/radiologist to report the soreness and ask for input.



The anxiety about the return repeat won't help. You have received results by now, I trust.



Just wanted to acknowledge your post - I'm burned out. Don't understand why so many women are getting repeat imaging in general or all the pain and suffering.



I use Susun Weed's "Breast Cancer? Breast Health!" to help me keep my head straight on this. The book is as much about breast health. Few books are. Be well - ask questions - get answers.

Thank you all for your honesty. Now I don't feel alone! This week I went for 6th mammogram. Sometimes it hurts and sometimes it hurts a lot. This week the technician contorted me in such a way that I pulled a muscle in my shoulder and it hurt for several days. After reading your stories, i don't think I'll be going back every 2 years like they ask me to. However, if we must be vigilant and do our own self examinations regularly because this is a real threat. thanks again for sharing.

I too am getting very peeved at the bad treatment of women by medical!  I am still in massive pain after 1 year from my mammo and they want me to do more when breast are dense mammo's do not work!  I had a sonogram, but they now are telling me i have to have a mammo to get sonogram or they won't do it!  I have been to 8 breast doctors they all are pushy and rude about mammo's! I have medical and law education yet they will not answer my questions!  They just process us like cattle!  I am taking my girls out of state or out of the country for checkups mif mass wants to be pushy!  Ultrasound, Thermography, and MRI are better at finding things especially in dense breast tissue! Mammo's can spread cancer cells, damage tissue, and  ionizing radition does cause cancer!  They won't tell you 10 years later your cancer was caused by Mammo's!  Why is cancer rates skyrocketing in places where Mammo;s are done?  In places Ultrasound and other methods are done less cancer! The billions of dollars doctors make on Mammo's is reason enough to see why we are treated as cattle!  It is a money making business!  Women need to speak out and not go with the crowd on this very serious violation to women!!! My God I am in pain as I write 1 year later!  Plus the radition just might make the next test positive! No mammo for me only Ultrasopuns, MRI, and Thermograpy! They are also overtreating DCIS and other early pre-cancer's radically when left alone would have caused no issue!  It is a guessing game girls and we arew the Guinnie pigs!! 

I agree! I still need follw up testing but since they ripped a gash under my breast from 1 side to the other, we have to wait til it is healed. I was maimed in July, and the area continues to be painful, and skin still has not healed even with antibiotics, you are correct about the other less dangerous tests. I will refuse another mammo flat out! I will be seeing the new doctor soon so will keep you all posted. Increase your knowledge ladies, or the md's will push you around just like cattle. I am nobody's next burger! Pray for each other.

Hello,  I am new to this forum and I am so glad I read these posts as I've spent all day in shame feeling like an id**t until now...I had my first mammogram this morning and I've never been more horrified in my life!  The technician thought I was insulting her "career' when I began asking her questions on the procedure.  Even though I made absolutely sure I notified everyone there it was my first mammogram and I was scared and nervous, I got that "cattle prod" treatment just like someone above was mentioning, I feel so violated by the way I was touched and treated, I can tell you that was my first and LAST mammogram!!  Thank you so much ladies for being out there!

This sounds like the experience I just had to the tee. I am in pain from the second mamogram. What damage does it do? can it tear breast mass when sqeezed so badly?

i am relieved that you found this forum so that you did not spend one second longer feeling shame. The shame is theirs. I am so very sorry you exprienced this treatment. Cows are receive better treatment - apart from the hamburger issue, of coure.



One needs to raise a stink.

I am so very sorry that you are in pain. This should be reported, as should all these instances of maltreatment.



I have found a warmed cabage leaf compress to be of help for pain. So very sorry.

malzma wrote:

lori wrote:

I too am getting very peeved at the bad treatment of women by medical!  I am still in massive pain after 1 year from my mammo and they want me to do more when breast are dense mammo's do not work!  I had a sonogram, but they now are telling me i have to have a mammo to get sonogram or they won't do it!  I have been to 8 breast doctors they all are pushy and rude about mammo's! I have medical and law education yet they will not answer my questions!  They just process us like cattle!  I am taking my girls out of state or out of the country for checkups mif mass wants to be pushy!  Ultrasound, Thermography, and MRI are better at finding things especially in dense breast tissue! Mammo's can spread cancer cells, damage tissue, and  ionizing radition does cause cancer!  They won't tell you 10 years later your cancer was caused by Mammo's!  Why is cancer rates skyrocketing in places where Mammo;s are done?  In places Ultrasound and other methods are done less cancer! The billions of dollars doctors make on Mammo's is reason enough to see why we are treated as cattle!  It is a money making business!  Women need to speak out and not go with the crowd on this very serious violation to women!!! My God I am in pain as I write 1 year later!  Plus the radition just might make the next test positive! No mammo for me only Ultrasopuns, MRI, and Thermograpy! They are also overtreating DCIS and other early pre-cancer's radically when left alone would have caused no issue!  It is a guessing game girls and we arew the Guinnie pigs!! 

I agree! I still need follw up testing but since they ripped a gash under my breast from 1 side to the other, we have to wait til it is healed. I was maimed in July, and the area continues to be painful, and skin still has not healed even with antibiotics, you are correct about the other less dangerous tests. I will refuse another mammo flat out! I will be seeing the new doctor soon so will keep you all posted. Increase your knowledge ladies, or the md's will push you around just like cattle. I am nobody's next burger! Pray for each other.

I am so glad I found this forum. I went to my first mammogram and it was painful. Pain is the way our body tells us there is something damaged. I have dense breast tissue so not much could be seen on the mammogram. Why the hell are they asking women to go for a mammogram if it's useless in cases of dense breast tissue? There is one process that doesn't take into consideration each woman's morphology. Anyway, the only thing that came out is that the left side looks slightly different from the right side... so they recommended additional views, and those views require more compression! Are you kidding me? Of course I asked for other options. I strongly believe that the compression causes damage. I asked the doctor if the compression could cause damage, and she said she didn't know, she was unaware of any studies showing that it could cause damage. Just because there is no study doesn't mean that no damage is done, it only means that nobody ever funded such study. It takes money to run such a study. I find it appalling that women are asked to get mammograms every year or other year and no study has been done to determine whether the compression can cause damage. No screening device for male ailment would be put on the market without making sure it doesn't cause damage!!! Again, a clear double standard in the medical community. I totally refuse to do any mammogram until there is a comprehensive study that clearly shows that this level of compression doesn't cause damage. And quite frankly, alternative technologies that do not involve compression nor radiation should be further developed. But since so much money was invested in mammogram technology, companies want to recover their investment and push doctors to promote annual mammograms annually. This is unethical and completely irresponsible an disrespectful towards women. We have to stand up and demand alternate screening methods, such as ultrasound and MRI. MRI is quite expensive but if enough money was invested, there would be ways to build lower cost MRIs that specialize in breast MRIs.

There are now case studies regarding biopsy procedures, which conclude that malignant cells, that were contained, can be spread by this means. This used to be denied. I'm quite certain that there are studies regarding effects of breast compression. Regarding MRI, I do not consider MRI a better option. The "guinea pig" routine was old a long, long time ago.

I don't believe the problem is the technologists, but with the procedure itself. You are right, radiation is not good for you, and causes cancer. Further, there are better ways for screening, such as ultrasound, thermograms, nipple extraction (pulling small amount of fluid from nipple with suction to look at the cells in the fluid). Unfortunately, though outdated technology, those evil machines were expensive and have to be payed for, and also turn a profit for those who invested in them. So, you can count on them not going anywhere soon. But you can be proactive and demand a breast ultrasound or thermogram. I had one mammogram at age 40 or so, had some scar tissue in my left breast from a car accident. The technician said she couldn';t get a good film of that breast, but tried repeatedly, putting more and more pressure. It was very painful, they found nothing, and I am now 60 and never had another one. I don't like dental exrays either and dentists want to do a full set every 6 months. This radiation is particularly harmful to your thyroid tissue, and probably explains why so many have to take replacement therapy for thyroid hormones. Or worse, never even get diagnosed with the problem, and just go through life wondering why they gain weight and feel tired all the time.

I had to stand on my tippy toes for mine.  Good GRIEF!  And yes it HURT.  I probably will not go back.   I was in tears when I left.  It felt like the muscle stretched or pulled.  I'll start taking Aleve just in case it is a muscle.