excessive breast pain after mammogram

I'm going through a complaints procedure against the NHS clinic that did my mother's mammogram in August 2009.

They caused pain and bruising to one breast, which has still not healed completely eight months later. The breast is also less firm than it was and hangs down lower than the other. This was not the case before and it seems to be permanent damage that they will not admit is a problem.

The plate was 'dropped' though they swear it's a controlled procedure but again they will not admit this is possible.

My mother went back to the doctor who reported the pain and bruising but mentioned that such trauma 'could cause cancer' in itself. As we have breast cancer in the family, this is a real worry, but when we asked for a statement from the same doctor, he conveniently had forgotten his initial comment.

I would say that these 'experts' will make you think you're going mad, but if you have symptoms and you know your own body better than anyone, then persevere and get checked out in a variety of ways. Whatever it takes. Ultrasound techniques may be the answer, but do it quick. Unfortunately my mother took too long to tell me what happened, not wanting to make a fuss, but I say make a fuss.

I just had a mammogram done 2 days ago and it was one of the most painful experiences I have ever had. I did have my first mammogram done a year ago and it was not painful, uncomfortable but not painful. I told the technician that it is really painful and she did adjust it a bit but it still hurt. After it was over I just felt so horrible and wanted to go home and rest. As I was resting I noticed that my left side was more painful so I lifted my shirt and looked under my breast and to my horror I seen a long gash where my breast and body meet. I was shocked and realized that she had actually pulled my skin apart and the gash almost the entire length under my breast over 4 inches long. I did phone my doctor today and notify them as to what happened and was told to keep it dry and put powder on it and then I phoned the medical center where it took place and talked to the lady who is in charge of the department and also a technician herself. She told me that she was sorry this had happened to me but that it does happen sometimes when women have large breasts. I told her that I do not have especially large breasts and that it did not happen last year. Well it seemed to me that she was not going to do much of anything to relieve my frustrations over this so I asked that she speak to the technician that did this and also to write up a report. I am feeling very violated over this and do not want to return for my next one in a year. I did just find out my sister has breast cancer last month so it is even more important that I am check yearly. Anyhow I am wondering if anyone else has had this experience?

Thank you for the information about elastography. I'll be looking into that. They want me to get a biopsy, but since my M.D. hasn't even seen the films, I'm not sure if this is a "just in case" suggestion. I'm pretty certain I couldn't handle the procedure.

By the way, isn't it insane that the M.D. follows the recommendation of the radiologists and I'm not allowed to speak with the radiologist???? Three lines of type, no questions.

I should point out that I asked about getting checked because of recurring pain in my left breast. My initial mammogram was okay...uncomfortable but very quick. The follow-up was torturous. That was Monday morning. Afterwards, I developed red marks, the largest was about 2 inches square. I had an ultrasound after the mammogram, and I could tell her exactly where based on the pain I could feel from just that light touch of the paddle. It is now Thursday and the larger red mark has turned yellow, but I have two smaller deep bruises that have come up. There are two things that frighten me: one, that those small deep bruises are along the line of the horizontal vein that runs to your nipple and two, that the technician was entirely unconcerned that I was in considerable (and vocal) pain. She said "sorry" but without conviction and she certainly didn't change either the compression (maximum and I'm a 36 J cup) or her speed. When I saw my M.D. Tuesday afternoon, I mentioned that my breast needed time to heal, and that the mammogram had seriously hurt me. He wasn't interested...I swear he smirked!

I still feel as if I'm "post-operative," if you know what I mean.

Oh, one other frightening thought. If there are cancer cells in my lump, wouldn't that level of bashing me around spread it?

By the way, Gash-girl, go get that looked at. Is it bleeding or is it cracked skin?

My maternal grandmother, mother and both survived and lived 30 more years after i now have breast cancer found on mammogram the pain is nothing compared to the pain u will make ur love ones experience if you do not take this test that has saved so many womens lives. I love my children to much to not find out and glad i did because every year i get to be with them is a blessing so im glad that mammogram hurt and got the needed information to save my life for even just a few years is worth it to me and my children your reply is very selfish and a horrible statement to women out there breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women we need to be proactive not cowards over a lil boob pain from a mammogram! Mammograms Save Lives Everday!!!

I had a mammo yesterday and when she was applying pressure on my left breast, it was fine until she went just a little bit flatter (I am big chested). Well it hurt, really bad, I started to actually tear up i was in so much pain, she just said, hold your breath and took 3 more pics. By the time it was over I was in so much pain I just wanted to curl up and cry, but they wanted me to do an ultrasound, and let me tell you after a mammo and the pain, the ultrasound was no picnic in the park. They pushed and moved that thing all over my breast and I was so tense and in pain but they wouldnt stop. They said that it looks like it is a cyst and dont reccomend any more testing but do another mammo in 3 months. I couldnt sleep last night the pain was so bad. If I continue this pain by the end of the week I am going to see my dr. And now one boob is bigger than the other....whats up with that? Anyways, I have read others reesponces here and made me feel just a little bit better that I am not the only one.

OMG I thought I was the only one!

Last mammogram I had, my left breast leaks ALL THE TIME now. The pain she put me through almost made me pass out.

They have ultrasound now, and I think MRI?

I am betting insurance/medicare won't pay though.

Maybe if we put doctor penises in those cruel contraptions, they won't be so quick to dismiss us a 'typical female hysteria'.....

I want to reply to this but cannot find where to register on this forum. So this is a test.

OK. I will try again. I have never received the e-mail confirmation of registration and you won't let me log in either, but I see that you have retained my previous effort.

I now also have pain from a mammogram. There was no pain before. They are saying that I need to go back. I am starting to think that they create a problem with the radiation so they can have an income for themselves. After all, I now need a root canal because the last dentist I went to decided to create future income for himself by drilling unnecessary holes. We did not try to go to attorney to seek restitution because we had no $. It should have been really easy for me to just go to another dentist and have the holes filled but I never could afford it. Now I need a root canal or extraction and I can afford neither. There is no help for me either. I have been working on this for weeks. The local school that brags about helping the needy in Mexico with our taxpayer dollars that they brag about having won for helping needy people like myself - they have never considered helping me with my mouth - nope, they want me to pay 2 1/2 months of my full income so I guess I have to go find a bridge to live under if I want to live at all cuz this is getting infected. I see where medical people are all indignant and belligerant - they don't like patients that do research themselves (because they don't give us answers we need) and they don't want to believe that medical professionals will do this but honestly, I need some reassurance and knowledge that the mammogram was not just a way for them to create disease in me. I felt fine before the mammo and now pain for weeks since. This is logical deduction given what some of us have experienced from so-called professionals.

And yes they do lie. The receptionist boasted about the new pain free procedure. It is just as painful and squeezing as before. I have no idea what she was bragging about. So she may believe what she says but it is most certainly a lie that she has been taught. She was so nice on the phone that I wanted to meet her when I went there but they have her in a separate location so most likely she will never encounter a patient who will tell her that it does hurt.

Just like my last ultrasound. Had to drink a bunch of bitter water. They won't tell me what was in it. Made an especial appointment with PCP to discuss the suffering I had from that ultrasound and possibly notate my file for future reference. Was wondering if just having the excess fluids interacted poorly with some of my medical conditions? The doctor just wants me to find a new PCP. He does not want to deal with this. Why not? Is he brainwashed? I have spent a couple of months recuperating from the excess fluid intake and for a few days of laying in bed I thought surely I would die but he cannot take time to help me figure out what went wrong in hopes of preventing it in the future?

I would gladly find another doctor but none of them want me. I have problems processing pharmaceuticals as well as rare disorders so the insurance is glad to take my money every month but they will not help me to get the care that I need. The doctors should be ethical and refuse to make appointments with me if they don't want me but nope, they take the copay and the insurance money while they are dumping me. I think that they must take a perverse enjoyment in denying me medical care. The Hippocratic oath is just ink on paper for most of them. They are beholden to the insurance and pharmaceutical companies and we are just a means to their end, pockets lined with gold. Seems that lots of good doctors that are ethically challenged by the current system are opting out of their profession entirely. Anyways, I could fill a book with what I have experienced with doctors dumping me alone.

Oh yes, another good one is to tell you that all your symptoms are sike. That way they can avoid the costs of treating you, the insurance company can collect their huge premiums each month and they can sell you those little chill pills. Since almost everything can be misconstrued as sike they are legally covered and won't lose their license or suffer a malpractice insurance increase. I'm onto them now.

I would love to believe the one poster on here that supports treatment but honestly most of us are aware of so much corruption all around that we have good reason to have some sinister ideas behind these mammograms.

I am glad I'm not the only one who has a problem with my breast from a mammogram. Mine was a number of years ago, and it hurt really badly, that glass squeezed so hard...too hard, also left marks where the edge of the glass was. Mine are not all that large, and the tech grabbed hold of it and wrenched it around, which hurt, and laid it on the glass several times to get it positioned correctly, and as far as I'm concerned, the paddle came down too far and I was standing too low. I noticed immediately thereafter that it sagged down more than the other, which other posters here said the same thing, plus the nipple part was sort of smoothed over permanently.

Well, fast-forward to now, and I noticed the end of my boob is very hard, plus the whole thing hurts, it is quite swollen up. Since the mammo was a long time ago, who knows if the tissue damage then is how come I now got a hard, painful, swollen boob. So, now I have to see a doc, get a breast man to diagnose me, and of course I'm SO scared by all this. I went online and looked for alternative to mammograms, since the LAST thing I want it someone to smash it again... it hurts just to lay down on that side! I read about a sonogram that can do a better job than the mammo, so I will suggest it. But I imagine they'll put me thru 50 million tests no matter what my input might be. They tell you to hurry up if your boob isn't right, and then tests routinely go on or six weeks! I am an older disabled lady, and going to al these appointments is going to be a nightmare.

I will say this to any physicians or professors or nurses in charge of techs who do the mammograms, that they have GOT to (a) get the glass to the correct height for a person, (b) do NOT squeeze the boob so dang hard...making it flat is one thing, squashing it is WRONG, and (c) if a patient complains (I did), train the tech how to make the squeezing stop IMMEDIATELY. These techs have got to be taught this stuff MUCH better than they are now, and each office should also show them how they do it so as to cause the least harm to the patient as possible. And if you want a better picture, abandon the mammo and switch over to sonograms, they do a better job and cause so much less pain, and THAT WAY you don't wind up with someone like me and all these others who had a deformed boob all these years that has now turned into a painful, hard and possibly cancerous blob that they'll have to cut off.

I just had my first Mamogram done on February 18,2011 and I did not feel pain while they were doing it, but quite a bit of pressure. Two days before that I had gone to my local Health Department to have them examine the lump I had found underneath my right breast,it was not more than an hour later and I started to feel a burning sensation in both of my breasts. The day of my Mamogram there was a very mild feeling of burning in both breast, but after the Mamo and Ultrasound they did my breasts both felt like they were on fire. As the evening progressed they started swelling and continued to burn. Is this normal????

I had a mammogram 1 week ago. This was my 5th or 6th over the years. I had to go to the emergency room yesterday to rule out a heart attack. I was having severe chest wall pain. Tingling in my forearms and fingers. Cold sensations in my arms. Throbbing in both breasts. My neck muscles are tight and throbbing. Pain in my armpits and a fluttering sensation over/under my left breast. I am convinced that my mammogram was done to aggressively. I was brought in for a second screening. The first mammogram I had 2 pictures of each breast, not a big deal. The second screen I had 10 of each breast and then an additional 6 on the right breast. On the right breast they used a smaller "squoosher" and boy did it hurt. I have bruising and I can barely raise my arms. Well, I am not having a heart attack, my chest xray was clean. I was diagnosed with muscle strain. I will be opting for a sonogram in the futures.

Hey I have an idea, men could have their prostates squeezed like breasts are during a mammogram, and see if they like it?
The mammogram probably seemed like a good idea at the time - to squeeze breasts to get a thorough image of all the tissue, but if it ends up causing more damage (e.g. if the mechanical pressure were great enough, it could break apart a tumour and lead to greater spread of the tumour for instance), then there has to be another way. Please, if there are any breast cancer specialists out there, please think about this.
But, if the pain continues, you should get your breasts checked somehow, since the continued pain might really indicate that there is a problem.

I am going for a mammogram this week and I feel sick after reading the comments.  I had one last year and had 2 surgeries, not cancer.  But, I have to say both breast sore regularly, which i did not know why.  Must be after the mammogram.  I am sore now, so I don't know how I will put up with it and am worried that I will faint.  I have to agree with the lady that said it is like a cattle mart, go in, do what you are told, no choice, and out the door, tough look if you do not feel well.

I've had pain in my left breast since I had a mammogram with spot compression over 3 weeks ago. I've had to take Ibuprofen a couple of times a day since. It's most sharp, shooting pain and my nipple is exquisitely tender...not in a good way. I'm guessing it's nerve damage. I hope it subsides. Has anyone had any luck with ice packs and/or heat application?

I had a mammogram Christmas Eve 2002 and a cyst burst in my left breast. I told the tech that it was too tight but she said it needs to be tight to get a good picture. I had to have it aspirated two times and finally they removed the cyst  surgically.  I have had pain ever since off and on.  The surgeon would not acknowledge that the mammogram caused the problem and I wrote the head of the radiology department and he never acknowledged it either.  I fearfully have mammograms every year. This year I told the radiologist about what happened like I told all the others since the first mammogram and she said a mammogram would not do that.  I should have left right then and there but I know how important mammograms are and stayed. What a mistake!  She was rough and it was tight.  I have now been in pain for weeks and nothing seems to help. I see the doctor on Tuesday to see what I can do to help ease the pain.  I am totally at a loss as to what to do about this problem  Nobody will listen or even seems to care.