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Has anyone had a painful biopsy? What was the explanation?
Hi all--thank you for this warm and compassionate space for sharing experiences and encouragement. I have already learned a lot.
My question--if you have experienced a painful biopsy, did you ever get an explanation for the pain? And did you find anything that helped?
I have had three ultrasound-guided biopsies now for a cancerous tumor in my left breast. The tumor is attached to the chest wall. Several lymph nodes are affected, and the oncologist has assigned me to stage IIIb.
The first biopsy was just one core sample. It hurt like hell.
The second was a few core samples, and the placement of clips in the tumor and the lymph node. For this biopsy, I felt the pinch of the needle administering the lidocaine, but the actual procedure was not painful.
The third biopsy involved about 6 core samples (I have enrolled in a clinical trial that requires fresh samples and a mammaprint). One of the injections of the numbing agent stung quite a bit. And then the biopsy needle--my god. I think I might have scared the radiology team with my response-- gasping and crying! Eek! And yet--the last two core samples were just fine--some pressure, but very little pain.
Now, I do not want to alarm anyone who is heading into a biopsy procedure--I think the vast majority of patients have very little pain--just like my second treatment and some of my third! But I see that there are just a few people who report a more difficult biopsy.
If you had a painful biopsy, did you ever figure out what was going on?
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Hello,
So sorry you are experiencing pain issues.
I can imagine the stress related to fear of pain and actual pain during the biopsies if your MDs are not providing pain medication.
I have had multiple biopsies over the years and I am very sensitive to pain. The pain medications were very helpful.
Your hospital should offer pain specialists which are covered by your insurance or and Medicare and Medicaid. They would be able to provide Pain Medication for you Advocate for you for pain medication during the biopsies. I feel that requesting a • Pain Specialist would be helpful if you have experienced pain with biopsies or are fearful of pain involved in upcoming procedures.
Another possible option- Would you consider meeting with your primary care MD who MIGHT order medical marijuana if you do suffer with pain during biopsies. The MD would need to decide if Medical Marijuana is • Safe for a Biopsy. and would probably confer with the MD who conducts the biopsy’.
There are FREE You Tube Stress Reduction - Guided Imagery which might be helpful. ( Belle Ruth Naperstek MSW- FREE You Tube STRESS Guided Imagery)
Hoping my comments were helpful.
Best
Susan
@jardinera25
Similar to my experience as well. Ended up needing breasts compression wrapped to slow the bleeding and wore the wrap home instead of a bra, after mri biopsy. My mammo guided biospy I only felt a slight pinch at numbing. The biopsy itself was not bad but the numbing needles behind the nipple hurt! I am reading about requests I can make in the future to lessen that pain. I have the knot and severe bruising, even got a bit of blood 4 days later when the steri strips were removed. Dreading seeing the breast surgeon this week because I am 64 high risk and the papilloma is 2.6 cm, and causing nipple discharge, so very likely it will be removed.
Did you get blood from the center of the nipple after the biospy?
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1 Reaction@jeaniem , no I didn't have any discharge, just bleeding under the skin which made a big bruise or hematoma; but sounds like they were biopsies from different areas. My difficult one was farther over closer to the sternum.
Good luck with the papilloma.....with surgery you will have anaesthesia right?
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1 ReactionThe bruising is very severe and there is a hard lump of accumulated blood, I have read that all we can really do is use heat and wear a supportive bra. I see surgeon tomorrow for consult, not sure what to expect. I am 64 and the intraductral papilloma is causing nipple discharge but the biopsy itself removed a lot of the 2.6 cm lesiion, so maybe I can just get a few follow ups. I hope so, regardless the area is going to need to be healed before they could do anything. I have appointment for diagnostic on the other breast next week, so tiring. I have mom and maternal grandmother as family history, so I get called back a lot, because the density makes mammogram hard to read, so now I have the mri, which found the papilloma that was not seen on diagnostic mammogram or ultrasound. Best wishes to you!
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3 ReactionsIt’s nearly impossible for procedures to be safe and completely painless. The discomfort of a biopsy is relatively short lived so most medical practitioners will avoid more dangerous sedation in the interest of safety. Procedures for spinal implants, angiograms and the like are performed with as little sedation as practicable. In some cases patients need to be able to respond to doctors during a procedure.
Patients can speak to their physicians regarding the best/safest way to manage pain and discomfort prior to an appointment.
In my case I managed with box breathing techniques I learned from
someone who a has a severe pain syndrome. I believe medical professionals should be trained to guide patients through the process with these types of techniques. It would benefit both medical staff and patients.
Ask for help in preparation. Doctors often help patients manage other pain and fear in traumatic procedures. But most must be aware that patients need help.
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2 ReactionsI think it should be standard of care for the radiologist to use a topical numbing cream before giving the numbing needles behind the nipple, especially when the mass is large and it takes more than one needle. Even my dentist offers that. I have had lidocaine in spine for procedures that hurt less. My mammogram guided biospy was very easy because the area of the breast they biopsied was not as sensitive as the behind the nipple mri biospy.