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Pain after my biopsy yesterday
I quite likely have breast cancer. I’m 41 and a single mom to an almost-teen daughter. I had a routine screening mammogram two weeks ago, which I’ve done for several years due to having cystic breasts. I received a call asking me to come back in for further imaging. I thought nothing of it as I’d received the same phone call a few years ago, and it was nothing. This happened last week. After the diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound, the technician left to talk with the radiologist. Then she returned with the radiologist, who told me I had a mass and needed a biopsy. I asked how likely it was I could have breast cancer, and he said the area of concern was a BI-RADS category 5, which meant there is a 95% likelihood that this is breast cancer.
I had the biopsy yesterday. I’m glad that’s behind me. It wasn’t painful, thankfully, but just took a long time due to computer issues and felt like forever due to my own anxiety. About four hours later, I began experiencing some pretty bad pain. I had already taken Tylenol and had ice. The rest of the evening was spent in a lot of pain. Ouch. I wasn’t able to rest as I had to take my daughter to activities. I could hardly sleep last night the pain was so bad. It kept waking me up.
Is this normal after a biopsy? It seems like the Tylenol doesn’t even take an edge off of the pain. The ice gives me a little relief. I’m in some pain right now. Not as bad as last night, but I have not gotten out of bed and moved around yet. Luckily I have most of today off until I pick up my daughter at school this afternoon. The carpool takes her to school so all I have to do is make breakfast and am free to rest until this afternoon. Is my level of pain normal? I know a biopsy isn’t a walk in the park, but I certainly was not prepared for the quite terrible amount of pain I had yesterday. Should I call the surgery center? Is it safe to try some Advil? That tends to work a little better for me thank Tylenol, but the surgery center instructed me to take Tylenol and I didn’t think to ask about Advil. I was not expecting this level of pain from the biopsy.
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@coloradomom I can only speak to my own biopsies, I had 14 cores from punch needle and it hurt a ton later that day. When I had a sonogram guided biopsy a few years ago, that didn’t hurt nearly as much. But they used a local that seemed to work better.
I can tell you that less movement was definitely better for a few days. I wore my riding bra that prevents any movement.
Did you get the advil? Did it help?
When should you be able to expect results?
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2 Reactions@coloradomom I pray the advil works for you. Fir me advil works better on pain than Tylenol. Give it a try. Less movement and keep icing. Hourly is good to get the inflammation down. Blessings to you.
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3 ReactionsI had a Stereotactic biopsy. The first few days felt like I closed my breast in a car door. The pain lessened after a few days only to come back with a vengeance the 2nd week. I unfortunately developed 2 fairly large Hematomas in & next to the biopsy site. Bruising showed up on almost my entire breast. It took almost 4 weeks for the bruising/pain to go away. The Hematomas were painful causing added pressure in my breast. I have to admit I am not a fan of bras & only wore it for a few days after the biopsy. I don’t think that did me any favors! Don’t take anything that can cause blood thinning which will add to the problem. I should have worn a very compressing bra for at least 2 weeks 24/7 & used ice for longer than the 6 hours I was told to ice. The biopsy procedure was a lot more painful than the lumpectomy surgery I just had 2 weeks ago. This time I’m wearing a very good bra 24/7 & iced for 3 days afterwards. If you’re worrying, call your doctor for advice! At least this will give you peace of mind which in my opinion is half the battle when going through possible breast cancer diagnosis. I wish you the best of luck on your journey!
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2 ReactionsI had mild pain for a few hours and then it stopped. Don't take any med before checking with your physician. Good luck.
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2 ReactionsGreat advice! I am newly diagnosed IDC and had biopsies (5). The biopsies were brutal, much worse than my surgery! I also suffered hematomas, ouch. Yes, rest, ice and a sports bra to compress and support until you feel better. Thank you for good advice❤️
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2 ReactionsI had 7 biopsies. 6 were fine - just needed to stick ice packs in my tight bra for a day or two. Then there was the 7th biopsy. Ouch. Oops - big hematoma. Iced for 3 days and I wear a bra 24/7 (but a bigger bra since my poor boobie is so swollen 😢). My surgery is in 2-3 weeks so the hematoma should be clear by then. Here’s hoping…
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1 Reaction@coloradomom how are you doing now? Have you gotten any results yet?
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1 ReactionI had a vacuum-assisted wide-needle biopsy that didn't hurt at all. I was however sent home wrapped in a compression bandage and told to wear it for the first day and report any pain, swelling, feelings of heat around the area, etc. I didn't have any so was maybe just lucky but think the compression bandage was very helpful.
Did you ladies have your lumps growing bigger after the biopsy?
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1 ReactionOn my personal experience, My DCIS couldn’t be felt from the outside. The area of the biopsy did make a hard lump in my breast afterwards. I think this was from the trauma to that area. My surgeon said this was normal & nothing to worry about unless it started to get warm indicating an infection. She said the lump may stay (scar tissue) or could go away. I think it may depend on how you scar. Some people create more scar tissue than others.
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