menopause and breast pain or tenderness
By Andrea Donsky | Fact Checked | Sources
Your bra strap feels like an assault. Hugging someone is a calculated risk. You're sore in a way you last remember from your twenties, except back then it turned up right before your period and then left again. Now it seems to be freelancing. Breast pain in perimenopause is common, it's uncomfortable, and it's rarely talked about honestly.
Can menopause cause breast pain and tenderness?
It can, and hormone fluctuations are the usual reason. As you move into your perimenopausal years, progesterone and estrogen levels start changing erratically, and spikes in those hormone levels can affect your breast tissue, which in turn can cause tenderness, inflammation, and pain.
Why does perimenopausal breast pain feel different?
Because it usually is. If you've had breast pain tied to your period before, perimenopausal pain often has a different character: it tends to burn or feel sore rather than ache. It can show up in one breast or both. Sometimes it throbs, stabs, or feels sharp.
The old pattern is different too. Cyclical breast pain is at its worst two or three days before your period starts, and when your periods themselves have gone haywire, so has the timing. Our piece on menopause and irregular periods explains why that schedule falls apart.
If your breast pain is tied to your entry into menopause, it will probably fade once your periods stop. If it continues after menstruation has ceased, talk to your doctor. And if you're using hormone therapy during menopause, breast pain may carry on rather than settling.
What else causes sore or tender breasts?
Hormones are the most common reason, but they're not the only one. The second big one is fibrocystic breasts, which happen when breast tissue is replaced by fat. Cysts and fibrous tissue can develop, leaving breasts lumpy and tender, though fibrocystic breasts aren't always painful. There's more on that in this piece demystifying fibrocystic breast disease.
A few other factors can be behind it:
- Medications, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, diuretics, methyldopa, digitalis preparations, and spironolactone
- Cysts in the breasts
- A breast infection
- Large breasts
- Bras with underwires, or bras that simply don't fit
Alongside soreness, some women notice their breasts have changed shape or size, or that their nipples have got touchy. Those have their own explanations in menopause and breast size change and menopause and sore nipples.
Our Top Picks for PMS
How do you make sore breasts more comfortable?
For a lot of women a few lifestyle adjustments make the day easier to get through. None of this is complicated, and most of it costs nothing.
Look at salt and water
Cut down on salt and salty foods, and season with herbs and spices instead. Too much salt and not enough water can leave you holding fluid, and fluid retention tends to make sore breasts feel worse.
Run the caffeine experiment
Switching to herbal teas, or at least decaf coffee, is the classic first move here. Give it a month before you decide whether it made any difference to you.
Use heat
A heating pad or hot water bottle on your breasts for about 10 to 15 minutes is a simple thing to reach for on a bad evening.
Upgrade your bra
Get properly measured. A supportive bra that actually fits can change how your whole day feels, and most women are wearing the wrong size without knowing it.
Keep exercising
Aerobic exercise such as walking, swimming, dancing, tennis, and jumping rope supports blood circulation, boosts endorphins, and contributes to overall health. Light hand weights and exercises that strengthen the muscles supporting your breasts are worth adding too.
Vitamins B6 and E
The B complex vitamins, especially B6, and vitamin E have both been looked at for breast pain. Taking 200 IU of vitamin E and 40 mg of vitamin B6 daily for 2 months has been shown to be effective.
Evening primrose oil
This oil contains omega-6 fatty acids, linolenic acid, and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). The National Health Service (England) reports that benefits can be expected if you take 1 to 2 grams of the oil daily for six weeks.
Omega-3 fatty acids
Straight answer: if you're looking for solid scientific evidence that omega-3s do anything for breast pain, you're out of luck. Anecdotal reports are confident, so some women try it anyway. Fish oils, or food sources like flaxseed, walnuts, sesame, and cold-water fish, are the usual routes.
Acupuncture
Some evidence exists here. In the American Journal of Chinese Medicine, researchers reported that four acupuncture sessions over two weeks with a three-month follow-up showed acupuncture appeared to be helpful for breast pain.
Handle the PMS side of it
If the soreness is arriving as part of a wider premenstrual pile-on, menopause and PMS covers what changes at this stage, and there are nine natural approaches to PMS worth reading alongside it.
When should you see a doctor about breast pain?
Breast pain and tenderness are typically not serious. Pain on its own is rarely a sign of cancer, and cyclical tenderness across both breasts is one of the most common perimenopausal complaints there is. But "pain is usually nothing" is not the same as "don't check". If you don't think your discomfort is connected to perimenopause or menopause, get it looked at rather than waiting it out.
Book an appointment with a knowledgeable healthcare provider if you notice any of these:
- A new lump or thickening, in the breast or in the armpit
- A change in the skin, such as dimpling, puckering, or an orange-peel texture
- A nipple that turns inward or changes shape
- Discharge from one nipple, especially if it is bloody or clear
- Pain in one spot in one breast that does not move with your cycle
- An increase in breast size, chest pain, fever, or any other change in the appearance of your breast
None of that means something is wrong. It means it is worth someone taking a look, and a lump found early is a much easier thing to deal with than a lump found late.
Related perimenopause and menopause symptoms
- Menopause and breast size change
- Menopause and sore nipples
- Menopause and PMS
- Menopause and irregular periods
Frequently Asked Questions
Is breast pain normal in perimenopause?
Breast pain and tenderness are not unusual during perimenopause and menopause. Erratic changes in progesterone and estrogen levels can affect breast tissue, causing tenderness, inflammation, and pain.
How is menopausal breast pain different from period breast pain?
Perimenopausal tenderness or breast pain usually burns or is sore, and it can appear in one or both breasts. Sometimes the pain is throbbing, stabbing, or sharp. Pain linked to menstruation is typically worst two to three days before your period begins.
Will breast pain stop when my periods stop?
If the pain is associated with your entry into menopause, it will probably disappear when your periods stop. If it continues after menstruation has ceased, you should talk to your doctor.
Can hormone therapy make breast pain worse?
If you are using hormone therapy during menopause, this can raise the risk of continued breast pain.
Do vitamins help with breast pain?
Taking 200 IU of vitamin E and 40 mg of vitamin B6 daily for 2 months has been shown to be effective. Evening primrose oil is another option, and the National Health Service (England) reports that benefits can be expected at 1 to 2 grams of the oil daily for six weeks.
When should breast pain be checked by a doctor?
Breast pain on its own is rarely a sign of cancer, but get checked if you notice a new lump or thickening in the breast or armpit, a change in the skin such as dimpling, puckering, or an orange-peel texture, a nipple that turns inward or changes shape, discharge from one nipple, especially if it is bloody or clear, or pain in one spot in one breast that does not move with your cycle. An increase in breast size, chest pain, fever, or other changes in the appearance of your breast are also reasons to book an appointment.
