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Suggest Treatment For Tender Breasts When On Birth Control Pills
Question: I'm on continous birth control and my breasts, especially my nipples, are very tender. Do you know why?
Brief Answer:
It might be the birth control pills
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for the question. Breast tenderness is a common side effect of hormone therapy, including birth control pills. It might depend on what dose of birth control you are taking. There are very low dose pills that can also be taken in a continuous fashion. I would suggest:
1. Consider taking a week off of the pills - you will get a period, and if your breast tenderness is improved, then it is probably the pill
2. When you restart the pill, consider a low dose pill (one that contains 20 micrograms of estrogen) as this might be associated with fewer side effects)
Please let me know if this helps.
Dr. Raichle
It might be the birth control pills
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for the question. Breast tenderness is a common side effect of hormone therapy, including birth control pills. It might depend on what dose of birth control you are taking. There are very low dose pills that can also be taken in a continuous fashion. I would suggest:
1. Consider taking a week off of the pills - you will get a period, and if your breast tenderness is improved, then it is probably the pill
2. When you restart the pill, consider a low dose pill (one that contains 20 micrograms of estrogen) as this might be associated with fewer side effects)
Please let me know if this helps.
Dr. Raichle
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Do you think the breast tenderness would be indicative of anything serious? I'm hesitan to stop the pill because it took so long to refulate when I started. (I'm on it for period regulation not birth control).t
Brief Answer:
Not of great concern.
Detailed Answer:
While you definitely still need mammogram screening for breast cancer given your age (41), bilateral breast / nipple tenderness is not a specific sign of breast cancer. Also, it is not typical for a breast infection to present as symmetric pain of both breasts. Some patients will try an herbal remedy called Evening Primrose Oil in doses of about 1mg twice daily for breast pain. Finally, if you take a week off of the pill, you will get a period, but then when you restart, it should work just as it had been working - this break would not lead to future irregularity.
I hope that this helps.
Dr. Raichle
Not of great concern.
Detailed Answer:
While you definitely still need mammogram screening for breast cancer given your age (41), bilateral breast / nipple tenderness is not a specific sign of breast cancer. Also, it is not typical for a breast infection to present as symmetric pain of both breasts. Some patients will try an herbal remedy called Evening Primrose Oil in doses of about 1mg twice daily for breast pain. Finally, if you take a week off of the pill, you will get a period, but then when you restart, it should work just as it had been working - this break would not lead to future irregularity.
I hope that this helps.
Dr. Raichle
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D
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