"The Uncomfortable Truth: Why Your Breasts Hurt During Menopause"

Does it hurt to put your bra on?

Are your breasts tender to the touch?

re your shirts and sweaters uncomfortable because your breasts are so tender or swollen?

Many women in perimenopause and menopause experience these breast-related symptoms, and in the vast majority of cases, it’s nothing serious.

You may be familiar with breast tenderness or pain during your menstrual cycle.

This discomfort occurs because of fluctuating estrogen and progesterone levels.

In perimenopause and menopause, declining levels of these hormone play a major role in causing discomfort.

However, the breast pain and tenderness during this stage of life can be different.

Some women report feeling sharp or throbbing pain in one or both breasts, while others say their breasts burn or feel sore.

These symptoms are not uncommon and typically disappear gradually once women reach menopause (no period for 12 consecutive months).

So what can you do about tender or painful breasts?

Here are a few lifestyle modifications you can make that may help.

• Eliminate caffeine from your diet. Instead, enjoy herbal teas,

especially those that can help with inflammation, such as turmeric,

tulsi, ginger, and rose hips. Green tea (which contains only a slight

amount of caffeine) also is good for tenderness and inflammation.

• Reduce your salt intake. Check food labels for their sodium (salt)

content and also cut down on using table salt. Instead, use herbs and

spices to make your food more tasty.

• Change your bra. Are any of your current bras providing you with

support and comfort? If not, then it’s time to find one that will.

• Take supplements. Research shows that taking 200 IU of vitamin E

and 40 mg of vitamin B6 every day for two months can reduce breast

pain. There is also some evidence that taking 200 mg of magnesium

daily can help reduce inflammation and breast tenderness.

• Apply heat. You can ease breast pain by placing a heating pad or hot

water bottle on your hurting breasts for about 10 minutes.

• Take evening primrose oil. This natural oil contains omega-6 fatty

acids, gamma-linolenic acid, and linolenic acid, all of which can work

together to relieve breast tenderness or pain. Try this remedy, 1 to 2

grams daily, for six weeks.

• Strengthen your muscles. You can use light hand weights to

strengthen the muscles that support your breasts. For example, here’s

a simple exercise that only requires two light hand weights. Lie on the

floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold a

weight in each hand. Extend both arms over your head until the

weights touch the floor. Slowly raise both arms for a count of five until

they are perpendicular with the floor. Hold that position for a count of

five, then slowly return your arms to the starting position to a count of

five. Repeat this cycle eight to ten more times. Practice this exercise

every day, twice a day.

If your breast tenderness or pain does not respond to any natural remedies

or you believe your symptoms are not related to perimenopause or

menopause, talk with your doctor.

These symptoms also may be associated with fibrocystic breasts (a benign condition involving cysts that develop in the breasts), breast infection (mastitis), or use of certain medications, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, methyldopa, oral contraceptives, and diuretics.

Thank you for joining me today for a discussion about breast pain and tenderness in perimenopause and menopause.

Please subscribe to my channel and learn more about menopause and women’s health.

Shobeiri F et al. Clinical effectiveness of vitamin E and vitamin B6 for

improving pain severity in cyclic mastalgia. Iranian Journal of Nursing and

Midwifery Research 2015 Nov-Dec; 20(6):723-27.

Walker AF et al. Magnesium supplementation alleviates premenstrual

symptoms of fluid retention. Journal of Womens Health 1998 Nov;

7(9):1157-65.