Tender breasts 10 days before expected period

Raise your hand if every time Aunt Flo rolls around, your breasts get tender, sore, and maybe even downright hurt a little. If that sounds like you, welcome to the sore boobs club—you’re definitely not alone. Studies show that up to 70% of people who get their periods say the same exact thing.1

“It can present as sharp shooting pains, a dull ache, or even increased breast soreness or nipple sensitivity,” Kourtney Sims, MD, FACOG, NCMP, a board-certified ob-gyn and certified menopause specialist in private practice in Houston, tells SELF. She notes this can last from puberty through perimenopause.

Breast pain falls into two categories. Let’s start with cyclic breast pain, which means the soreness or pain occurs in a regular pattern. This is known as cyclical mastalgia, which is associated with your menstrual cycle. It can lead to a dull, heavy, or aching feeling, which can range from mild discomfort to severe pain and sensitivity, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“[The cyclic pain] typically occurs on both sides and is most severe in the upper outer parts of the breasts, where most of the breast tissue is,” Roxanne Jamshidi, MD, MPH, director of the division of general obstetrics and gynecology at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, tells SELF. It may also radiate to the underarm and it is often accompanied by swelling, breast fullness, or lumpiness that becomes more pronounced during the two weeks leading up to your period. There is typically less cyclic pain during menopause since reproductive hormone levels are significantly reduced, Dr. Jamshidi says.

Then, there’s noncyclic breast pain, meaning the pain is more constant. This can present as a tight, burning, stabbing, or throbbing sensation, and usually affects just one breast in a specific area. For people who menstruate, this type of pain usually occurs after menopause, especially if the person is using hormone replacement therapy.

Thankfully, identifying what’s behind sore breasts before your period, regardless of what type it is, can help ease your symptoms and improve your overall quality of life. Here’s what you should know if you’ve been dealing with this.

What causes breast pain during your period? | Other causes of breast pain | Treatment for breast tenderness | When to see a doctor about breast pain

What causes breast pain around your period—and how long does it last?

The jury is still out on the exact mechanisms behind breast soreness that develops before your period. But experts do know that hormone levels fluctuate around that time of the month, and that can impact how your boobs feel, Sherry A. Ross, MD, a women’s health expert and author of She-ology: The Definitive Guide to Women's Intimate Health, tells SELF.

Specifically, rising estrogen levels in the first two weeks of your cycle can temporarily cause your breasts to get bigger, while increasing amounts of progesterone during the second half may make your milk ducts puff up. “Together this results in swelling and breast tenderness,” women’s health expert Jennifer Wider, MD, tells SELF. Hormonal fluctuations can also lead to fibrocystic breast changes (the development of non-cancerous lumps in your boobs) around your period, which can contribute to tenderness, according to the Mayo Clinic.

In this case, your breasts may become sore about three to five days before the onset of your period and tend to stop hurting once your flow begins, but this can vary by person. “The hormone levels significantly decrease once your period starts, which is why the breast pain tends to improve within a few days of the onset of your period,” Dr. Jamshidi explains.

Ovulation itself, which happens about two weeks before your period, can be another culprit. Again, this is a time when the body is experiencing a surge of hormones, and progesterone levels rise right after ovulation. This pain or tenderness may continue until the start of your period and then linger for a few days after its onset, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. So, you might think you’re experiencing breast pain after your last period, but it could be due to ovulation occurring before your next one.

Tender boobs are also common during pregnancy for similar reasons. Progesterone levels continue to rise in the body when you’re expecting, so breast soreness may happen and last for some time even though your period is MIA, Dr. Wider says. The discomfort seems to get better with time, Dr. Jamshidi says, so it might be most noticeable at the ​beginning of pregnancy around the first trimester before leveling off or going away entirely, depending on the person. An increase in the hormone prolactin—which helps get milk going—may also have something to do with breasts feeling uncomfortable during pregnancy.

It’s also important to note that trans women taking hormone therapy can also experience breast pain from fluctuating hormone levels, per the Mayo Clinic. Trans men who have had a mastectomy and still get a period may also experience cyclic pain from the minimal amount of breast tissue that may remain on the chest.

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What are other possible causes of breast pain?

There are several other reasons why you may be part of the part of sore-boobs circle, and they have nothing to do with your period or fluctuating hormones:

Injury

If you’ve hurt yourself (think soccer ball meets breast) or had recent surgery, soreness and tenderness can be expected and may last anywhere from a few days to several weeks.

You may also mistake breast pain with pain stemming from the chest wall, which is the area of muscle, tissue, and bone that surrounds and protects your heart and lungs. A pulled muscle in the chest, inflammation around the ribs, a bone fracture, or getting hit in the chest can all cause pain that feels like it’s coming from your breast, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Medication

Surprisingly, there are quite a few medications that can leave your breasts feeling sore or tender, including certain antidepressants, blood pressure meds, and some antibiotics, per the Mayo Clinic. Talk with your doctor about any medications you’re taking that could potentially be causing breast soreness or pain as a side effect. They may be able to reconsider your dosage or recommend a similar medication to see if it works better for you.

Ill-fitting bras

Besides being super uncomfortable, which should be reason enough to ditch it, a poor-fitting bra doesn’t provide proper support, particularly for people with larger breasts (typically defined as greater than or equal to a D cup)2. Wearing a too-small or uncomfortable bra can cause everything from breast pain to skin irritation, according to Tufts Medical Center.

Breast implants

If you have one or more breast implants, one of the most common complications is called capsular contracture, which means scar tissue has formed too tightly around implants post-surgery.2 Your pain may also be a red flag that one of your implants has burst, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Mastitis

If your soreness or pain presents with swelling, redness (which will be more obvious on lighter skin tones), and fever, Dr. Jamshidi says to head to your doctor, as this could be a sign of breast inflammation, called mastitis, which can mimic symptoms of breast cancer.3 Though, this is much more common in people who are lactating.

Breast cancer

Cancer shouldn’t be the first thing that comes to mind if you’re dealing with sore or achy boobs; breast pain is rarely linked to breast cancer, Dr. Jamshidi says. That said, if you notice pain along with skin changes, such as dimpling, thickening, or irritation, a mass or lump you can feel, swelling, or bloody nipple discharge, those are red flags, according to Dr. Jamshidi.

Some of these symptoms can also be associated with an infection, so it’s best to see your doctor to rule out anything more serious like breast cancer, and to start proper treatment if needed, Susan Loeb-Zeitlin, MD, an ob-gyn at New York-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, tells SELF.

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What’s the best treatment for breast tenderness and pain?

Sore boobs before your period might seem like a fact of life, but you don’t need to just suffer through it. Taking a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) pain reliever, like ibuprofen or naproxen, can help ease any inflammation that could be driving the discomfort, Dr. Loeb-Zeitlin says. Another tip? Reduce your caffeine intake, as it can increase breast pain in some people.

You may even want to try a topical version if the pain is really intense (just note that your topical medications contribute to your daily dosage if you also choose to take oral medications). Putting a warm compress on your boobs to promote blood flow can also be helpful, Dr. Wider says, since this can help relieve muscle tension that might be making the breast soreness worse.

If you’re on hormonal birth control and boob soreness is new to you or really bothering you, it’s worth looking into other options, Dr. Ross says. Hormonal birth control side effects can vary from person to person, but some forms that use smaller doses of estrogen can potentially help minimize breast soreness or pain.

Finally, do an audit of your most-worn bras. If you have a larger breast size, a supportive bra that fits well is key to making sure your breast tissue isn’t being unnecessarily squeezed or stretched. A professional bra fitting may be the way to go if you haven’t had one in a few years, as breast size and shape can change over time, according to the Tufts Medical Center.

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When to see a doctor about breast soreness or pain

In the vast majority of cases, breast tenderness around your period is normal and pretty harmless (other than making you feel not-so-great for a few days). The key thing to remember is the consistency of your symptoms. “If you are noticing pain or tenderness anywhere in the body that is persistent that is not improving,” talk to a health care provider if you can, says Dr. Sims. Even if you think what you are experiencing is pain from hormonal changes linked to your period, she says it doesn’t hurt to mention it to your doctor during your annual gynecologic exam. Together, you can figure out the best way to find some relief.

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