Freaked out about breast tenderness

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-22-2003
Freaked out about breast tenderness
1
Thu, 04-08-2004 - 1:16pm
I'm one of those super-paranoid people when it comes to birth control - I'm always convinced I've somehow beaten the odds and gotten pregnant (even though I take my generic Ortho Tri-Cyclen pills religiously).

In any case, there have been a handful of months in the past (no pattern to them whatsoever) when I've experienced up to 12 days of pretty noticeable breast tenderness before getting my periods. This is highly unusual for me, as I've had virtually no PMS syptoms since starting on OTC six years ago. As you can imagine, this doesn't help my paranoia!

One month I'll experience it, then I won't for a long period of time. So I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with my pills themselves.

The only connection I can make is that this tenderness tends to coincide with an increase in the amount of caffeine I consume on a daily basis. For example, I'll go from having a completely caffeine-free diet to drinking caffeinated soda every day...or I'll go from one soda a day to three or something like that.

I've heard the occassional rumor that caffeine can cause breast tenderness, but I'm not sure if it could really be behind my problem. Has anyone on this board had a similar experience with their diet being linked to these kinds of symptoms? If I could just pin down what's causing this, I'd like to eliminate it so I can stop worrying and have some faith in my pills! :)

Thanks in advance!

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Thu, 04-08-2004 - 8:25pm
Hi caitlin5,

The information that I have seen says there is a suspected link between caffeine and breast tenderness in some women, but I have seen no definitive studies. I think I remember seeing posts here from members who said they had reduced their breast tenderness by reducing or to the extent possible eliminating it. So, I think your experience in lessening your discomfort by reducing caffeine intake is probably right. You could try keeping a food log and see how intake and symptoms match. Let us know how you're doing, ok?

Good luck

      Jill