Worried About Oozing Bleeding Areola
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Good news lilpupper! Hopefully you can get to the bottom of this so you can get some symptom relief!
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Alright so I called the gynecologists office for like the 3rd time today and they apologized, said theres a delay in the culture results but that what they have "so far" looks good and if everything comes back negative they'd like to see me in 4 months for a follow-up. I was stunned. My left nipple is literally bleeding every single day and looks like a train wreck and they say see you in 4 months??
I reminded them that the doctor said she'd give me a referral to a dermatologist (which is the only thing I've really been waiting for from them!) and she said that they cant give referrals. What? Why did the doctor say she would then? I'm beyond upset and frustrated (though I did not say that to the receptionist who answered the phone, not her fault.)
My results from the gynecologist are being sent to my primary care doctor and I should hopefully be referred to a dermatologist without having to also make an appointment with my primary first. But I've heard that dermatologists are difficult to see quickly. Ugh. I went to my gynecologist in the first place because I wanted to see a woman (which my primary isn't) but at this point I just don't care anymore. I was woken up this morning by burning pain in my nipple I can't deal with this forever.
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I don't live in the US, I assume you do? In Ireland you can pay to go private to a dermatologist I'm fairly sure you don't need a DRS referral, is that an option for you?if it isn't Pagets it's something like some kind ofskin complaint ,as you and we all know what you are experiencing is far from normal, I wonder if you might be getting slightly fobbed off because of your age,it's awful lilpupper it really is
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I do live in the US, yes and I checked with my insurance and a doctor's referral is they only way it works for me.
I do sort of feel like I'm not being taken seriously, like it's been seen as a small issue and not something that effects every hour of every day for me. I carry gauze with me everywhere for sheep's sake. I really hope I can get in with the dermatologist soon.
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I managed to get an appointment for TOMORROW! I'm so happy! They weren't going to be able to see me til October but my primary doctor called the dermatologists office and made it happen, I'm so grateful!
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Oh good! Now maybe you can get some relief, your symptoms sound miserable.
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that's great lilpupper, hopefully the dermatologist will do a biopsy. Best of luck let us know how you get on
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So glad! Please do let us know how it goes
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Didn't go as well as I'd hoped. It was very quick. She simply wrote me a perscription for a strong steroid cream (which I've already tried, my old doc did the same thing) and said she thinks its nipple exzema. Which is fine if it is. Obviously I'd rather that than the alternative. But I did already try everything, based on the assumption that it is exzema (ie: steroid creams both perscription and otc, no harsh soaps, moisturizing without fragrance, exzema lotion, aloe) and none of it worked. Slathering the skin in moisturizer or steroid cream makes the flakes less noticeable, like a wet scab effect but didn't make it go away or prevent it from getting worse.
I did all of that and have (continually) been incredibly careful with my nipple before it even got anywhere near this bad. I felt like I wasn't being heard. She agreed that it looked bad but said that since she wasn't the doctor that prescribed the other steroid cream it basically didn't count (I'm paraphrasing). I have a follow-up a month from now. She also reminded me that she usually has a 4 month wait to be seen, and encouraged me to cancel my follow-up if my nipple is looking somewhat better (and suggested it might not ever completely go away?) which rubbed me the wrong way.
Don't get me wrong, I understand that she's a doctor and I'm not. I'm not suggesting that she's wrong, just that I'm frustrated.
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lilpupper, sorry you felt the doctor didn't listen to your concerns. I've discovered with all my interactions with doctors that it is not uncommon for a doctor to insist you try a treatment they prescribe before they are willing to proceed further, even if you have tried that treatment before. The only time I've had luck with a doctor being willing to move on to the next possibilities without doing the first thing is when I have my records from the other doctor that records that I have been prescribed such and such and it was not successful in treating the problem. All that to say, if it was *me*--only my opinion--I would actually proceed with the steroid cream as prescribed and then follow up in a month with the doctor. You've had tests that show this is very likely nothing ominous so trying the cream for a month is reasonable. Then if it doesn't work (and may not since you've already tried one kind of steroid) your doctor should be willing to look further into this--if she isn't I would find another dermatologist that can help you get a handle on this. I know how frustrating dealing with medical things can be
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@kcat Yes, I'm absolutely going to use the steroid cream, I don't have a problem with that. Just the 'ifs' are still making me anxious. If it doesn't work its another month down the drain, or at least thats what it will feel like.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Thanks so much for understanding. Hopefully my next post will be about success!
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LilPupper
Which steroid cream are you currently using? Is it the same one or different one from before? If same is it a different strength?
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So, its been 3 weeks, my follow up is coming soon. I've been using the steroid cream every day twice as prescribed and visually, there is a dramatic improvement. I am no longer bleeding and oozing is very minimal but something is still 'off'. My left and right nipple are still two different colors (left significantly darker and irritated looking), and the left one still flakes? The left nipple is actually itchier than it used to be (I'm not itching it though.)
The dermatologist told me if theyre was any improvement to cancel my follow up appointment, and since she was so adamant about that, I feel like she'll dismiss my current concerns.
This doesn't seem normal to me. I'm not sure what to do.
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So, just so I understand, this problem had been ongoing since February, so about 5 months, before your initial post. And then you started this new treatment 3 weeks ago, and you've already seen significant improvement, although not complete resolution. The darker color is typical when skin has been inflamed or irritated, and may take some time to return to normal. I have some skin that had 'problems' that never quite went back to it's original color. As for the itching, if it has worsened, then I might be tempted to keep the appointment just to follow up on that, depending on just how itchy it is. You have the appointment, and even though you have had some significant improvement, if you cancel this appointment and the itching doesn't go away, you'll have to schedule another one (maybe weeks/months in the future). But you were the one who heard her instructions. If she did say "any improvement", then you clearly have had that. It may be that she indicated it could take quite some time for full resolution as the situation was ongoing for at least 5 months. Another option would be postponing your follow up and if you continue to improve, you can cancel that one.
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Hi Lilpupper, have you been back to the dermatologist yet
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@lilpupper I feel your pain sweetheart!!! I am no where near as young as you but still young to have this going on! Please share your results after your follow up. I am curious did the cream stop the bleeding for you? I am dealing with this localized to my left breast, I have a bleeding nipple and orange peel like skin going on and they are trying to tell me it is eczema. I have seen eczema and it does not start with the feeling of an arrow coming through your nipple from your chest, then a cyst then bleeding blah blah blah. I still wait for my next referral so I can get a second opinion. I too am losing my mind over all of this and feel like my life has been put on hold. I also can not wear a bra and was wearing a pad on my nipple at one point it was so bad. ;(
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/83/topics...
That is my post about this craziness
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After posting regularly for a month, lilpupper hasn't posted anything since August 15th. I am assuming that she did continue to get resolution of her symptoms from her dermatologist's treatment. We routinely don't hear back from folks in the "not diagnosed but worried" forum when they get better. sorry Bex!
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That is too bad that we don't hear that they are OK, I swear I should have been a nurse with how much I care about others! I promise I can't wait to post that I am OK!
And thank you MTwoman for sending me the link to this post, it is good to know that I am not alone in this battle or the only one with this craziness going on with her breast! I will be updating my topic regularly as I move through the unknown here! Thanks again!0 -
Some women start a whole bunch of new threads and then don't remember to update them all too. That is another reason we encourage people to stick to a single thread for all their questions until resolution or diagnosis.
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good point MD!
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It's been awhile since I posted but I still have nipple/areola issues, was sort of waiting for everything to resolve but I think this is as close as I'm gonna get. I cancelled my derm appointment, based on her reccomendation. My left nipple is still a different color (I have brown nipples and that one is darker now), looks fairly normal, just slightly dry. The texture of my left nipple is rough/dry feeling even at it's best and it's a bit upsetting. Backing off from steroid creams for a couple days makes my nipple look bad pretty quickly (goes tortoise shell-like). I also have breast itchiness but I think that's a fairly normal thing. It's very frustrating and worrying, but I don't really think there's anything else I can do except keep up with the steroid cream uh, forever? Haha.
Steroid creams feel like a band-aid rather than a fix but maybe it's normal for eczema, I don't know. I'm not seeing my normal doc til Christmastime but I'll ask him then if using prescription steroid creams every day is a problem or what.
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lilpupper, do you have any food allergies? Sometimes food allergies can present as eczema (watch the video Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead). My daughter tried many steroids for her weird eczema to no avail but when she eliminated dairy it cleared up in about 3 weeks.
It can't hurt to try. Dairy and gluten are the 2 biggest offenders but following the Whole 30 diet can help you see if there's anything else. It may not help but it looks like not much of anything else has helped either.
Wishing you all the best, Luck
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I don't have any food allergies that I know of. Honestly food is one of the major joys in my life and is significant culturally so I'd rather get a doctors recommendation before trying something that I know will make me (more) miserable, if that makes sense.
I'm posting again because I once again have a small patch of completely raw skin on my left nipple despite keeping up with my steroid cream and am panicking. I realize fully that people (completely validly) don't appreciate us not diagnosed but worried people hanging around once we have a diagnosis/resolution. But I'm still worried and don't really feel that I've had either. In only a few months I'll have been dealing with this for about a year and that seems like more than an eczema outbreak to me, especially considering the number of treatments and care I've taken to only use eczema friendly products. The entire nipple is incredibly tender and I am worried about it getting bad again, because the steroid creams seem to be making less of an impact lately. I feel like I'm going crazy. I can't speak to anybody in 'real' life about this because my (non-biological) father was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and is going through treatment. I can't put anything else on that pile.
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Hi Lilpupper,
I just want to say that I had the EXACT issue 8 years ago! When I was 19, I had weeping and oozing on my right nipple which I ignored and self medicated for a year (i know, i'm horrible). It started as a small patch until it covered my right nipple. I had to put pads in my bra every day. I started by using hydrocortisone which temporarily stopped the weeping but would come back after 2 weeks of not using. Eventually, I tried a stronger steroid called Elocon for a week and the oozing and weeping stopped completely and has never come back since. It's been about 6 years since but my nipple has not returned to its original color. From pink it became dark brown with a slight roughness. It was a bit depressing at first but I got used to it.
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Dear Lilpupper,
I've read through your whole posts. I'm hoping you'lll reply. I've had the same issue since Feb 2020. Steroid creams only seem to be the things that work Please respond. I notice your last post was many moons ago, but I'm glad I've found someone like me. Let's help each other cause I think our dermo's and primary cares don't have a clue.
Hope you are better and you can make me better.
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Did you figure it out? I'm having the same prob and dermatoligist isn't solving it
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