It’s safe to say you know the answer to that question. Breast pain (or cyclic mastalgia) does occur during ovulation. But that’s not why you’re here.
You’re probably here because you want the answer to fleeting questions including; why your breasts feel heavy; how long you stay sore; and lots of other questions.
The good news is that we’re covering all these questions and adding a few you didn’t even think of.
For instance, we’ll be showing you how to spot breast pain during ovulation and the ones that tell you’re pregnant.
Sounds interesting?
You bet. Read on to find out all the remaining nitty-gritty details you never knew about.
One of the secondary symptoms of ovulation is breast pain or tenderness. In fact, the American Pregnancy Association spoke about the signs of ovulation in a recent article.
What secondary means is that not all women may experience this unlike common symptoms like changes in cervical fluid, cervical positioning, and basal body temperature during ovulation.
Since breast pain is not so common with ovulation, how is it related to ovulation to begin with?
Let’s go back to the beginning.
There are dozens of fertility hormones that start the ovulation process in your body. Some of them include Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estrogen, luteinizing hormone (LH), and progesterone.
Now, these hormone levels flicker like a light bulb (going up and down) until the effects become visible in your body. One of these effects includes breast pain or what scientists call mastalgia.
Moving on, we’ll zoom into the causes behind this grisly pain and how to spot it out.
Sadly, the research available isn’t sufficient to say these are the core causes of mastalgia. However, John Hopkins Medicine has shone the light on a few scientific-based causes and they include:
The name cyclical mastalgia comes from the periodicity of the pain and not the symptoms. Cyclic means related to a specific pattern or cycle. The complaints related to the menstrual cycle are hence periodic in nature and thus the name, cyclical mastalgia.
The following symptoms may be common to both cyclical and acyclic mastalgia, but based on the time of their onset, they are termed as cyclical mastalgia.
Did you know that breast pain can be so intense that you may not work like you used to or even enjoy sex?
Some people have complained that breast pain interferes with their daily activities, however, let’s not forget to add that this is rare.
The ugly truth? Not really!
Your breasts may get swollen and heavier a few days before your ovulation and this is responsible for the size increase that you feel. But, this is not the only symptom that you may experience.
Let’s take a glance over the remaining symptoms linked to breast pain.
Breast pain that is caused by your ovulation could show signs as early as an LH surge and disappear without a trace after your ovulation. It can vary in intensity from women who don’t notice a thing to women who just can’t stand the pain.
Frequent symptoms linked to mastalgia include:
Depending on how serious the pain is, your general lifestyle and wellness, treatment plans for breast pain vary. Nevertheless, you will find your doctor recommending the following to relieve pain:
For people who experience cyclic mastalgia, long-term treatments like the following are advisable:
Like most cases of breast pain, yours may be caused by hormonal imbalance. If that is the case, the pain may last from a few days before your ovulation till the moment your ovulation is over. However, this rule is not a one-size-fits-all condition. It can vary from woman to woman.
The best way to tell the duration of breast pain is by recording your symptoms either in a diary or a tracking device like Inito.
There are a handful of signs and symptoms that can tell you your ovulation is here. Breast pain is just the tip of the iceberg.
As you continue reading, you’ll find more information on the major signs like cervical mucus, increased sexual desire, and a rise in basal body temperature that indicate ovulation is just around the corner.
To be precise, here is the timeline of your cervical mucus discharge before and after ovulation:
Yes. According to experts, swollen breasts are one of the many common signs of pregnancy. It is usually caused by a sudden change in hormone levels.
Telling ovulation and pregnancy symptoms apart can be brain teasing which is why we’re going to save you all that stress. Take a peek at the major differentiating factors that can help you tell what kind of breast pain you’re experiencing.
However, if it happens out of the blue towards the end of your cycle then you may just be pregnant. Take a home pregnancy test to find out.
