Breasts can feel heavy and sore for many reasons. Menstruation, pregnancy, and breastfeeding are common reasons, but infections and cysts may also cause discomfort. Less commonly, pain may stem from cancer.
It can happen during puberty, pregnancy or from taking medication. In some cases, it occurs spontaneously and for no reason. Gigantomastia is also referred to as macromastia. However, macromastia is usually defined as excess breast tissue that weighs less than 5 pounds.
Hormone changes during the menstrual cycle may lead to breast swelling. More estrogen is made early in the cycle and it peaks just before mid-cycle. This causes the breast ducts to grow in size. The progesterone level peaks near the 21st day (in a 28-day cycle).
The most common hormonal breast soreness comes from an increase in the level of oestrogen before a period. This causes milk ducts and glands to swell, trapping fluid in the breasts. Many women have tenderness or pain in the lead-up to a period, and sometimes right through it.
When the ovaries start to produce and release (secrete) estrogen, fat in the connective tissue starts to collect. This causes the breasts to enlarge.
As you reach the age of 40 years and approach perimenopause, hormonal changes will cause changes to your breasts. Besides noting changes in your breasts' size, shape, and elasticity, you might also notice more bumps and lumps. Aging comes with an increased risk of breast cancer.
You may also notice that your breasts are a different size or shape than they were when you were younger. Changes to your breasts are a normal part of aging. Changes in firmness or size are very common, especially after menopause.
During perimenopause, the hormonal fluctuations are more dramatic. It is also common for breasts to get bigger or smaller or to change in shape during this period.
As oestrogen goes AWOL, breasts go through a process called 'involution' where milk glands shut down and this tissue is replaced by fat. Weight gain also causes an accumulation of fat cells, and some of these camps out in your bra. Many women get bigger all over as their oestrogen stores get smaller.
The breasts can enlarge after menopause due to the hormone oestrogen levels going down. When the breasts go through an " involution " process, the milk glands shut down, and the tissue is replaced with fat.
It has been previously suggested that female breast morphology arose as a result of sexual selection. This is supported by evidence showing that women with larger breasts tend to have higher estrogen levels; breast size may therefore serve as an indicator of potential fertility.
Breasts are very responsive to hormones in the menstrual cycle or in HRT. Hormones called oestrogens increase before a period, causing milk ducts and glands to swell. This can trap fluid in the breasts and cause swelling and lumpiness.
But high levels of estrogen can cause: Infertility. Erectile dysfunction. A condition called gynecomastia, where the breasts become enlarged.
"During perimenopause and menopause, there are hormonal fluctuations and eventually a drop in hormones that may cause weight gain," said Dr. Wider. "As a result, some of the weight gain can occur in the breasts, resulting in enlarged breasts."
Feelings of fullness may also occur. Finally, at menopause—defined as the absence of periods for one year—your hormone levels continue their drop, resulting in breast tissue that's less dense and more fatty. And with breast tissue that's less dense, it may be easier for your radiologist to spot cancer on mammograms.
Perimenopause can begin in some women in their 30s, but most often it starts in women ages 40 to 44. It is marked by changes in menstrual flow and in the length of the cycle. There may be sudden surges in estrogen.
A Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center study involving postmenopausal, overweight, and obese women who took 2,000 IUs of vitamin D daily for a year found that those whose vitamin D blood levels increased the most had the greatest reductions in blood estrogens, which are a known risk factor for breast cancer.