Bra question - need advice

Recently I went to a specialty store in Manhasset b/c I really needed to be measured. I had a baby back in May and I'm no longer nursing, but my chest has definitely changed from what it was before the baby. I wanted bras that fit and were more flattering. Pre-baby/preg I was a 34C. I did try on some bras and am a 36D. The bras were expensive, but I have to say - they really made me look 100% better, I mean thinner and as if I had "work" done. Really good.

Okay, so I bought 4 or 5 bras that I have to say - I've never paid so much for each bra. We're talking like over $80 for most of them. Well, my right breast hurts - in the lower part underneath... and on the one hand I've had a bad cough and it hurts primarily when I cough so I'm not sure if it's that or if it's the bra. I tried a different one today and now they both hurt when I cough. It's kind of that pain (not sure if everyone else gets this but it happens to me from time to time) that you get when you get a gas pocket there that kills when you take a deep breath. I'm not sure if maybe I hurt something coughing or it's the bra. Could they be hurting since they are new? I'm not sure I can return the one's I've worn. I'd kind of hate too since they made my chest look so good, but I'm in pain - even when the bras are off. Any time I cough I'm getting the pain. It also hurts in the lower part of my breast when I hold my tummy in - which I'm trying to do more frequently to strengthen my flabby post-baby belly. Could it just be weak muscles? Just the cough? Any advice?

Re: Bra question - need advice

I've had that before where I have such a bad cough that I get this sharp pain under my breast when I cough. But it is definitely in my chest and not part of the breast tissue. Can you localize the pain? Is it in the chest or a sharp pain in the actual breast tissue? I would say try wearing the bras to work (leave the tags on all but one) and when you come home right away wear a sports bra or nothing. See how it is in a few days.

Re: Bra question - need advice

Not to freak you out, but I think you should go to your doctor. I don't think a bra would cause pain like that. Since you are post partum which will change breast tissue density, I think you should rule out any other causes of this pain.

Re: Bra question - need advice

Re: Bra question - need advice

I'm not breastfeeding. However, I was concerned that maybe it still could be some type of clog in a duct or something. I'm wearing a more comfortable bra right now - actually a Madela Nursing bra (again, not nursing, just for comfort). I hate the way it looks - very frumpy, but the one's that lift I have to say were very uncomfortable.

I'd go to a doctor but not sure what doctor to go to. I've been seeing a Pulmonologist about the cough. He was pushing me to get a nuclear test done to test for a Pulmonary Embolism. I felt the test was too extreme. DH suggested the ER.

Even in the comfy bra - it hurts to cough, raise my arms or draw in my abdominal muscles - it's a sharp pain at the bottom of my right breast most specifically - the left one was bothering me too but not to the extreme of the right one. My "PCP" doc is far, I'm in the midst of changing but the new doc requires all new pts to have a physical before she'll see you regularly. My physical is in like 3 weeks. I'm really uncomfortable but not sure how I feel about the ER.

Thoughts? I feel kind of dumb walking into the ER and saying "hi, my bra hurt my boobs".

Re: Bra question - need advice

Re: Bra question - need advice

Re: Bra question - need advice

If you have chest pain and a pulmonologist suggest a PE, run run run to the ER.

If you actually have a PE, it is a life threatening situation, I know a nuclear spiral CT sounds scary, but being dead is scarier.

I would not chance it on being just a bra. Blood clots post partum are not uncommon and they can go to your lungs and cause a PE.