Most people assume that a lump in their breast when they are breastfeeding is a clogged duct. While this is often the case, moveable lumps in your breast may also be galactoceles – cysts filled with breast milk. Here is what you need to know about galactoceles.
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What is a galactocele?
A galactocele is a cyst in the breast that is filled with breast milk.
They occur (fairly rarely) in people who are pregnant, lactating, or have recently been lactating.
How can I tell if I have one? Galactocele vs plugged duct
If you are lactating and you notice a smooth, moveable lump in your breast, you might have a galactocele.
They are sometimes mistaken for clogged ducts or for breast cancer (since both of these also have lumps as the first symptom).
The major differences between clogged ducts and galactoceles include:
- Pain. Clogged ducts usually hurt quite a bit – it’s a sharp pain, especially when the area is touched. On the other hand, galactoceles may or may not be painful. The pain, if there is any, is caused by the surrounding tissue being stretched.
- Size. Galactoceles are often much larger; they can be from 1 to 6 cm in diameter, while clogged ducts are usually pea-sized. Therefore, a golf ball sized lump in your breast is far more likely to be a galactocele than a clogged milk duct. Additionally, galactoceles often change size (sometimes filling up, sometimes getting smaller).
- Duration. Clogged ducts are usually cleared with a day or two, or they progress to mastitis. Galactoceles can last weeks.
Galactoceles have to be diagnosed by a doctor.
Because galactoceles and breast cancer both present with smooth and moveable lumps, doctors will generally refer people who have them for a breast cancer screening. In most cases, you will get an ultrasound and a biopsy to evaluate the lump; however, sometimes a mammogram is the first step.
One important thing to note is that galactoceles are not dangerous and have no relationship to breast cancer. The main issue with them (and of course it’s not a small one) is your discomfort.
That being said, any lump in your breast that doesn’t resolve within 24-48 hours should be evaluated by a medical professional to ensure it’s not something serious.
How are they treated? Will galactoceles go away on their own?
If they aren’t painful, the standard treatment for a galactocole is the same as it is for a cyst: just leaving them alone.
If they are painful, they can be drained via fine needle aspiration (though unfortunately, they sometimes fill up again).
Most of the time, your body will reabsorb an untreated galactocele when you are done breastfeeding. If for whatever reason it doesn’t, the milk duct can be removed surgically.
Ibuprofen and warm showers can help treat the pain associated with the them.
Can galactoceles turn into cancer?
No. They are cysts filled with breast milk and cannot turn into cancer.
They also do not increase the risk of developing breast cancer.
Can you have a galactocele in your armpit?
It’s possible for you to have breast tissue in your underarm, and so you can get galactoceles there.
Is there any way that I can prevent it from coming back?
Unfortunately, there is no definitive way to do this without surgery. If the milk is aspirated, it can fill right back up again.
Here are a few things of your options:
- Weaning from the affected breast (and continuing to pump from the breast without the galactocele).
- Surgical removal of the milk duct (before or after weaning from breastfeeding).
- Several people stated that their galactocele was significantly reduced when they got the flu and became dehydrated (this obviously isn’t something I would recommend, but you can see if decreasing fluid intake a bit – not to the degree that you become dehydrated – helps keep the size under control)
- Taking a lecithin supplement to decrease the stickiness of your milk.
(Legendairy Milk reached out and gave me a discount code for their sunflower lecithin. Take 15% off with the code 15EPUMP!)
I would encourage anyone who thinks that they may have a galactocele to read these first-hand accounts from people who had one, along with this scientific explanation of how they are diagnosed.
Have you had a galactocele? It would be great if you could comment and tell us about your experience!
References- Moose & Doc Breast Cancer. “Galactocele of the Breast.” https://breast-cancer.ca/miscellaneous-breast-lesions/galactocele.htm
- American Journal of Surgery. “Galactocele of the Breast.” https://www.americanjournalofsurgery.com/article/0002-9610(64)90352-6/abstract
Comments & Chitchat
My daughter had a Galactocele and it was really scary. No one in this area knew anything about it. It was there for her first baby, and after her second baby it was larger and very painful. Since they didn’t know, they put her on powerful antibiotics and kept her in the hospital for several days. One doctor was finally willing to aspirate it for her, no one else would touch it. On baby #3 it was as big as an orange and had to be aspirated a couple times a week. She finally had to quit nursing because it was so painful and so large that it blocked all other milk from coming out. It advanced to a fibroadenoma. . After her milk dried up she finally went to a breast surgeon in Salt Lake that removed the mass. It was 3.5 inches by 3.5 inches!!! The doctor then just readjusted some tissue and everything healed up so great. I wish she would have known to do that after her first pregnancy. I believe that if they would have known and had it removed, she would have been able to enjoy nursing her last 2 babies. I just wanted to put this on here because it was the only place we found any answers and I wanted to share what ended up being the easiest fix. We thought she would have to have reconstruction surgery, but the doctor was so great and nothing else was needed. The doctor’s name was Jane Porretta at the University of Utah. I hope this helps someone. I wish we would have been able to find someone that knew something. We live in a larger town and not one doctor had ever even seen this before.
Hi!
About 3 years ago, I noticed a lump on my breast right by the nipple area. It was very red, hot and painful- I got ultrasound after ultrasound. I even got it aspirated twice- did biopsy and nothing. They would tell me it was a fibroadenoma. I couldn’t understand why it kept coming back and getting bigger. Until, I got a MRI 2 weeks ago and results came in! I have galactacele. But crazy part is I haven’t breastfed in over 10 years. Seems like I need surgery. Have an appointment to see a surgeon in February. Mines gets very painful, sometimes I feel those shocks we feel when our boobs are full of milk. Let’s see how this goes.
I was diagnosed with galactocele and I had an aspiration scheduled for Jan 2nd. I was not able to breastfeed from this breast because of it and so it really bothered me since it got very big and swollen. Also really painful.
On Dec 29 (2 days ago) I went to the emergency (my doctor is unavailable due to the holidays) because the lump I had on top of my breast seemed like it was gonna pop. They said it was not an emergency so I should wait till my doctor is back to get it checked. I said it was gonna pop before I had the chance and they said it’d be ok if it did. That same night, while I was sleeping, it burst through the skin, and what seems like liters of fluid came out. I was so scared. Nothing in the world prepared me for this. I thought I’d pop like a pimple, only a small amount of fluid. Instead, I was soaked with what seemed a mix of old milk, pus and blood. I literally had puddles forming on the floor. Now I’m left with a deep hole in my breast and don’t know what to do with it. I don’t want to go back to the emergency since I’ve been there 3 times in the past month because of this boob and they never did anything about it. I was so scared when I left the emergency the last time that I took something to dry up my milk. I’m actually glad I did because I think it’d be filling up again and dripping from the open hole. I feel now that it was obvious from the beginning that it was going to eventually pop and that my doctor should have warned me about it and prepared me on what to do in case it did before the aspiration. Now my baby is only 2m old and on formula and I am absolutely terrified of one day having to breastfeed again.
Rachel – I am so so sorry that this happened. I can’t imagine how scary it was!
I had the same problem you did but not when I was lactating but in between kids.
I injured my breast from wearing too tight a bra for too long and I got a breast cyst. My son then accidentally kicked it and then my boob starting producing fluid in overdrive. I kept trying to go to the dr and/or ER and they didn’t know what to do. I asked them to aspirate but they refused because it was cloudy in the ultrasound photos meaning they had no idea what was in the cyst. The doctors kept prescribing me antibiotics but it wasn’t an infection. Finally one day it burst through my skin. It had been excruciatingly painful for a month. It was pink bloody mucus. I don’t know if it was milk or not. After the burst through the skin I was in a lot of serious pain. I had surgery on the breast to remove necrotic tissue and I wasn’t in pain anymore. But unfortunately my breast was filling up with fluid again. I was dejected.
I looked online and found that evening primrose oil was recommended to someone by their Obgyn to help with cysts. It worked with me! I still take evening primrose oil. It’s been 2-3 years and any cysts I did have after the surgery didn’t get any bigger.
I just had a baby and I am able to pump from the injured boob but at a much much smaller quantity. With my first child I was able to freezer stash. With this child, I have to supplement with formula. The breast that was the main producer got injured. I’m still grateful I get like an Oz from it each pump. Better than nothing.
Hi. I got the galactocele when I was 2 months postpartum. I thought it was just a really bad mastitis and that after getting admitted to the hospital it will resolve. But it did not resolve. The IV antibiotics helped with fever and swelling but I am still being seen at the hospital weekly for fine needle aspirations because the galactocele keeps filling up. It’s my 7th aspiration now so far. The breast doctors don’t want to do surgery and they said that galactocele will resolve once I wean off breastfeeding. I am trying to wean but the milk supply is just so strong that after aspiration it will fill up in a day. It’s my 4th week now of treatment and I’m back on antibiotics because I started having fever again, redness and swelling on the left breast. It is sore too. It is my first pregnancy and I am just so traumatised with my breastfeeding journey. My baby can’t latch on the left breast ever since I had the mastitis and I want to continue breastfeeding her on the right but the doctor said that as long as I produce hormones to make milk, galactocele will fill up and they want me to totally wean from breastfeeding. The comments here are so helpful. Do you mind giving me advise what to do?
Hi Rachel! I’m so sorry that you’re dealing with this. I wish I could help – I don’t know whether weaning from one breast could work or if you would need to wean from both. (I know you can with mastitis but I’m not sure about galactoceles.) You sound miserable and I just want you to know that it’s okay to stop if you want to. You are important too. 🙂
Hi Rachel I’m so sorry you’re going through this, I’ve been on the same boat, unfortunately you have to wean your little one, before it gets worse and I don’t mean to scare you or anything, I was the same and because it keeps coming back and I have to be on so mo much antibiotics I had to stop breastfeeding. Sadly 6 months after I stopped breastfeeding I was still getting galactoecels that’s what the ultrasound says. I went to see a breast surgeon and when he pressed my breast some kinda milk was coming out and he said this isn’t right coz at the time I saw him I was already 7 months I have stopped breastfeeding. I went through surgery “excision biopsy” (very scary times, especially if they have the word biopsy in the procedure they want to do to you) to see what’s going on and during surgery they saw that my breast was full of abcess and not milk in a galactoecel like the ultrasound result was showing. I was in hospital for a week ans had a drain attached to my breast. And that wasn’t the end of it 3 months after my surgery I started havign breast discharge again, this time both breast. And Lo and behold both my breast had abcess from those supposed to be milk from galactoecels. So what my surgeon did was cut all my milk ducts so my body won’t produce milk anymore that turns into abcess. So my advice to you is stop the breastfeeding if it will prevent you from getting anymore galactoecels and prevent any more complications like what I have gone through.
I hope this helps you in any way. Please see a breast specialist and seek professional opinion. I wish you all the best hopefully it gets resolved sooner for you.
Hi everyone,
Has anyone else been able to breastfeed after surgical removal of a galactocele?
I had one after several bouts of mastitis when nursing my son. We were only able to nurse and pump about 4 months. Had the galactocele drained once, about 2 months into nursing and it came right back. After the infections cleared with antibiotics, it wasn’t painful, and I was told it would resorb on its own. However, a year after weaning it still hadn’t resolved and my husband and I want to try for a second baby. After discussing with my breast surgeon, I decided to have it removed along with the blocked ducts.
Surgery was this past Monday and it’s healing well but still quite swollen. I’m paranoid it’s still there, even after surgery! Hoping she’ll send me for a follow-up ultrasound.
I would love to try nursing again for baby #2 but don’t want to get my hopes up. Any tips would be so appreciated. I plan to do lots of scar massage and maybe even some therapeutic ultrasound for scar tissue as well.
Thanks everyone
Hi, I have a glactocele that fills up every week. It is very painful and I had it aspirated 3 times now. I think the initial aspirationn was a mistake and I am not sure what to do now with the lump as it is very hard & painful. Btw. I am still breastfeeding.
🙁
This was so helpful!
I had lump the size of a golf ball even after I finished pumping. I had expressed and saw a white layer pop up over my nipple, I scratched it with a clean finger nail and milk started literally jetting out when I expressed! So much relief! Thank you!
I noticed a lump in my when my baby was about 4 or 5 months old. Went to the doctor and he sent me to get a mammogram. They werent sure if it was a galactocele or a tumor so they sent me to get a biopsy.
DO NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE!
They confirmed that it was just a galactocele but
my biopsy got infected and I had terrible mastisit for days, with high fever and a lot of pain. I had to have iv antibiotics for 3 days at urgent care.
As I weaned my child, the galactocele slowly went away.
I just gave birth again 3 days ago and my galactocele is back in full blast!
Considering getting it aspirated but I know it will just return so I’m truly at a loss of what to do.
My case is similar to you.. I’m also have galactocele when my baby was 4moths old. I went to the doc they said to take ultrasound… The scan report said it was a milk masti. And doc said to just leave the lump.. it will automatically cure and also they gave some pain killer for me.. i stopped breastfeeding for my baby 1 year 6month. throw out my breastfeeding journey was really painful… But stopped when she was one half years old. But i like to give at least 2 years but i can’t… Then i again check my lumb they said take mammogram and FNAC report was it’s a galactocele. Doc said nothing to worry about it just leave it. Just checked it yearly once now i have no pain. It’s painful period before days and gone after the period… I’m still worry about it what should i do for this lumb go permanently can anyone suggest me ..
My daughter is 22 months old and I had a galactocele show up when she was 3 months old. MD can’t suggest anything and lactation consultant just said it should go away when she stops nursing. I don’t know. If I skip a feed the cyst fills up. I am not sure what to do.
Mine started before my son was born When I was about 20 weeks pregnant I got a biopsy done and everything checked out fine no cancer nothing, but I realized I was misdiagnosed again. This website really help me realize what I’ve been dealing with. Every other diagnoses I never fit all the criteria’s. But now that I am trying to wheen my son off the breast milk my lumps have gotten profoundly bigger. To the point where the right side of my breast is completely filled with lumps, you can even see it through my bra, shirt as well as being able to see it from far distances. I have had them drained before and they just come back. This is the last child I am having so that this doesn’t happen again. I’m having a hard time with it but hope that it subsided sooner than later. My fear is my breast tissue not being able to stretch anymore and having significant damage around the affected areas. Both sides have this problem. Thank you for all the information though, it’s helped a lot.
So glad to have stumbled on this thread, now I have a label on what this lump I have that can’t be unclogged by expressing. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and knowledge.
Can i use electric pump to extract milk from galactocele??, Will the milk come from galactocele by pumping??
Hello, I was diagnosed with a galactocele a few weeks ago. To be honest I found the lump over a year ago but was too scared to tell anyone. It appeared Immediately after my milk came in. I breast-fed for 10 months and stopped about two months ago. I was overwhelmed in the beginning being a new mom filling the changes in my body and other outside stressors. I also have fibrocystic breast disease so having a lump in my breast wasn’t too surprising. The problem I’m having now is the doctor did a biopsy and tried to aspirate the galactocele however they were not able to pull out the milk because it was too thick and sticky.
Now I am left with a wound that won’t close up and substance that is leaking out. The doctor is saying it must be removed by surgery.
I really don’t wanna have surgery for many reasons. Has anyone experienced this and did their whole close up after biopsy/aspiration?
I had a galactocele for the first time back in 2011 before there was really anything on the internet about it! It kept filling up and I would have 12 oz of milk aspirated off of it like 3 different times by a breast surgeon before my lactation consultant and I finally figured out what was going on! It was so painful and frustrating, but I was determined to keep breastfeeding! I nursed my baby less on my right side and my left side made up for it over time. I also applied sage oil JUST to the area that was filling up (top pf right breast) since cabbage & nothing else was working! The sage oil worked great to help dry the galactocele up! With subsequent children, when my milk comes in, I pretty quickly apply sage oil just to that spot to keep it from producing much milk and so far so good & no more issues! I’m about to have my 4th child in August! Hopefully this helps someone!
I have been waiting to read something like this. I’ve had a recurring galactocele with every birth I’ve had, it gets drained and swiftly fills up and reflecting on it its the breast that produces a lot more milk then the other. I will definitely try the sage oil and feed less on affected breast.
How did you apply the sage oil? How often, was it diluted at all, etc. More specific details would be so helpful. 😃 Thank you!
This is helpful! I will try it!
S Says, did you end up having surgery? I think I have one some. Stopped breastfeeding after 4.25 years. It’s been 5 months and it seams to be getting harder and more uncomfortable right around where my glands would normally fill up with milk when breastfeeding. Going to take sunflower letchin and call my doctor.
Hi.. I am also in the same boat. After 2.5 years I am going to do the surgery and remove it off. Anyone who has gone through the surgery… advise how long does it take to heal? Should I rest until it heals?
Did you have the surgery? I weaned a few months ago and the 6cm galactocele hasn’t changed. I never aspirated, but am now considering surgery.
I’m not trying to scare you but I think you should have the biopsy. It will put your mind at rest. I was unfortunately misdiagnosed with a galactocele and pushed for the biopsy. I wasn’t in pain but I knew something wasn’t right.
Hi ladies! I just want to add my experience, since it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of information about galactoceles online. I appreciate everyone’s comments.
I BF my first kid with no problems. I got mastitis when #2 was a newborn. I noticed a lump 2-3 months later and freaked out. I had an ultrasound and was told it was a fluid-filled cyst and not to worry. It stayed (no pain) for a year and then shrank a bit when I had weaned, but I got pregnant right away and it nwcer fullt disappeared. As soon as my milk came in with #3 it was back. It was there for another year and here I with my #4 being 9 months old and the “cyst” is still there! I just recovered from yet another bout of mastitis and was relieved to feel it shrink significantly during the infection.
All the shrinking and growing convinces me that the cyst is a galactocele, but I still worry, as I’ve had it for FIVE YEARS! Thankfully it doesn’t hurt, but I always worry about it being cancerous or something. ☹️
Anyway, I have an ultrasound to check on it on Friday. Ive never had it biopsied and I would wonder if I should? I don’t necessarily want to aspirate, because everything I read says it will just refill.
Hi Kieran, I am interested in your breastfeeding experience with a galactocele in subsequent pregnancy. I note you mention getting mastitis again. I am terrified that trying to get pregnant and breastfeed again with galactoceles that did not resolve after BF stopped (have not BF in 18 months) would set me up for getting mastitis again if I were to try and BF.
My experience- large galactocele appeared after bad bout of mastitis. Did not change size much. Had it scanned twice about a year apart and aspirated to determine contents (not drain – apparently draining would have to have had a tap as it was very thick and the risk of bacetria getting in and infection occuring is high so was advised to leave alone). That being said – surgery and scarring is probably just as likely to cause issues with BF.
I continued to BF after getting a galactocele for 15 months. It was awful (mastitis, poor latch/nipple shield) the first 5 months then got better as her mouth size got bigger and latch improved a little.
I think the medical consensus in Australia is leave it alone if it is not causing problems and it should resolve by itself. Unfortunately no signs of resolving on its own.
I was just diagnosed with a galactocele today. I am 9 weeks postpartum. It’s the size of a kiwi. I’ve only been able to pump 1-2oz every 2-4 hours at a time. It’s painful and causing pins and needle like pain. I don’t have any flu like symptoms. I’ve had mastitis and clogged ducts in the same breast previous to this large lump. My infant won’t nurse from that side at all as it has also caused my nipple to flatten. I’m feeling at a loss for any relief. I’ve tried using a cold compress and then heat right before pumping along with taking Lecithin. I’m currently taking antibiotics and hoping it’ll help. Has anyone had an issue with their nipple going flat?
Hello,
Yes I had a very similar experience yo you. The area around my aerola was so swollen my nipple kind of “disappeared” and my baby refused that nipple. I was able to find a breast specialist who specializes in galactoceles treatment and had mine drained and collapsed!
Have you been treated for yeast? I know that sounds crazy. I had my 4th baby in March and had similar issues – flu, then mastitis, then a clogged duct that turned into an abscess, followed by surgery for the abscess and now a galactocele in the same boob! My lactation specialist suggested treating for yeast after the abscess surgery because I was still having the pins and needles, shooting, toe curling pains. It worked! Her theory was that it was up in my ducts causing the pain.
I believe I have a galactocele. I have a large lump on my left breast bigger than a golf ball. It just popped up one day. I never had mastitis. I was told to massage it bc it’s just a clogged duct and it swelled to the size of a large lemon. My gut says it’s a galactocele though. I do warm compress before nursing, ice pack after and nurse 2 babies on demand. I also take 1200mg of lecithin 4x a day and since I started that it shrunk back down to a little bigger than a golf ball. I have to take pain meds because mine is very painful. I cant even wear a bra. I’m trying to get in to get an ultrasound and to see a breast specialist but my insurance sucks at the moment and it’s a long process waiting for approval. If it’s a galactocele like i think it is I’ll try to have it aspirated a few times and see how that goes. I’m not ready to wean my babies and they aren’t ready either. I’ll avoid surgery and landing it as much as I can. Dr Jack Newman advises to treat a galactocele with needle aspiration or a catheter. I read about a breast specialist doing FNA (fine needle aspiration) a few times (usually/ideally get less and less with each visit) then on the last visit he “rinses” out the galactocele with a saline solution to break down any hardened milk]. One woman said hers did not return after the 4th visit and saline solution and that she believes the saline helped dislodge the original plug in the duct because hers did not return. Im going to mention that to my breast specialist. For most women they resolve on their own sometime after weaning but when your breastfeeding journey is nowhere near ready to end and you’re in pain we need to try something less invasive. It’s important that we all help each other with information because there isnt a whole lot of info out there on galactoceles. Many doctors don’t even know what they are. Ive breastfed for a total of about 8 years,4 kids so far and have never had one until now. I hope you ladies find relief soon!
I’m 2 months post partum and found a lump as well. It’s not painfull and not too large. I told my OB she said to massage it and put hot compressions. That of it doesn’t go away in a week she will order an ultrasound. That breast is the one that makes more milk but haven’t had clogged milk duct on that breast.
Keep me posted.
Before my last post, I tried to force out the mass (as a plugged duct). It is now gigantic in size… I’m worried it’s now abscessed. On antibiotics, but scared. I live in a small town and my doctor doesn’t know what’s going on 🙁
Hi Andy Says,
I was treated for mastisis recently and unfortunately, I had a clog on each side of my right breast. The outside one turned into an abscess and the inside one a galactocele. You will know if it’s abscessed, my was super sore to anything that touched it and sore in general. The skin also got very red and angry looking. The best luck I have had finding help has been at the local hospital. The lactation department has worked closely with general surgery on my case it has been a learning experience for all involved. I would recommend trying a hospital route. We live in a small town and I drive almost an hour to this hospital. The good news is, with it being a hospital, it’s a one stop shop – sonograms, lactation department, general surgery…all in the same place and I was able to get all the care I needed in the same day.
I got an ultrasound on Tuesday and the results were inconclusive without a biopsy but the radiologist believes it is a lactation adenoma. I have to wait 4 weeks for a follow up to see if there are any changes. I will keep you posted. In the meantime, I will be anxiously waiting. I hope you can get some answers and some relief!
I am relieved to find this thread. I have been feverishly searching the internet to figure out what this mass/lump could be and how to address it. I’m scheduled for an ultrasound tomorrow and was very nervous that it was not related to breastfeeding but now I’m thinking it’s galactocele. I don’t have much pain unless I try to massage it. I stopped pumping about 3 weeks ago after 9 months. I’m anxious for some results and answers. Thanks for sharing your stories and providing some information.
I’m in the same boat!! So happy to have found this thread. And Jocelyn – I see you just posted this days ago.
I’m 5 Weeks postpartum and have a large mass (2x2cm) on my right breast. Like others, I tried everything for a plugged duct (like literally everything) to no avail. Hoping for an ultrasound tomorrow or Monday…
I developed mastitis around 3 weeks postpartum. I caught it really early due to fever like symptoms. I didn’t really have any painful lumps that first time. The first round of antibiotics didn’t get rid of it and it came back. When it came back I got the painful lump, red streaking, and flu like symptoms. My son had issues latching which led to all of this. In addition when I got the lump which took up 3/4 of my breast he couldn’t latch on the side at all. So I used a nipple shield. However, due to the location and size of the mass I would put pressure on my breast so he could breath while nursing (this is the same location of my galactocele). After my second round of antibiotics I was still left with a large lump. My obgyn kept telling me it was just a clogged duct (for me clogged ducts are smaller and feel bruised; my galactocele did not hurt). I didn’t agree and requested an ultrasound. It turned out to be a galactocele. I choose to have it aspirated. They tested the milk and the test showed no bacteria. It did fill back up. I then saw a doctor who specializes in breastfeeding. She had a milk culture done and found bacteria so I was placed on an antibiotic for that specific bacteria. At the end of that antibiotic round my galactocele reduced in size from 3/4 my breast to 1/8 of my breast. I am now almost 11 months postpartum and exclusively pumping. My galactocele is still there but small. My doctor wants to have another ultrasound after I am done breastfeeding just to see how it is looking.
I found a lump (about 3cm*3cm) in my right breast a week ago (my baby is 4.5month old), and I went to see my OB, she said it should be a clogged duct considering I had 2 cases of mastitis in the last month. She told my to continue breastfeed for 2 weeks and see if the lump would still be there. If yes, she will send my to get an ultrasound done to find or what it is. After reading this page and comments ( thanks for all the great info here), I suspect that it’s a galactocele lump. I am planning to call my OB and see what she will say. And I will keep update as things move along. Fingers cross.
Good luck!!!! Definitely let us know.
Hello, What you wrote sounds like me, but I’ve been breastfeeding for 8 months found a lump in the top part of my breast i went for a ultra sound and thy said it was galac. But thy didn’t do any biopsy. I’m actually more concerned it’s cancer and getting mis diagnosed. Did thy biopsy you? And what was your outcome. Can you get mis diagnosed ? Or thy can give you a confirmation it’s galac, just threw ultra sound.
Hi Sabrina,
I am sorry to hear that you found a lump too.
I didn’t actually get an ultrasound neither a biopsy as my OB suggested (I was to tired taking care of my daughter and kept delaying to schedule an appointment). But about two months later the lump just dissapeared ( I can’t feel it anymore after one breastfeeding). And I didn’t schedule any other appointment to follow up either. I notice that the affected breast produces much less than before.
My daughter just had her first birthday and we are still doing breastfeeding. It seems everything goes fine now.
I hope you can find out a solution very soon, maybe you can request another check with other doctors. Wish you all the best.
I thought I should add story so far as I found the comments here really helpful 🙂
I noticed what I thought was a blocked duct at 3 weeks pp after having mastitis twice in that breast prior. I did the usual massage, warm compresses, cabbage leaves but nothing worked. I noticed the lump was painless when I left it alone so that’s what I did, then 1.5 weeks later it became painful. I had acupuncture, ultrasound therapy (with remedial massage-ouch!) and continued the treatment as before with the addition of 3 hourly pumping to no avail and ended up with a severely bruised breast and an even more enormous lump. After speaking to a lactation consultant I organised to have an ultrasound and was diagnosed with a galactocele, so I stopped treatment and just kept feeding as often and in as many positions as possible.
One day later my breast became red and tender and I had a headache, then on Christmas day I felt totally rotten and in a lot of pain-we went to an on call dr who prescribed antibiotics. Two days later and the pain was still there and the galactocele became hard and even more painful, and I started getting a lump in my armpit, so I organised to see a breast surgeon. He did ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration today and removed 100ml of green fluid, then milky pus, then blood (but sheesh, I wish he’d given me a local, that was uber painful!). At this stage we still think it’s an infected galactocele but he’s sent the aspirate to pathology. It has already refilled to about half the size it was beforehand just 12 hrs post aspiration, and he’s said I’ll probably need to aspirate another few times and if that doesn’t work then I should have surgery. My lactation consultant is recommending having it aspirated in a week or so but otherwise just seeing how it goes…I’ve no idea what course of action I’m going to take yet, but I’ll update if I remember, hopefully with good news 😉
I’m battleling a galactocele for the past 7 weeks and I’m so miserable! It all started with a little lump 4 weeks postpartum. I noticed in my Lactation group and the consultant told me not to worry because it was just a clogged duct and to work on it with massage and warm compresses WELL let me tell you, the little lump became a big ball the size of a kiwi, extremely painful, hard and very uncomfortable. I had high fevers (104) and chills, went to the hospital several times, visited 4 different doctors and nobody was able to help me! At the moment I’m being treated by a breast surgeon who has aspirated my breast in his office twice (worst pain ever!!!!) and also I had 3 ultrasound and aspirations as well with absolutely no positive results! The cyst fills right after the aspirations which is so depressing because I have to endure so much pain.
At the moment my breast is draining from a little orifice that the needle left the last time I got aspirated (2 days ago) Half of my breast it’s so red, tender and the skin is peeling. I’m taking antibiotics (I’m in my fourth round of antibiotics) and also I take 1200 mg of ibuprofen daily to cope with the pain.
Next week I will be seeing a breast specialist in Boston hopefully i can get a good treatment there and some relieve to my pain.
Galactoceles are ruining my days especially my breastfeeding experience with my baby 🙁 this is just so terrible and I don’t wish this to anyone.
It’s definitely a pain for sure . I ended up in the emergency room for immediate surgery with a huge breast abscess it was so bad. I now have a drain tube in and will see the dr today to hopefully have it taken out. I hope they are able to help you very soon.
I am in the same boat with a huge one in my left breast and it’s right behind my nipple and pretty uncomfortable and painful. I see a surgeon in a couple weeks to decide on aspiration or surgery . I think I’ll just do the surgery.
Wow, my experience does not seem nearly as dramatic. My (small) lump appeared 3 weeks after delivery. I figured it was a blocked duct and massaged it during pumping and feeds, but it never went away. On the plus side it didn’t turn into mastitis! When baby turned 5 months I figured I should really deal with it instead of just assuming it would go away. Of course, I was pretty laid back only because there was absolutely no pain.
I saw my GP, he referred me for an ultrasound. The sonographer was pretty confident that it wasn’t anything dangerous and I just saw my GP for the official results this morning. A 2 cm galactocele. So long as it stays non-painful the hope is that it will disappear once I stop nursing, they have suggested a follow up ultrasound once that happens to check whether/if it has reduced in size.
I was glad the diagnosis could be made without a biopsy. Apparently they can differentiate it from other types of cysts because it contained: ‘echogenic debris, and a fat-fluid level’. You can google ultrasound images online… you know how your milk separates in the fridge? Well, it does the same in the cyst – pretty funny really! Some sonographers will get you to change position to see if the fatty layer will shift to the top of the image 🙂
A reminder, get all lumps in your boobs checked out – harmless or not, at least you’ll know what you’re dealing with.
So it seems that this is what I have. I’ve been to see an OB, Midwife and PA…. They all said it was a clogged duct. I got put on antibiotics after it infected… Second day on those and a head (like a boil or pimple) formed and then popped-on the outside, thankfully… I’ve been draining cyst fluid from my breast for 2 weeks and all they can tell me is keep the milk moving so it doesn’t get infected… Which means hand expression as a pump gives me a blister and the baby can’t latch as it’s making my nipple flat.
For blisters pumping I use Motherlove nipple cream. It’s safe and organic, and it has allowed me to continue pumping through blisters and split skin. Use it generously, and the first minute or two of pumping will still be pretty sore, but soon the pain fades.
I first had Galactocele in 2008 with my first one. No one knew about it by then and it lot of doctor visits, breast specialist visits and a mammogram to diagnose it. It went away after I stopped nursing. Now, I was so nervous with my second one in 2014 that it will come back. And it did but I knew what to expect and told the doctor that it has happened before. She referred me to a clinic where they help open clogged ducts with massage and hot compress. It did help but the galactocele never went away. Doctor said it will after I stop nursing but it is still there a big lump after more than a year!! I am so nervous and have an appointment scheduled for next week. Please tell me it takes longer and it will still go away without any surgery!!! 🙁
Hi my galactoee first appeard when I was pregnant and then became big about the 3rd month of nursing which is whe I decided to get evaluated. It was ultimately determined that I was to go for a biopsy and luckily, the fine syringe just drew some milk. The cyst was fully aspirated at the time of biopsy, but returned to full size (golf ball) over the next couple days of nursing as usual. Here we are 4 years later and weaned for about 2years now, the galactocele did get smaller and popped literally the other day. I do feel a bit sore in the area but nothing significant at all. The cyst was never painful, just strange. No surgical intervention.
I was diagnosed with one after my mastitis flu symptoms were gone but the clogged duct remained. They did a mammogram and an ultrasound to diagnose. We did aspirate it that day, but it refilled within 24 hours. They’ve told me I’m welcome to come back for repeat aspirations but for now I’m holding off as I didn’t see a huge benefit from the last one. No further infection so I haven’t had to take more antibiotics since the original mastitis. It’s no longer painful, but it’s a permanent bump on the top of my breast.
The plus side is that I no longer beat it up trying to get it to drain once I learned it wouldn’t drain on it’s own… but yup I’m stuck with it until I stop lactating I was told. I do take lecithin these days (wish I knew about it before this started!) and that has stopped me from clogging up all the time, it’s my miracle drug. I will likely try aspiration again after we hit the 1 year mark with my baby and I stop pumping (I exclusively pump).
I had a galactocele. It showed up about 3 weeks after I delivered. My lactation consultant told me not to worry about it. I thought nothing of it until it started to get bigger and bigger. By the 3rd month post pardum I went to see a breast surgeon. She really was surprised and had never seen anything like it. For about a month I was using hot compresses and doing massages on it. I had it drained a few times but it kept filling up. One night while I was massaging it I felt something pop. Within one day, my breast was so sore and tender. My breast surgeon had no choice but to schedule me for surgery to have it drained. It was horrible. The night before the surgery, my breast got so discolored from the milk trying to escape that it looked black. The surgery went really well and I felt a million times better instantly. I stayed in the hospital for 2 days and then had to have a visiting nurse come and put new packing in it for about a month. It was a stressful ordeal. The whole time I was trying to avoid having surgery but in the end, it’s what really worked. Needless to say I won’t be breastfeeding the second time around. I’m too nervous.
After 4 occurrences of mastitis, the lump didn’t leave my boob and I was diagnosed with having a galactocele. Luckily for me I have the NHS here in the uk and was seen twice weekly for aspiration. The first procedure was a bit tricky as the contents of my cyst was quite thick and sticky, but it got thinner with each aspiration. I also had to change antibiotics after the contents of the cyst was tested. After 4 weeks the lump has gone although I am still seeing the breast specialist and will likely have a scan in the near future now that the discomfort has passed. My baby is 16 weeks and I am still breast feeding. I have been told to come back for further aspiration if I feel that I may be filling up again, so I’m not cured then while I continue to breast feed
I noticed a small lump in my breast and I massaged it and it got a lil but bigger then I notified my doctor who is a surgeon! He advices I removed it surgically and yes I accepted! Tho am breastfeeding my 9months old son! I removed it surgically and the wound is healing gradually
wondering what your status was after removing it surgically? were you able to BF anymore?
I developed a lump after mastitis and was diagnosed with a galactocele after a mammogram, ultrasound, and needle aspiration. The milk was sent for culture and showed continued infection. My OB referred me to a breast surgeon who did not seem to have experience with galactoceles–told me to just stop nursing. Did not offer new script for antibiotics. Refused to look up which antibiotics are safe for nursing. I ended up developing an abscess on that side and had to have that drained. My breast felt normal for <4 hours. The galactocele filled up again after I pumped. I saw another surgeon for a second opinion–she also offered no other solution than to stop nursing completely. I spoke to a lactation consultant about nursing only on the unaffected side–I stopped completely on the galactocele side. I was engorged for a week and then the pain gradually went away and the galactocele shrunk. I am also taking sunflower lecithin 2400mg twice a day and a probiotic. I can still feel a mass in that breast but it has greatly decreased in size (from about a kiwi to less than a ping pong ball) and no pain anymore. I emailed Dr Jack Newman, a breastfeeding specialist from Canada, and he said the galactocele should completely resolve after cessation of nursing. He seems very knowledgeable on the issue and anyone with a galactocele should look him up and contact him for info.
Hi Heather, I’m in the same boat now. I got a galactocele after an abscess was treated. I have now had 7 aspirations done but they want me to keep getting them done until it gets smaller. Funny thing is, I haven’t been able to pump or nurse on the affected breast for over two weeks, but the galactocele keeps filling back up after the aspirations. When you weaned off the affected breast, did you just do it cold Turkey? Did your doctor say anything about the possibility of the milk in the galactocele getting calcified if left alone?
I have an 8cm galactocele that is really painful. Tried fine needle aspiration tried lecithin warm showers warm compresses and massages but none worked. The doctor is going to try an in office procedure tomorrow called a mammotome where he inserts a really big needle and tries to break it up with water and suction it out. Hopefully that will work otherwise they recommend surgery but my daughter is only 7 weeks old so I’m not interested in surgery just yet
How did the procedure go? I am in the same boat as you and would love to know
Is the Fine Needle Aspiration painful? Does milk leak through the aspirated site? Will there be blood in the milk during breastfeeding?