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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffIf you don't experience symptoms, or your symptoms are mild, no treatment is needed for fibrocystic breasts. Severe pain or large, painful cysts associated with fibrocystic breasts may warrant treatment.
Treatment options for cysts include:
- Fine-needle aspiration. Your doctor uses a hair-thin needle to drain the fluid from the cyst. Removing fluid confirms that the lump is a breast cyst and, in effect, removes it, relieving associated discomfort.
- Surgical excision. Rarely, surgery may be needed to remove a persistent cyst-like lump that doesn't resolve after repeated aspiration and careful monitoring.
Treatment options for pain include:
- Over-the-counter pain relievers, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others).
- Oral contraceptives, which lower the levels of cycle-related hormones linked to fibrocystic breast changes.
- Danazol, a prescription medication that mimics a male sex hormone, relieves severe breast pain. But significant side effects — which include excess body hair and acne — limit its use.
