Coffee Boobs: The Breast Pain That Happens When You Drink Too Much Caffeine

Coffee Boobs 101

By Ghia Vitale

Photo Credit: Maxpixel.net Emojis: Wikimedia Commons & Needpix.com

Most people don’t know this, but caffeine can cause breast pain. When that happens, you get a condition that I’ve named “coffee boobs.”  No, I’m not a doctor or health professional, but I’m speaking based on personal experience and research related to the subject.

Coffee is a magical potion indeed. For many of us, coffee is a mandatory part of waking up at the beginning of the day. As a writer, coffee has been there for me when I’ve needed to become more alert and meet deadlines. It’s no surprise that many other people thank coffee for helping them be more productive.
 
Yes, I love how coffee perks me up, but I also love how it tastes. I appreciate the taste of coffee, especially when it has a strong flavor. That’s why I’m so fond of dark roasts. However, there are times when my love for coffee leads me to some not-so-fun places. This happens when my usual two or three cups of coffee turn into four or five cups. When I went to have a third big cup of coffee today (which counts as 2 cups in 1 mug), I noticed my right nipple starting to ache. Then I realized that once again, I was being confronted with the harsh reality of coffee boobs.
 
Drinking too much caffeine can cause nausea, anxiety, heart palpitations, and other unsavory side effects. One of the unpleasant side effects of drinking too much coffee (or even just caffeine) is breast pain. Believe it or not, coffee can affect your breasts, especially if you have fibrocystic breast tissue. According to Diane Young (an M. D. and ob-gyn who spoke with Women’s Health), stimulants like caffeine and chocolate can cause the ducts in your breasts to swell. Research suggests that caffeine can also make the blood vessels in your breasts dilate. This results in breast soreness, breast swelling, and general discomfort. 
 
For this reason, when patients see doctors due to breast pain complaints, doctors will often ask them about their caffeine intake. Many people see improvements with their breast pain when they reduce their coffee intake or *gasp* cut coffee out completely. The horror! But if reducing/eliminating caffeine actually resolves breast pain for 25% of women, I can see how it’s worth it for many people to cut caffeine when it’s causing them pain. In fact, a Duke University study found that 61% of its participants with breast pain experienced relief when they stopped consuming caffeine.
 
Some people’s breasts are more sensitive to caffeine than others are. Personally, I don’t experience coffee boobs unless I’m around five cups deep into a coffee session. Then nausea kicks in, my boobs ache, and I can’t drink anymore. Sometimes, I’ll be drinking coffee, only to experience breast pain which serves as a reminder from my body to knock it off with the coffee already.
 
However, your threshold for developing caffeine-related breast pain could be higher or lower than mine. It depends on how your breasts react to caffeine. No matter what, please know that your pain is valid no matter how much or how little caffeine it takes to trigger that pain. 
 
I understand that many of us endure breast pain in order to enjoy our coffee. I completely understand that position—I’ll never give up my coffee unless I absolutely have to. The coffee boobs I experience just aren’t severe or frequent enough to make me quit. But if you think coffee is making your boobies hurt, it might be worth it to consider reducing your caffeine intake.
 
Please spread the word about #coffeeboobs. Coffee boobs are more common than you think and that’s why more people should be aware of the fact that they exist.