I went off my contraceptive (yaz) about a month ago and should start my period next week, but since yesterday my nipples have been sore to the touch. is this a normal thing before my period starts as i've never had this pain while on yaz?

Painful breast ?'s: After using oral bcp's , stopping allows much higher levels of estrogen and progesterone, which as contrasted to the very low levels in "Yaz", will stimulate the breasts and areola areas and cause pain or tenderness. Your "real" periods are much different now than when you were a teenager, or the ones you have when on the bcp's.