Post op

Pammy46

Hi everyone 
i am 10 days post op today and still have so much pain under my arm the wound has healed and is closed with no infection however there is a lump just near beginning of scar 
breast specialist said last week it can sometimes be scar tissue when she felt it..
i am numb under arm and down back of arm this hurts too. I hate the feeling like someone has a knife running down my arm.
going to see GP tues as don't see specialist now for 4 months
anywone have tips on how to ease this? I do the arm exercises twice a day..
i go back to work on the 29th lucky I took 2 weeks off I wasn't going to.

Glemmis

Hi Pammy, I had mastectomy & 12 nodes removed in August & still have pain all the time. My arm is numb at times & then is very sensitive. It is early days for you, keep up with the exercises, I am sure it will improve!

Hopes_and_Dreams

Hi Pammy, I had pain down my arm for the first 4 weeks which gradually eased.  It felt like bad sunburn inside my arm from elbow to shoulder. I was told this was nerve damage from lymph node removal.  Even though it was painful I rubbed a non scented moisturiser into it each day which seemed to de-sensetise it.  I was given a lovely soft horseshoe cushion by a breast cancer volunteer to put under my arm and this made a huge difference.  I'm just over 4 months post op and am still numb at the back of my arm.  (Under my arm was so much more painful than the mastectomy itself!)
Thr numbness has reduced in places or maybe I'm just getting used to it.  Keep up your exercises. I started increasing the 4 hourly repetitions from 10 to 20 after the first couple of weeks. I also added a couple of extra stretching exercise of my own depending on where I felt the most tightness. I am now pain free with full arm movement.  All the knots and lumpy areas have also gone. I think regularly massaging the scar helped too.
Does your GP or specialist have a physio they can refer you to. They usually have someone who specialises in post op exercise.
I hope you see some improvement soon.
take care,  Jane x

Afraser

I had numbness under my arm (no pain) after removal of lymph nodes - removing them means stretching tissue about quite a lot and can affect nerve endings. I nevertheless has full mobility of my arm, just a bit of a problem applying deodorant. 4 years later I still have a degree of loss of feeling (can't distinguish hot and cold much so good job I don't wax!) but otherwise normal. It could be scar tissue but may also be fluid.  Very likely to improve as it's early days but no harm in checking with your GP.

iserbrown

Yes like other ladies have mentioned the numbness stayed for a long long time! 

Ask about what type of deodorant you can use when they say you can!  I was about 2 weeks and started using moo goo deodorant
http://moogoo.com.au/deodorant/fresh-cream-deodorant.html

Afraser

I'm still using moo goo!

Brenda5

Massage massage massage. I do it every day a few times a day. With time all the nerves will heal themselves but some can take years so be patient. I had a funny lump at the end of my scar which is a year old and recently a bit of something came out of it. I think it was the unrotted knot from the self dissolving stitches. It took its time coming out but its fine now.

Mira

Brenda, I had to have a "dissolving" stitch removed about 16 months after my surgery.  It took a breast gp, a nurse and then finally a surgeon to pull it all out because it was about 3inches long and hadn't dissolved at all.

socoda

Hi Pammy, I still have the odd bit of pain under my arm (mine seems to focus at the drain site). Underarm is still numb (handy when having it waxed ) but did have the pain under the arm for quite some time. One lady here described it as feeling as though her underarm tissue had been grated!! Perfect description. It does ease off. Wishing you a fast fading pain. Xx 

iserbrown

Mine used to feel like it was wet. Exercise and lymphatic drainage massage helped. 

Ne

You dont have to suffer as this sounds like the typical initial nerve
damage from the surgery.  I had the same happen to me, It was so
sensitive just my arms touching my clothing or the back of the car seat,
I couldn't tollerate it.  Also felt like severe chaffing.  My dr
prescribed Lyrica which is used for nerve damage amongst other things,
and it immediately brought relief.  Don't suffer in silence, nerve
damage can take months to sort itself out.  I would definitely ask my dr
tabout Lyrica.  When I had my second mastectomy (1 year post my first
mastectomy) my Surgeon actually started me on the Lyrica the day before
my surgery as she anticipated the nerves to play up as they do with this
surgery.  I only needed it for a couple of weeks this time round and
now that sensation is gone.  With my first mastectomy I needed an
auxilliary clearace which meant more significant damage to nerves, so I
was on Lyrica for a good couple of months back then.  Huggles x

primek

I too had lyrica for a couple of weeks to settle the nerve pain as it was unbearable and pain killers didn't seem to help. Once the edge was off the pain I gently stroked the area and this helped my body adjust to the sensation. I was then able to reduce the lyrica and was off in a couple of weeks. It just needs to be a therapeutic dose to be of any use to start with.  After this settled I was quickly off everything. Hope this helps. Kath x