Am having a bad day!
lgray3911
Member Posts: 207 ✭
So I was diagnosed on the 10 of Feb with BC since then have had double mastectomy with sentinel node biopsy on the 9th of March and had to go back in to get more nodes out on the 23rd. 11 nodes out altogether with 4 effected so all clear for treatment. Have had a lot of weird pain since the last op. Strange nervey feeling kinda like being tasered and a horrible feeling under my skin like there are creepy crawlies under there. Last night was shit got hardly any sleep because of it. Feels like what I imagine a junkie feels like when they need a hit. Any suggestions on how to ease this feeling? Am also constipated because of the stupid painkillers need suggestions for that too please and to top it all off I have my first chemo session on Friday which is the 1 year anniversary of my husbands chopper crash that he survived but our good friend and pilot didn't. It's all too much this week. Sorry for the rant but am sitting here in tears and needed to get it off my chest.
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@lgray3911 Perfectly understandable to have a bad day or bad days for that fact!! Sometimes there just arent any positives in the midst of where you are sitting in a particular moment. The strange tasered like feeling you talk about is definitely the nerves, they can zip and zap you for quite some time on and off, I remember it happening just spasmodically over many months, but not enough that it worried me. So any medication for nerve pain would be good, Im not aware of any as am drug sensitive and cant take much uuugh LOL. Constipation? pear juice is great failing that Coloxyl tablets I used were good. Im so sorry to hear of the chopper crash and the loss you are feeling, but am so so happy that your husband survived. It is alot all at once, so I say one thing at a time, and just go with however you feel, I found allowing myself to feel the worst helped me to get up the next day and tackle the next thing. Theres no right or wrong, but we get it!!! Hang in there Hugs Melinda xo1
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Hi @lgray3911 The creepy electric pain is usually nerve damage. It's horrible but generally passes. Eventually. Its also possible that you are having some feedback from your pain meds, which can make you tetchy. Lyrica can help with the nerve pain and can also have a sedative effect--I only ever take it at night as I can tolerate the feeling of critters crawling up and down my arm when the lights are on (I can see they don't exist then)
Heading into chemo is enough to do any ones' head in. Put it on top of everything else and it's surprising there are not more of us running down the road screaming our heads off. You may want to think about some sleeping pills as you will probably be taking some steroids for a few days with your chemo. Instant roid rage for some of us. Sleep is the thing we all crave, I hope you get some in the next few days. Marg
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Hello lgray3911,
What a terrible time you are having, but you will find some amazing ladies here who can help, and we are all ready to give you a hand. I don't think there is anyone who hasn't had tears. I myself have felt the same as you, it does get better.
For the constipation I found I would have prunes every day, when you go for chemo they will probably tell you chemo can cause this also but they can give you something to help. Sorry I don't have any clues that may help with the strange feelings you are having, my guess would be that it is the painkillers!
Take one step at a time and take a breath and it is ok to shed some tears.
Thinking of you.
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Hi Igray, I have been following your posts as I'm new here also. I feel your pain. I don't have enough knowledge about bc yet to help but with constipation I know 1 tsp of Epsom salts diluted with water and chased down with orange juice as it tastes horrible is effective. We use it for maternity pts post theatre, doesn't give cramps. Can have 2 tsps, next day if doesn't work Cheers Paula x1
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Hey @Igray3911, if you feel the need to have a good cry - do it!!! Get it out of your system, rid yourself of some of the anxiety. Bloody hell if you can't get away with having a good old shoulder wracking sob with everything your going through at the moment there is something wrong!! I still get the bugs under the skin 10 months down the track and now just think ok there they go again. For constipation you could also try normocol plus (from the chemist) which is a very gentle laxative which doesn't give any cramping. As for the anniversary can you perhaps do something to commemorate your friends life, it might help deal with any survivor guilt that you may be subconsciously dealing with. And last but certainly not the least sending you a big warm enveloping hug. Xx Cath3
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Hi Igray3911, I hope some of the suggestions have helped the creepy crawly tapped feeling.
I have yet to go through the mastectomy and lymph node clearance, so am interested to hear how you have coped with it.
For the constipation, I have a few suggestions as I had it very badly the first cycle of chemo but this time I have it under control.
As suggested by others on this site, I started Movicol the night before chemo.
The next two nights I also took Movicol plus 2x Coloxyl and Senna.
Each morning I made a fruit smoothy in the NutriBullet, 1 Kiwi fruit (peeled), 1pear(cored but leave skin on), 1/2 Apple (cored but leave skin on) 1/2 Nectarine (with skin) plus 1/2 banana, grapes or strawberries of whatever else I had handy. Top up to the full line with Prune juice and blend.
I drank it during the day for the first three days and any other time I felt I wasn't regular.
Not only did it taste good, it helped get the fluids up and it really worked.
I had to cut back after three days as it started to work too well!
Hoping you are more comfortable very soon.
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Hey there. I had lyrica for about a month as my arm and outside breast hurt if fabric touched it. After on it I coukd gently stroke it which helped desensitize it and came off slowly over 2 weeks. Did make me tired though.
For bowels I took movichol as I was really really constipated on chemo despite 4 coloxyl a day, juice and nuts (sh!t a brick was apt) so movichol morning and evening was enough and can be bought over the counter (generic is cheaper). Embarrassing to be happy you pooped ...but it came to that for me.
Hope things improve soon. Kath x3 -
So sorry to hear this. Your surgery is very recent and I think it's very very normal to feel like that. Mine was 21 Dec and i just posted recently that I am still feeling tightness, tingling like electrical impulses. I had my fourth and last chemo yesterday and I had really bad fluid retention right after that, my legs were all puffy and I could not bend my knees without pain, and the retention affected my mastectomy site as well cos drainage got affected I woke many times in the night to pee and massage my arm and mastectomy site. It felt swollen due to the slowness of fluid clearing. Peeing lots and drinking lots water help and by 3am my legs and mastectomy site and arm felt back to normal.
With your chemo coming, drink lots of water to hydrate your body a day before chemo and after that as well. It really helps!
Try to take lots of vege (lots green) plus a fruit smoothie daily cos this really helps with constipation. I am a person who does no 2 once every 3 days and I never knew that was unhealthy. Since my surgery I have been going daily as I changed my diet dramatically, lots cooked veges, low carb low protein, some fruits, salads and smoothies! But saying that chemo will mess up your body again and you can get constipated. You can take coloxyl+senna short term, from pharmacy. Please make sure you sort your constipation because toxins can get reabsorbed back into your body and you do not want that. xxx
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Thank you all so much for your support and advice. I really appreciate it. Xxx0
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I wanted to add that the clothes we wear can affect our sensation around the mastectomy site as I discovered recently. Try wearing really loose clothes that don't stick to our skin much. The abrasion can give false uncomfy feelings lol. xxxlgray3911 said:Thank you all so much for your support and advice. I really appreciate it. Xxx0 -
Perhaps its time to drop down the painkillers and just have frequent panadols? Caress your injured site and massage your arm often. I still do it a year on and it helps the nerves to re-route their pathways and drain away any trapped lymph drainage.
Sometimes I catch myself doing it in public lol.0
