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viking1's avatar
viking1
Member
8 years ago

Pain from total axillary clearance in July. Getting worse.

I had a lumpectomy in June and then total axillary clearance in July.  With the lumpectomy I had a small seroma which has decreased in tenderness and size significantly.  However, the puffiness under the axillary scar and down my side where the drain was has increased significantly.  I see my breast physio regularly and have done my exercises, massage and had some taping on the scar and arm.  Am also tingling and numbish from elbow to shoulder.  I found the taping helped a lot. I have a 1cm increase in swelling in right arm and a compression sleeve to try, but only on the outside margin for lymphoedema. Sometimes, especially at night, the pain is a 7/10 and makes me very crabby and irritable.  I was told to take 2 panadol 4x a day to keep on top of it.  I am also trying an essential oil to massage which may have pain killing properties.  The breast physio says she prefers not to use ultrasound but to continue stretching the tight muscles and doing the massage and exercises firmly and until I can feel the stretch.  Occasionally I get too sore and take panadeine forte or half a temgesic but try to avoid as it just masks the problem and causes constipation.  The physio says I have no cording and healed well.  Has anyone had their pain increase like this?  I have it daily and it's pretty much the bane of my life.  I don't like taking so much panadol either.  A month or two ago I developed a twinge in my other breast and underarm pain. I was in a panic but the physio says it is sympathetic pain.

3 Replies

  • kezmusc's avatar
    kezmusc
    Member
    8 years ago
    Hi @viking1.  I had a level 2 clearance, seromas in breast and axilla and cording, numbness etc.  It felt like I permanently had a cushion shoved under my arm.
      It took a good six months for it to start to kind of feel half normal.  I did a lot of exercise.  I found the strectching upwards, the wall walk and those type of things, loosened everything the best and helped with the drainage, so I decided to hand paint a ceiling LOL.  Probably not for everyone, but having that arm above my head for a decent amount of time (Idid about an hour a day) and the movement of brushing really took the swelling down within a few days.  At night I put a pillow under that arm.  Just having it raised slightly took the pressure off and relaxed everything. I had total numbness under that arm for months (makes shaving interesting when you can't feel the razor) but once the nerves started firing again (kind of ffelt like electric shocks that come from nowhere) everything started to get better.  I am now 12 months on and have pretty much total feeling everywhere again, the scar is pretty much invisible and soft now.  I used lots and lots of bio oil on that and I haven't had any swelling for ages. Hoping it starts to get better soon for you. xoxox
  • primek's avatar
    primek
    Member
    8 years ago
    I became super sensitive to touch a few weeks after surgery. I ended up on lyrica for a few weeks and tben just stroked the area. I had breast swelling and under arm puffiness that was really uncomfortable whilst on chemo. It improved dramitcally once finished and a couple of small laser treatments resolved my issues completely. I only had sentinal node biopsy but still had issues. 
  • iserbrown's avatar
    iserbrown
    Member
    8 years ago
    It's a huge adjustment for the body.  Remember they disturbed muscles and nerves during surgery and the lymphatic system is trying to find new pathways.............I'm well over 2 years since surgery and I still have discomfort............drives me nutty!