Post surgery - bra rubbing on wound from lymph node removal

Hi @Annette77, gee I couldn’t wear a bra for about 4weeks! I had a surgical binder on for about a week and then my drain came out. Then I just wore a stretchy singlet for a few weeks until I healed more and could tolerate the Berlei post surgical bra. Go with what feels comfortable for you. xx

Thanks for your tips. I’ll see if I can buy some soft singlets. I’ve stopped wearing a sock in my bra. It kept moving and the wound has become less sensitive so it’s not rubbing so much now. But it sounds like I’ll still need something for when I go through radiation.
Still don’t have the pathology results from my surgery a week ago. COVID has delayed everything here in Melbourne. I was so lucky to have the surgery last week before the cancellations. I feel so sorry for the people who have to wait.

@Annette77 Like Julez i wore very soft snug fitting singlet under my bras found it helped greatly. Definitely no wires for me as it poked into the operation sites on both  sides of my breast. The singlet was also helpful during radiation burns as well kept all the dressings in place. 

Hi @Annette77

I've just sent you a private message about our My Care Kit, if this may be of interest to you. 

@Carissa_BCNA

Hi there
I wore a soft cotton singlet underneath the bra ( which was itself quite soft NO underwire) and that seemed to help.
I actually did this for a few months - and sometimes now I just wear a ( reasonably tight) singlet as I am now perky C cup compared to  previously heavy and droopy  E cup!

I’m wearing my usual bra - Berlei, soft, no underwiring, very supportive - and it’s good except where it touches the wound, which is about 5-6cm long. I’m sensitive to the glue used on Tegaderm so I just have skin glue covering both incisions. The wound under the arm is heavily bruised and the bruising is starting to come up on my breast. I haven’t been told if I need to have sutures and the skin glue removed. I know the internal sutures will dissolve.
I took endone on the day of surgery, then panadeine on day 2, and now just Panadol. I want to avoid getting constipation. But I’ll take the strong stuff if I need it.

@Annette77 - I hope the pain settles down soon - make sure you take those meds. If the meds aren't working as they should - see if you can get a stronger script from your GP or contact your BC nurse tomorrow to arrange for a script to be sent to your chemist ...

My BC Nurse arranged a Berlei Bra for me (clips at the front), but sadly, it didn't fit .... so I got a pack of 3 'Sports Bras' from KMart (soft, one piece, pull over your head, or climb into) and I wore them for a day or so - but I also found them to be uncomfortable, so ditched them too!  ;)   

I guess I'd be considered an 'average size' ... and my surgery site was purely around the nipple, which was removed & stitched back on - everything else was done 'under the skin', including removal of the sentinel node - the area of which remained sore/numb for some weeks. :(   The bandaging that was on my nipple area was quite 'thick' and stayed on until I saw the surgeon a week later ... 

take care

Thanks, @Cath62. I’ll see if I can get some dressing pads from the chemist. That’s a good idea.

Hi @Annette77, are you wearing a soft post surgery bra? Hopefully you have these. I had some dressing pads i used on the bra edges where my scars were and that helped. The hospital gave me a small supply when I went home and they gave me a post surgical bra. If you continue to have issues maybe talk to your breast care nurse or dr.  Hope it settles soon for you.