Hi Katie, everyone is different, but I agree with the advice above - 2 weeks is pretty optimistic. I had a left vertical skin sparing mastectomy with insertion of a tissue expander and it was pretty painful; for at least 2-3 weeks post-op. During the 3rd week, I began to have episodes of feeling 'normal-ish'...and that was only one side. The issue when you have a mastectomy and immediate recon is that you're having, effectively, 2 procedures in one: the mastectomy on its own isn't wonderful, but it's far less painful than (as Jane says above) issues with inserting an implant beneath the pectoral muscle and the pain this brings in itself.
The good news is, the pain does subside - and we are all different, so some of us experience less discomfort than others, some heal faster etc etc - and then you can embrace your new-normal. :)
Nikki x
