I'm 12 days post op after mastectomy surgery. No radiation therapy required (very relieved!), MRI on the remaining breast in 4 weeks or so. My GP has completed my income protection forms recommending 6 weeks away from work.The past 12 days have been a continuation of the roller coaster. I was wondering what recovery looked like for others? I know there are so many variables and we all heal differently? Any feedback would be appreciated. Apologies if this duplicates another post. Thanks Terrie xx

Hi Isaidso For me the surgery healing was excellent .i went back to surgeon a couple of times for fluid build up. Each time underarm relief was immediate.Driving at about 4 weeks . Had an under arm pillow a smaller version of a flight neck rest given by a local zonta group.slight lymphodema 3 months later saw a physio for some arm massage skills still do these mainly in winter 5 years later.Also gentle body masage rebate on health fund Personally found it difficult to sleep with a restrictive top Good luck with healing

HiI had a very quick recovery (apart from a rather persistent fluid problem), healed very quickly, no pain, went back to work after a week. Arm mobility was fine almost straight away. The fluid was a nuisance and while the conventional wisdom is that it's not related to lymphoedema, I am not really convinced. My lymphoedema was however primarily related to the loss of lymph nodes, so if you haven't had nodes involved, not much risk.I chose not to have any reconstruction, so can't advise on that but many others I am sure will be happy to do so. Best wishes.

Hey Terrie, Im happy to hear you are 12 days post Mastectomy, Im interested to hear also as my date is 27th Feb. Though Im having Diep Flap Recon all at once, so am wondering how much worse that is and recovery too. Hmmm xo

Hi Isaidso, I had a mastectomy & 12 lymph nodes removed. I was back at work in 10 days, I work 3 days per week. I had a seroma & staph infection & this was drained every couple of days. I had minimal discomfort from the actual mastectomy, more from the lymph node removal. My arm is still numb & tight. Best wishes

Thanks very much for your comments. It really brings home to me just how individual the recovery process can be. @Afraser back to work after a week, that's great! I've also opted for no reconstruction and as no lymph node removal even though I'm mindful, do not feel at risk of lymphoedema. @glemmis you also did so well! My surgeon doesn't use drains so some fluid but this seems to be resolving itself over time. @brightspace I will ask at my next appointment about driving? @melclarity I find that reading about the experiences of others, even though they are varied, is reassuring and interesting too ☺️My GP completed the forms prior to our appointment so I was surprised at the 8 week time frame. Even though I'm healing well, I feel I'm not nearly ready to return to work at this time. There's still some pain management issues and I'm not sleeping well. So slowly it goes...Thanks again Terrie

Recovery after Mastectomy how long?

13 Replies

positive3negati
Member
9 years ago
Hi there. I'm two and a half years post mastectomy and feeling great. I wrote a blog all the way through treatment including my post-mastectomy recovery and you can read about it here: https://positive3neg.wordpress.com. It includes everything that went on with me physically and emotionally.
I hope you find it useful.
Twelve days in it was good for me to hear from other women. Yes, the swelling does eventually go away but can take several weeks. Yes, the tightness and the feeling that your skin is stuck down will also both improve with time. Yes, you may have some residual tightness and in some cases, weird nerve pain or other kinds of pain but these can be managed.
I remember the roller coaster so well and please know that the highs and lows will start to calm down soon and you will probably also experience the overwhelming relief that comes to most of us when we realise how significantly our risks have been reduced.
I hope this is helpful.
Meg
primek
Member
9 years ago
Just a thought...are you doing a lot of movement? Even though feeling okay too much activity might be contributing to more output...especially with the drain in as rubbing and irritation /trauma can occur.
MKitty68
Member
9 years ago
@socoda thanks, I can't wait!
socoda
Member
9 years ago
Hey Cat @MKitty68, My output had dropped until I had my first drain out (after 10 days) my second drain had been sitting on 24mls - it then shot up to 150mls and then gradually started coming back down. Surgeon wouldn't remove drains until had been under 20 mls for two consecutive days. 8th week it had made it down to 25 mls once then went back to it's usual 40mls and she said enough. I did have pain in the breast but that was because I could actually feel the drain at the bottom of the implant. I also had a pool of fluid sitting to the right of the implant. When the drain was removed surgeon was sure I was going to have a seroma but I was pretty lucky and didn't. It took approx 9-10 months for my body to absorb that fluid (no problems with it though). Hope you get rid of your drain soon. You feel totally liberated once it's gone. Xx
MKitty68
Member
9 years ago
I am currently 11 days post left nipple & skin sparing mastectomy & axilary clearance, @socoda Cath it is interesting that your fluid levels didn't drop as that's what mine appear to be doing too. My output is still around the 200ml - 250ml each day, i also have what feels like a lot of irritation from the drain & drain site. Did you get pains inside the breast skin? There's no heat or swelling, and It doesn't feel like an infection, so i'm wondering if perhaps it's a similar problem to yours & the drain is irritating it?
socoda
Member
9 years ago
Hi Terrie, I had left skin and nipple sparing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction using silicone implant. Didn't need chemo or radiotherapy. Was off work for a total of 8 weeks and that was because my second drain refused to play. In the end my surgeon removed it as she thought the drain itself was causing irritation and stopping my fluid levels from dropping. I returned to work the day after my drain was removed. I completed two days work the first week, three days the second week, four days third week and then back to five days after that. I do know that had I at any stage asked to leave early I would have been shunted out the door faster than I could blink, but if I hadn't had the drain playing up I would have been back at work much sooner. Xx Cath
Zoffiel
Member
9 years ago
Your GP or specialist should be able to extend the return to work period for you if you are not ready and they consider you unfit for your regular duties.
Have a talk to them if you are approaching the cut off date and don't feel ready. 8 weeks, if you are travelling well and don't have to have any more really invasive treatment, sounds ball park reasonable. My experience is that insurers want a review 12 weeks anyway. Ask for the paperwork to be sent to you earyish if you think you will need it. Most companies will pay retrospectively once your claim is validated so don't stress too much about everything going in early. Marg
Unicornkisses
Member
9 years ago
I only had a lumpectomy and a reduction on both sides. I could not even concentrate or focus for 10 days after surgery, so didn't drive for two weeks, though the surgeon said no driving for a week.
i went back to light work at 10 days and again on the 12th day (11th day was scans all day) but I found I got really tired about half way through the day.
It really depends on what you work at, I am a dog groomer, stand all day and wrestle with argumentative dogs, how fast you can go back to work.
I am now 2 1/2 weeks post surgery, but I am still quite sore and mindful of not having anything touching me.
If it helps, the Oncologist doesn't consider me healed enough to start Chemo until 4-6 weeks post surgery.
good luck with your healing, I hope you stay pain free as much as possible.
Isaidso
Member
9 years ago

Thanks very much for your comments. It really brings home to me just how individual the recovery process can be.
@Afraser back to work after a week, that's great! I've also opted for no reconstruction and as no lymph node removal even though I'm mindful, do not feel at risk of lymphoedema. @glemmis you also did so well! My surgeon doesn't use drains so some fluid but this seems to be resolving itself over time.
@brightspace I will ask at my next appointment about driving? @melclarity I find that reading about the experiences of others, even though they are varied, is reassuring and interesting too ☺️
My GP completed the forms prior to our appointment so I was surprised at the 8 week time frame. Even though I'm healing well, I feel I'm not nearly ready to return to work at this time. There's still some pain management issues and I'm not sleeping well. So slowly it goes...
Thanks again Terrie
Glemmis
Member
9 years ago
Hi Isaidso, I had a mastectomy & 12 lymph nodes removed. I was back at work in 10 days, I work 3 days per week. I had a seroma & staph infection & this was drained every couple of days. I had minimal discomfort from the actual mastectomy, more from the lymph node removal. My arm is still numb & tight. Best wishes