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

melclarity
Member
9 years ago
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
Afraser
Member
9 years ago
Hi

I 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.
brightspace
Member
9 years ago
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

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Recovery after Mastectomy how long?

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