pectoral muscle crampy

ffriskyllama

I had my double mastectomy on 20 October, I was a 38DDD and got TEs with 400ccs at that time.

My pectoral muscles keep cramping a lot. It gets quite painful. Is it because I've been doing too much or not enough or what? 

I also feel like I have on a tight underwire bra that I can't take off. Is this stuff normal?

farmerlucy

Very normal. 400 is a lot at the mx though. I had 200. Many women had less. I've seen some women get muscle relaxers, though I was not offered any. I used the self heating pain pads on the breast fold area where it hurt the worse (my incisions were higher across the breast), I also used a heating pad and bengay. Ask you doc about all this thougth, since some say not to use heat. It gets better but slowly. I had to keep my arms to my side for four weeks.  Recon is tough stuff and it for me it hurt like crazy! Now I don't have any pain but I still feel my pecs flex, It is the new normal. Good luck!

Blessings2011

Oh my gosh!!! You got 400ccs in your TEs at the time of your BMX? Yowza!

I was a 40DDD+ prior to BMX, but even then, I only got 180ccs in the OR.

Your pecs could be cramping for a variety of reasons.... mostly because they don't like being messed with, cut, sutured, and having hard things shoved underneath them.

You could also be doing too much. Did your PS give you restrictions? 

One of our BIG mottos here on BCO is "Just because you CAN, doesn't mean you SHOULD."

Meaning - you may think you feel good enough to do something, but sure enough, you'll pay for it later. It's a fine line between letting all the internal sutures heal, and staying just active enough to prevent blood clots, and keep a good blood flow going.

Ohhhh, the Iron Bra feeling.... when I woke up from surgery, I was wrapped in a giant ACE bandage, which was put over a bunch of gauzy bandages. I was wound up so tight there were huge dents in my armpits. I couldn't wait til my Post-Op to get rid of that tightness when the bandages were removed.

Only it didn't go away. I sat on the table, unwrapped, realizing that the tightness was INTERNAL. 

Understand that reconstruction is a process - longer for some, shorter for others. We all react differently.

For me, hot showers on my back before bedtime, and having DH massage my back muscles really helped. That's because many of the muscles that are cut during BMX (pectoral, anterior serratus) have origin points on the back.

I also had a Rx for Valium, for muscle spasms. That helped a lot.

Please do let your PS know what you are feeling.

Then hang in there, ffriskyllama - this too, shall pass!!!!

ffriskyllama

I know I over did things on Halloween and again Sunday when I did laundry, but it wasn't going to do itself.  Also my dog has been 'helping' by deciding that I need a 47lb Bassett Beagle on my lap and pressing against my chest. (She's such a sweetheart) 

I had full range of motion right away thanks to the meds making me itch.  Now I've lost some because of the cramping and also cellulitis(sp?) On the flappy parts causing pain. 

I should ask the doc about muscle relaxers. Then I'll just sit and drool and stare at movies.

Maybe I'll be allowed a real shower soon too!

LauraW68

I had a BMX on October 24th. I was a 38DDD+ and the doctor put 250cc in each of my TE's at surgery time. I got another 50cc this past Tuesday. This week I have felt very stuffed where as prior to the first fill in the office, I felt like the deflated balloons were crumpled up disks that shifted around. Now they are just there and stuffed out. lol  I am not going as big as I was or anywhere near there. C cup here I come!  Well after I finish up chemo and radiation. I start chemo December 1st and won't finish until April then radiation after there. PS's nurse said he would not do the exchange though until 3 to 6 months after all chemo and radiation is completed. So I won't get an exchange until sometime between September and December of 2015. ugh. just ugh.

inks

There was a clinical trial to use Botox for muscle spasms post tissue expander reconstruction so maybe it is a fairly common problem. But I do not know what the results were. You could try to mention it to you PS.

CFK

Did your PS use alloderm?  This could be why you feel like you have a tight underwire bra on.  My PS used aloderm to create a sling for my implants and I felt like I had an extremely tight bra on but wasn't able to take it off.  This feeling lasted for several weeks.  It eventually gets better but there are times it feels tight.  

ffriskyllama

yes, he did use alloderm.

I just saw him. Got my drains out but I'm kind of drippy now.

I am more comfortable without drains and damp than with drains and dry. I'm  even a little less crampy, I guess I am holding myself more naturally now.

I learned some of my pain is lymphodema and far necrosis. I'm going to lose some skin at reconstruction. Good thing I'm getting a flap.

Thanks y'all for your replies. I feel much better knowing I'm not the only one.

Blessings2011

Just a reminder to any newbies fresh out of MX with TEs.... every PS has his or her own philosophy about fills.... how soon, how often, and how much.

But the reality is that YOU are in charge.

I didn't get fills for a month after BMX, and I'm so glad he waited. I wouldn't have been able to stand it before then. I also got around 50ccs per visit, unless he felt my skin and muscles were feeling very lax, and I think then I got 80ccs. I went in every two weeks for fills and never had a problem with pain afterwards.

If you are having pain and discomfort after fills, tell your doc. Maybe it's too soon after surgery. Maybe he/she is trying to inflate with too much saline at once. Or perhaps he/she is going too quickly...

YOU decide. You can cut back wherever you want. It's not a race. For many of us, LOW AND SLOW IS THE WAY TO GO.

Wishing all of you good healing!!!!