14 weeks post mastectomy & reconstruction surgery

StillBlessed72

Surgery was 3/14/17. I returned to work 9 weeks post op and have steadily declined in energy level. I am so exhausted and starting to worry. My surgery lasted 11 hours and i read a post to give myself 1 month for every hour of surgery. I don't know how accurate that is.

Anyone still exhausted almost 4 months after surgery?

Moderators

Hi StillBlessed,

We want to send you a warm welcome to the BCO forums.

Sorry your circumstances brought you here but hopefully the boards will be a source of support for you while you recover.

There is no forum for 'Post Surgery/Mastectomy' but you may find talking to members in the thread below helpful as they have been through this particular surgery:

Single Life After Mastectomy

You can also reach out to members on this thread below whom had their surgery on the same month you did.

March 2017 Surgery

We hope this helps!

The Mods.

Herculesmulligan

still blessed.... I also have noticed that I have less stamina since my BMX on feb 1. Some days I feel pretty good but sometimes It's all I can do to get home from work and make dinner, and then I just lie on the couch. I'm not sure if it's because I'm healing from the surgeries, or the tamoxifen, or what, so I try to respect my body and just stop when I have to. Sometimes that doesn't work, of course, but I try to take it easy when I can.

Oh and I have been trying to eat more calories, which seems to be helping although I'm gaining a little weight.

LAstar

My surgery was also 11 hours and it took me 3-4 months to start getting my energy back. I might feel better for a few days and then feel wiped out for a day or two. Recovery was not linear, which was very frustrating at the time. At some point, you turn the corner and start feeling normal again. It sounds like you are doing too much. If you can, cut back on physical activities for a bit and see if that helps. Also, I had a lot of intense mood swings during the first 8 months or so while my body adjusted to the loss of hormone-soaked tissue. Knowing that this was normal helped me deal with it. Hang in there!

Chloe3278

Woah, do you know why it took so long? 11 hours?

MinusTwo

StillBlessed - I have read that it takes one month of recovery for every hour under general anesthesia. That means you have a number of months yet before you get rid of the fatigue. Try to take naps when you can & treat yourself gently.

Chloe - surgery is often slowed while tissue is sent to the path lab. Then the surgeon may have to try again for clean margins & send more tissue. Another example is unknown things once the doc opens - such as tumors that were not seen before or calcifications that were unexpected or serial nodes that turned up positive. Also if reconstruction is included, at some point the BS hands over to a plastic surgeon who places the tissue expanders & closes.

LAstar

I had BMX and immediate flap reconstruction, so it's just a long process. This is pretty standard.