Going downhill after bilateral mx

buttercup1

I guess I need to vent a bit...

I've just had bilateral mastectomy (skin/nipple sparing) on 9/20/18 with reconstruction. My PS did a great job, but she removed the wrong drain only 3 days after surgery and admitted that she did it by mistake. Fast forward to yesterday, when the left breast had swelling and bruising due to accumulation of fluid. PS had to use a needle to remove extra fluid and told me to watch for darkening of the skin around the area. The nipple is slightly darker and greyer on the swollen side than on the non-swollen side, so now I'm on necrosis watch! It's scaring me, and I feel helpless. I have the CO2 expanders, and she instructed me to continue to inflate the maximum dosage each day to get the fluid squished out from between the skin, but it's making me paranoid that I am inflating so fast (2 weeks post op).

I've also been having no luck with sleep (it's 2am as I write this). I could not afford to buy an adjustable chair to sleep in; the best I could do was a cheap wedge pillow from Amazon. It is very hard, and I can not seem to get any sleep now that I have run out of pain medicine. I feel like my chest is very tight, like I can hardly breathe, and for some reason, my feet have been painful in bed, as if they are going numb. I just can not find a comfortable position for the life of me. I have to take NyQuil to go to sleep, but I don't want to do that for the duration of recovery and become dependant! No matter what I do, I can not fall asleep without medicine due to the discomfort.

Rah2464

Buttercup1 - I am so very sorry to hear of your surgical complications. I am shocked to hear that your PS removed a drain on the incorrect side. I too had nipple sparing with immediate recon but mine was direct to implant probably because I am so small. You mentioned you were out of the "good" pain meds - did they provide any valium as an option? I know the iron bra feeling was substantial for me after week 4 even. And the valium helped to relax the muscles that were tightening up. And I lived on Ibuprofen and tylenol mix for a while. But I am sure the fluid build up you mention also creates its own challenge. I hope your PS and breast surgeon continue to monitor you closely. And please continue to speak up (loudly) if you feel something isn't right. I know that I hesitated at first to mention things, I didn't want to seem needy. And you feel so overwhelmed you aren't necessarily strong enough to fight. But good responsive care is critical to your recovery.

beach2beach

I am sorry to hear of your complications also. I went direct to implants and had nipple sparing also. I'm assuming you had a DIEP and coupled with that fact your pain is pretty uncomfortable and finding a good position nearly impossible. Are you fairly mobile during the day? I would certainly keep in touch with your PS for any change you notice anywhere within yourself, feet included. Keep her in the loop.