What do I need/need to know before lumpectomy and SLNB?

breedebra

Hi All,

What do I need to know before my Lumpectomy and SLNB on 11/5/21? What should I purchase if anything? Will I need anything stronger than Tylenol for pain? I don't do well with narcotics.

Thanks

Aklynna

Hello!

When I had my surgery, I didn’t need anything stronger than Tylenol and honestly didn’t really have much pain at all.

You will need a supportive comfortable bra and button down shirts are helpful for the first few days. I got these from Amazon:

Women's Zip Front Sports Bra... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZLT9YZS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

For sleeping, you may want a small pillow or rolled up towel. I typically sleep in my left side but since that was my surgery side I couldn’t for a few weeks. I slept on my right side and leaned against the extra pillow for support.

If you can, I would recommend seeing a physical therapist for a pre surgery visit. Mine did a lot of baseline testing and gave me exercises to do starting day of surgery.

Hoping for a smooth surgery and easy recovery!

1982M

I also hate narcotics. I did get 5mg right immediately after surgery but only Tylenol after that.

The one thing I didn’t realize is the nerve pain from the sentile node biopsy. It wasn’t immediate. I can’t remember when it happened but it felt like a razor rash or a Brillo pad had been rubbed under my arm- lower then the incision. It was more annoying then painful. That took about 4 weeks to disappear.

The most useful things to me were front opening bra’s for the lumpectomy. I still can’t wear my old bras (2.5 months out) as the underwire bugs my sentile node site. I can wear it for an hr or two but not a whole day.

Salamandra

For me the pain from the SNB, while not terrible, was startling and unexpected. It was a much longer recovery than the pan from the lumpectomy, and included weird nerve jingles.

Also keep an eye out for seromas - bubbles of fluid that can form. I had one that I had to go in to have drained twice.

Ask your doctor about pain meds. Tylenol is very strict on the upper limit but there's a lot you can do between Tylenol and narcotics. For example, you can go up to a much higher dose of Advil for a short time without the very serious risks of a Tylenol overdose.

I mostly wanted to just sleep, sit, and eat for a couple of days after my surgery. I don't know if it was my body recovering from the physical insult of the surgery or from the sedation meds, or both. I don't remember being in pain really. I was happy to have my sister around making food and cleaning my house for me but I didn't really feel much like even socializing. Just in a quiet kind of mood that I was glad I didn't have to rush straight back to work after.

Polar4Pom

I purchased a wedge pillow that helped me sleep better. I also never needed narcotics other than what they gave me for surgery. I am 11 days post surgery and I just took one extra strength Tylenol and that is because of nerve discomfort (a lot like described below). I would also describe it as a chaffing under the arm. Hope this helps

Aklynna

I agree with what Salamandra stated as well… I just said to someone the other day, I didn't have cancer in my arm, why I am having so much trouble there?!?!

I am 8.5 weeks out and my arm is still not back to normal (butit's getting close!). I also had nerve issues, about 4 days after surgery the back of my upper arm felt like the worst sunburn I'd ever had. I also had a lot of trouble with cording/AWS. For both of these issues I glad to have PT already in place.