Bilateral Masectomy Day 5 severe pain

Monsoon

I had a bilateral Masectomy 12/22. I had nerve blocks and that worked great for 3 days.

The tubes are causing me issues. The side with the sentinel node biopsy randomly started to become plugged on day 4. It's excruciating when it happens. The narcotic they sent with me doesn't help when that happens. The tube seems clear, but when it finally does drain again I find large clots in the ball at the end.

Is this normal? Is there anything I can do to help prevent this? Should I buy a compression top? Do I need to call my surgeon?

I don't get my tubes out until Jan 3rd (12 days post surgery).

I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but this has knocked me to my knees. Why are the tubes getting blocked so badly and not draining? It seems to be blocked where the tube is sewn into the skin.

I also had a lot of leakage around that tube the first few days. And air. The bulb would reinflate a lot. That finally stopped but now the fluid backs up under my skin and hurts terribly.

What can I do to stop this? It's so intensely painful.

MinusTwo

Yes, you need to call your surgeon right away. Hope you get a resolution.

Rah2464

Yes please contact your surgeon, this isn't normal progression and needs to be addressed. I can imagine it is intensely painful. Please let us know how you do.

Moderators

Monsoon, welcome to Breastcancer.org, although we're sorry you have to be here for this, but we're glad you found us and reached out! We totally agree with MinusTwo and Rah2464. Please call your surgeon and report what you're going through before it gets worse. Good luck! Please keep us all posted as to how things go for you. And let us know if we can be of any help.

The Mods

Monsoon

I called and they're going to take the tubes out tomorrow. Hopefully that resolves the pain. Sounded like younger people have a harder time with this.

Rrobin0200

monsoon,

That definitely is not normal. I was 37 at diagnosis, and even though the drains were a nuisance, they weren’t painful. Glad that you’re being seen to get them taken out. Let us know how you feel after the removal.

Monsoon

Got the tubes out and almost immediately a world of difference. Very minor pain now. Whew! Doc said healing well, no infection, looks good overall. She couldn't see obvious reason for the pain (frankly, I don't think she really believed me), but I feel so much better now!

Thank you for your support and pushing me to call the surgeon to get something done. Hopefully it's smooth sailing from here on out.

MinusTwo

Monsoon - good news. Glad the pain has subsided.