Anyone change their mind = lumpectomy & then later a mastectomy?

I wanted a bilateral mastectomy from th get go.  My surgeon insisted on doing lumpectomy first.

He thought it would be the fairest way to get pathology/nodes evaluated, then let me talk to plastic surgeon and radiation onco, and then make my decision fully armed.

I went back and had the bilaterals after the lumpectomy a month later.

I too just was not in the mood to monitor and think about it.

I was a 34D cup.  Slim overall except for the boobs...

Please know that everyone is different when it comes to pain and surgery.

I needed absolutely NO PAIN MEDS.  NONE.  I think about 1 week out, there was one day I took 1 ibuprofen because I was more aware of my incisions, but that was it.

I was back to work in less than a month and doing yoga and exercise within a few weeks.

I opted no reconstruction because I thought THAT procedure would be painful.  Still, many gals do it and there are enough meds to help ease the burden.

My surgeon almost died when he came in to see me the next day and saw me walking around, lifting myself (small sit ups) and saw the pain pump in the hall.

Your poor grandmother probably had the RADICAL mastectomy, because that is all they did then.  I can't imagine the pain with that....they take the muscle wall, all the nodes, etc....they don't do that anymore.  They do a sentinel node biopsy and see if there is cancer; if not, that's it, no more nodes.  The muscle wall is rarely touched unless there is cancer and even then, I don't believe they take it all.

We've come a LONG, LONG way!

I just saw my surgeon last month for my 1-1/2 year follow up and he said my range of motion is better than most people with no surgery

Good luck.