Itching reconstructed breast

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Daudine
Daudine Member Posts: 221
edited September 2015 in Breast Reconstruction

Hello all,

I had a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy last year (14 months post-op) and one of my breast is itching from the inside and sometime hurts. Is it common?

 Thank you

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Comments

  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited July 2009

    Itching can be caused by two things.  First is nerve regeneration, which is a good thing.  Second is phantom itching, which is not such a good thing because there is nothing you can do about it and it might or might not go away.  I have phantom itching.  It's not discussed much by our doctors and it's not written about much in medical journals or articles about side effects from mastectomies, but based on the experiences of the women on this board, it's actually seems to be pretty common.  Mine feels like an itch inside my breast, but that's obviously not possible since all I have inside is an implant.  I also sometimes get aches in my reconstructed breast that feel exactly like my real breast used to feel in the week before my period (I had severely fibrocystic breasts and my breasts would ache a lot). 

    All in all, very weird. 

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  • NativeMainer
    NativeMainer Member Posts: 10,462
    edited July 2009

    Phantom pain or itching can happen after a mastectomy.  It it gets really bothersome drugs like neurontin (gabapentin) can help.  Most amputees (and women after mastectomies ARE amputees) will have some phantom pain/itching, Like lymphedema it can happen anytime after the surgery, but unlike LE it most often happens within a few years of surgery.  One of the problems with it is that it is impossible to tell if what you are feeling is nerve regeneration or phantom sensations. 

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  • Daudine
    Daudine Member Posts: 221
    edited July 2009

    Thank you for your answers girls! I was imagining all sorts of things....cancer growing under the implant, water flowing around the implant.....I will learn to live with it, like the rest ;o)))))

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  • Dawnbelle
    Dawnbelle Member Posts: 696
    edited July 2009

    I called my BS yesterday because I am still having the strangest tightness, pulling, tingly, burning  & numbness on my Mx side. I am 7 weeks out of Mx, but 3 weeks out of implant exchange during a necrosis operation by a PS.

    His nurse tells me that it is normal & that it is nerves....to me it is a constant reminder something is wrong. I can feel it, even when I am sleeping. The nurse says give it 3-6 months to calm down.

    I hate calling them, they make me feel stupid even though the only other time I called was a month post op & I had necrosis.

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  • Renata
    Renata Member Posts: 172
    edited July 2009

    I have the itching too , almost everyday, but I thought it was expander related and that after the exchange  I wouldn't get it anymore.... Cry

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  • Deirdre1
    Deirdre1 Member Posts: 1,461
    edited July 2009

    I have had bouts of the itching, and I am very happy to say that I have almost all my feeling back in my breasts (with the exception of the sensual experience of the nipples), so as Beesie stated nerve regeneration.  But I do have some itching that seem impossible to "reach" no matter what I do it feels as though I should be on the inside of the cavity scratching and I believe that to be phantom itching - but I don't get that all the time.. So here's hoping your's is nerve regeneration!!!

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  • rascal_gal
    rascal_gal Member Posts: 75
    edited July 2009

    I've had that itch that you can't find to scratch. Sometimes it feels like my nipples itching which makes me laugh because I know it's not there.

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  • 01marilyn
    01marilyn Member Posts: 1
    edited September 2015

    Your comments have helped relieve some of my anxiety. Thank you! However, the intense itching will not let up and now I can't sleep. Two days ago I started physical therapy for reoccurring pain from lumbar fusion surgery done four years ago. The itching in my breast began today and I am wondering if the muscles over the breast implant have been stimulated by the therapy causing the itching. At any rate I have surgery scheduled in two weeks to replace this implant with a smaller one to more closely match my natural right breast. I hope I get some sleep before then

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  • Meow13
    Meow13 Member Posts: 4,859
    edited September 2015

    I have on off itching from my DIEP, it isn't too bad sometimes have to take benadryl

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  • CarolinaAmy
    CarolinaAmy Member Posts: 281
    edited September 2015

    I've seen a number of comments about itching post-mx, and I'm wondering if this is a permanent side effect for some women? I'm hoping it's the type of thing that would settle down after a couple of years, but I could see that it would drive one crazy if it never let up.

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