im still haveing pain where my lymphnodes were removed

amandamarie
amandamarie Member Posts: 11
edited June 2014 in Pain

My lymph node were removed sept 7th and i still have pain there that stops me from sleeping and interefears with my driving and dressing, i never imagined a small incision could hurt so bad. Ive had two c sections and about 6 other surgeries in my life and this is bt far the most painful. Does anyonenelse still have pain from their lymph nodes being removed months after the fact? I did have rafiation started just over 2 weeks afyer my surgery and the beam did hit my lymphnodes, i know that that made it worse. Ive had to take pain meds and i use a soft pillow that i press against the scar and the pressure helps a bit, i just want to know if anyone else has lingering pain and what helps them

· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • wenweb
    wenweb Member Posts: 1,107
    edited November 2012

    Hi amandamarie,  Yes, I believe it is very common.  I was quite sore for many months after my surgery, both in the node area as well as where the actual growth was removed.  When I thought it was starting to feel better, I would get caught off guard when carrying groceries or something that I would gather up and lean aginst my chest.  I asked my BS about this, and he said that it might be sore forever.

    It is much less so now (as you can see I have just passed the 3 year mark :), but I still get caught, again when carrying groceries and in the node area particulary when I am doing yoga and am in a position where my arms are overhead in a stretch.  I can now comfortably lean on the area when sleeping, it did take a long time though.

    Sorry to the be bearer of not such good news.  Hope this helped.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited November 2012

    It's normal!  The pain and underarm / arm numbness from node removal often doesn't go away for 6 months or longer.  They really should warn us about that before the surgery! 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • 1Athena1
    1Athena1 Member Posts: 6,696
    edited November 2012

    amandamarie, I am sorry that you are in pain.

    I was lucky in that I never felt any such pain, but I did overcome the discomfort (read: lack of flexibility) by doing physical therapy execises within days of surgery. I suggest that you ask your rad onc and/or your bs for tips - most are very simple exercises that you can do at home. Exercise often helps with pain. They may have sheets with illustrations - or they may recomend PT. If the radiation is increasing the pain, you should definitely let the rad onc know asap.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • amandamarie
    amandamarie Member Posts: 11
    edited November 2012

    Yea i agree we should be warned, i was told nothing of lasting pain, i still would of had the surgery but atleast if i was i warned i would have been prepaired. Its good to know im not alone. Id like to know how other people cope, i dont want to be on pain meds all the time and id like a good nights sleep, its so hard to sleep becauae if i move my arm a certain way or lay on it i wake up in pain and its hard to get back to sleep. I wasnt warned about lymphademea either, after mt surgery they forgot to give me my after care insturctions and i ended up in the er the day after my surgery because the pain was so intense and i didnt have anything to refer to as what was normal, and the er doc and nurse realy didnt know much either. Im glad i found this site

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • amandamarie
    amandamarie Member Posts: 11
    edited November 2012

    Im done with radiation but that did add to my pain, my rad oncoligest wasnt too helpful, he just kept telling me to hang in there. I found it very hard to raise my arms above my head, i started radiation just about 2 weeks after surgery, i had 2 surgerys and one needlecore biopsey all with in a month of eachother. I wasnt given any instructiins about exercise at all, and in the middle of all this i wound up in the hospitial for a week due to a dental infection and got sent home with a picline for my antibiotics, so im sure that didnt hekp matters

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Jennie93
    Jennie93 Member Posts: 1,018
    edited December 2012

    Amandamarie, my surgery was 9/6 and I still have plenty of pain in the armpit too!  And none of the doctors ever warned me about how bad this is.  It certainly is aggravating!  I do gentle stretching exercises every day, but I'm not seeing any improvement.  I am scheduled to start rads sometime in Feb. and I'm scared that it will make it worse, (and there is no way I could raise my arm over my head yet), plus I know it puts me at very high risk for lymphedema and that terrifies me as well.  Basically this whole thing just sucks!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories