Pain from tissue expanders?

sOMETIMES I feel like crying, I also wish I could take hot bath, I have back injury so it also kills me. I relate to brushing teeth, but walking inside the stire seems to be hard for me. I am very independant so I try to do alot myself. I feel like I take alot of meds too, which I dont want to but have no choice. I guess I just wanted to know if anyone feels the way I do and it seems liken alot do, so I dont feel like Im a big baby.

For what it's worth (because I've learned everyone's experience is at least slightly different), I'm almost a month out from my BMX with expanders, and have finally been able to get through a couple of days with no prescription drugs...though not opposed to going back to them! I'm still uncomfortable & tight, and was swearing to my DH that these TEs must be rectangular & made of brick, until he showed me pics of them online:) It has been much easier with the tubes out (second set out 6 days ago), although the 1st 2 days after that were the worst, with TEs shifting & holes healing. I only sleep in my recliner with arms on pillows. Heating pads are my best friends now...they really relax & soothe the muscles on my chest & the armpit discomfort. My skin is supersensitive there, but is eerily numb in some spots. I'm a wimp, so as long as it's not pain, I guess i can deal. My PS taking things slow...no pumping up til over chemo & rads, which will be like 8 mts. Wonder if I'll get used TEs by then?!

A heating pad seemed to help. I even greased myself up with Bengay ointment one time Whew! Did I stink!. You may still have unhealed sutures so that may not work for you right now. Also, I used the self heating charcoal type sticky pads you can get for your neck and back at Walgreens. Generally I use them on my back when I have menstrual cramps. In this case I just put them on my pecs. You might need to put them on top of a soft cut-down-the-middle soft men's t-shirt under your compression garment. Sorry you are hurting so bad. It does get better over time.

Today was my last fill before I get my implants in two weeks. I started getting filled in mid Jan.

I tried everything to minimize the pain. Nothing really worked except pain medications and warm showers. I can't wait to get this iron bra off me.

Try to hang in , there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It will get better.

Hey, ladies, feel like I have to give you some updated info! Even though it felt good, apparently applying heat is not good for us, especially if lymph nodes were removed. I'm going to a physical therapist who specializes in lymphedema & she said heat would increase risk for it as it brings fluid to surface. Figures the thing that really felt good is bad! I'm in more discomfort, and sometimes pain, since starting PT, but that's partly because sensation is returning...just not good sensation! So back to pain pills, but trying to limit for night so I sleep well. What have you guys heard about ibuprofen use?

Can I ask why you had expanders in for a year?  They are telling me 3 months and I am scared about that long!!!

I was told I could use Advil 2 weeks after BMX. Chantel: I have had my TE for only 2 months by time of exchange. Surgery on 02/21 and exchange is scheduled for 04/24. Every PS is different from what I read on timing.



Argynnis: it is still very early in your recovery. I can totally sympathize with how you feel though. The first 3 wks after my surgery, I cried every day from pain and said the reconstruction is not worth it if I have to live with pain from TE. I too wanted them out asap! 7 wks later and I can tell you it DOES get better. The pain and tightness gets less and less. I take no pains or even no Tylenol or Advil anymore. I notice the TE at times but they are bearable. Sleeping on my side at night is really the only time they give me discomfort now. Once I started getting fills the discomfort got less and less. Yes I was tight for a few days after fills but that went away in a matter of days. Now I'm finished my fillls and I no longer have pain, tightness or that constant weight on your chest feeling.



Do I hate my TE? Yes I do! But has the short term discomfort and pain been worth knowing I'll have the reconstructed breasts I wanted? Yes it will be. Just try to hang in a bit longer if you can. It DOES get better I promise.



Gentle Hugs,



Jen

Don't know if you have heard of Botox being used when TE are put in.

My ps injects it into the pectoral muscle which freezes the muscle and allows it to stay flat. When I had fills sometimes I would have to take a Valium the day of my fill for spasms. But that was about it. Because of the Botox injections my experience with the TE was not that big of a deal. Something you might ask about.

I am so sorry for all the pain and discomfort this journey entails. I was a bit anxious about my first fill but wanted to post in case there are others getting anxious about this as well. Not only was there no pain with the fill (just temporary feeling of pressure) but I had immediate relief from the iron bra/tight wire feeling under my chest. The fill was yesterday and now today I do feel like I have heavy weights on my chest and my skin is tight but I prefer this to the iron bra discomfort. With my 2 pregnancies I got huge but didn't get stretch marks so I think I may have really stretchy skin. I had skin sparing bmx with TE and am at 450 cc each side. I think the relief from the iron bra comes from the TE being filled enough to be lifted up off chest wall. The more they are filled the less the crinkles and folds of the TE aggravate our insides. It is easier to take deep breaths now but the trade off is my arms/upper body feel weaker because my body is focusing on stretching to make room for the added saline (150 cc each side). I have read this takes about a day to settle down so will just take it real easy today. As always thanking God for carrying me through this journey and strengthening me in my weakness.

I get that zap through the middle of my chest! Its the nerves starting to wake up! It can also be just the healing taking place from having the drains pulled too. You have to remember, where the drains were, there is no an empty space that your body has to fill in again! All normal twinges.



Good luck on your journey!!

Dawn

Yes mine is on the same side they did the sentinal node...thats probably it...I wonder will it ever go away?:(  I'm so uncomfortable as well...my lower back when I wake up just aches (laying on my back all night ugh) and my upper back in the day.  Also I'm not sure when I'm allowed to lift myself with my arms...I cant even get out of bed without my husband lifting me up.  Do you know how long?  I'm guessing 6 wks.

I too get a stinging under my armpit where snb was but it is slowly getting less bothersome. I thought it was the incision healing. Christine I alternate between sleeping in recliner and bed but when I sleep in bed my chest is elevated. For me the mornings I woke up the worst are when I tried sleeping flat on my back and then I would feel more debilitated all that day. Not sure why but my guess is the weight being on my chest all night instead of gravity taking it off chest. We took a reclining piece from our couch and put it in our bedroom. I also got a $50 zero gravity outdoor lounge I rest in that feels great on my back (Costco). I slept in that a couple of times before we moved the couch piece. It is also easier to get up from recliner on your own or if you are elevated in bed. I use a big foam wedge thing we had from DH knee surgery to elevate myself in bed. Hope your sleep gets better. It makes a big difference.

Have you been to a physical therapist? That really helped me. I also used a heating pad across my pecs (although I would ask your PS about this first.) I even used the self heating sticky pain pads from Walgreens along the bottom of the stretched pec muscle.

Hi,

I'm sorry I do not know your name, my name is Doreen , I had a double mastectomy done on April 23,2013, with immediate reconstruction with tissue expanders, it is now 5 WEEKS AFER SURGERY, last week he injected me the first time with 50 cc's , I am still in severe pain with pressure that is unbearable. I call my Dr. Every 3 to 4 days, I go see him every week crying in pain, he said this is all NORMAL , he swears to me it will get better slowly in time, I feel like I'm totally losing my patience.I have been counting down the days waiting for 3 months to come fast enough to get these killer expanders out , to find out Now I need chemo because the cancer entered one of my lymph node, they cannot remove the expanders until my chemo treatment is completed after 6 Months. Long story short, Believe me im going nuts over this..... I take my pain MEDS every day, and I pray each and very moment for a moment of the day or night without any pressure. ( THATS NOT HAPPENING, ANYTIME SOON WITH ME, EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT)

The reason why I am telling you this , your not alone and my Dr. , says hang in there I will get through this. Expanders are very painful, cannot sleep, cannot turn on my side, still sleeping on a 90 degree angle on my recliner. God for bid anyone hugs me tight I am done, I had no other choice but to go this route, I had previous heart surgery a Cardiac Ablation due to rapid heart beats over 160 beats a minute I could of gotten a heart attack, at that time I was only 42 years old when my Son Petey passed away a few years back in 2006 due to a ATV accident, he was only 20 years old, on top of all of this happening to me.......But hang in there we will all get through this torture one way or another and pray every day for a full recovery with no pain , and cancer free forever....to ALL THE WOMEN OUT THERE GOING THROUGH THIS.....We can all get through this. I don't know how, but I do believe God will help us all. Hang in there.

This forum is helpful. I am almost 3 weeks post bilateral mastectomy, had DCIS in right breast....mom had metastatic breast cancer in 1982/83, still alive but many health issues. I am pleased I chose to remove both breasts since I don't want to worry about having more procedures, and my DCIS was in large areas near the nipple...told them to take it all. The immediate reconstruction with TE was done, those things hurt. I feel it on my sternum when I lie down, when I drive the seat belt pressure is uncomfortable. I feel like I have an underwire bra on under my skin and the underarms feel like they are rubbing on something but it is clearly the inside that is rubbing not the outside. Weird sensations, muscle spasms. I had long breasts DD ( i am 5'2" but breast fed 2 kids) so had a nice amount of skin, woke up from surgery with 300cc in expanders but need to go to 650. Hoping the irritation feeling and the sternal pressure gets better as some have described. I hate pain Meds, have been off them for 2 weeks and the Valium sort of works, at least it knocks me out to sleep a bit. I used to sleep on my stomach....even sleeping on my side feels like a fantasy that I hope will achieve in the future. Use pillows everywhere...only works for a while. Hoping to get filled up tomorrow. The pain ia m experiencing is not as bad a bunion surgery I had a year and a half ago, but it is uncomfortable. I have many animals and have been staying active since I have to...took off 3 weeks from work....watched YouTube videos of the filling of expanders to reduce my anxiety. Just want to get past this discomfort to get the implants which everyone I know who had this surgery (many faulty BRCA friends) said it does get better. I need to learn patience. I appreciate hearing that other people have had similar physical sensations and discomfort, and feel grateful that the technology we have now detected my cancer so early. Grateful to have options that did not exist before....trying to focus on the positive to push past the discomfort.