Neurosensory discomfort/pain

Hello ladies,



Yes absolutely understand your feelings about the sunburn pain. I am now almost 4 months out from my BMX. At about the 2 month mark the burning started to subside and it is totally gone now. I did use the soft washcloth approach along with some moderate pressure and massage to the areas. It would hurt at first, but somehow the areas seemed to become desensitized after awhile. I did not find that the narcotics helped in any way since it was a nerve pain. As far as some soothing clothing that I found bearable, I bought a few of jjill's pure jill tees. They are a little pricey for a tee, but they are extremely soft and feel almost like butter against your skin. They also last forever and won't pill up. If your pain is interfering with your quality of life, I would recommend taking the neurontin. You can try it for a short period and then once the nerves settle down, you can wean off of it. I did not have to take it for BMX pain, but I have MS and have found it useful during my exacerbations. Hang in there and remember that this is more than likely temporary and that there are things that can be done to help alleviate the pain.

Hi gero,

I too had a similar dx, and a double mast with immediate implants because of prior implants already in. My surgery was Feb 2013. I had alot of the same pain you are having. I am actually having more pain in my arm on the side they took nodes. Nerves are a funny thing...they take so long to heal. I think it is because alot of trauma when they put the permenant implants back in immediately. It is not like you are getting fills every week. I did not want to leave my home for the first month. I can honestly say that at the two month mark I was really turning the corner. Fabric is pretty important. I could not stand flannel or anything that was not soft cotton or microfiber. Hang in there. You are making progress! 

Lisa 

Hi GeroNP,

I wanted to mention something I don't see above.  It's vicious stuff and you have to be very careful, but tiny amounts of capsaicin cream were helpful for the sunburn sensation on my upper arm.  It's really rough stuff - can be blindingly painful in your eyes or if you get too much on anywhere, but it was what my BS's office recommended so I bravely tried it, using disposable gloves.  It's no cure-all, but the pain quickly reduced by about 50%.  I stopped using it as quickly as possible because I didn't really want to be dealing with the precautions needed to keep from getting it on my fingers, my kids, etc.  I would carefully do it again in the same position.

Over the long haul, the gentle pressure and massage has been my best tool. 

Good luck.

Claudia, sorry to hear you've been having so much discomfort.  The sunburn pain most of us are referring to is due to disruption of the nerves during the mastectomy.  As a result of this, there is often changes of sensation which can vary from decreased sensation to changes in sensation to perceiving non-painful sensations as painful.  It takes a LONG time for nerves to regrow and for the sensation in the affected areas to become normal again, but over time, you can get used to the different sensation.  In your case, it's hard to know what role your autoimmune condition is playing in all this, but I don't think giving neurontin a shot is a bad thing - you could even try a smaller dose if you find the 400 mg makes you too sleepy or gives you too many side effects.  The neurontin is one of the few medications that has proved effective in managing neuropathic pain.  Hope that helps!

I am glad I ran across this thread. I am 2 1/5 wks post DIEP and having horrible burning sensation on the skin that was transplanted. It has been unbearable at times and I described it to my husband as sunburn type pain.  Now I know I am not losing my mind.

I have a f/u tomorrow (today) with my PS and expect to have my drains taken out, but that will not help the skin pain.  I feel silly asking for more pain meds, taking Norco, when it's really not helping all that much with this particular pain.  I hope he understands my description tomorrow and pehrap neurontin is the way to go.

New problem.  I was trying to do some filing (hate it) and the filing drawer I was using caused me to lift my arms up a little above shoulder level.  Did not have any pain from it that day.  Yesterday I started having a really sharp pain close to the site where they removed lymph nodes.  I put heat on it and then ice.  I finally had to take a pain pill (very few left).  Today the pain isn't there until I try to lift my left arm.  Fixing my hair wasn't easy.  I can feel the scar tissue in that area but have not had a problem until now.  I really don't know what to do.  Any suggestions?