Lumpectomy and sentinel node surgery

Also you will have lifting restrictions and it depends on your doctor how soon you should start exercises for your arm. Just remember that this is surgery and you need time to rest and recover.

Take your time, as Molly said it is surgery regardless. I had lumpectomy with nodes removed but was back to work after a week and never had to take the pain meds prescribed.

Barring complications, your recovery will be quicker the fitter, healthier and younger you are. So if you are not overweight, have average or better fitness and no comorbitities, you will bounce back quickly. Fitness and health will trump age. I had 4 lxs prior to bmx and felt normal after the anaesthesia wore off (3-4 hrs). I never needed any painkillers, neither Rx nor OTC, but we all experience pain differently, so if you need help, there's no need to suffer. It's a short sx and most don't experience prolonged side effects from the anaesthesia. If you've ever had sx before, you will have a good idea of how your body responds to anaesthesia. I had to refrain from not overdoing it for a week to rest and allow my body to heal, but was pretty much doing most normal activities the same day of sx. I felt fine to drive, but waited until the next morning. If normal activities for you include heavy lifting (kids, pets, farm, job etc), you will need to have someone else assume these duties for the short term per your doc's instructions. With my BS's ok, I was exercising the day after sx with modifications, back lifting weights in the gym 1 week after lx & snb, and went on a heli-skiing trip 2 weeks out from sx, with no physical accommodations. I was 52 at the time, but am extraordinarily fit. We are all different; listen to your body and heed your surgeon's advice. Best wishes for an easy sx and quick recovery.

Hey, even though I’m a moderately obese, relatively unfit old fart (65) I still had a pretty fast & easy recovery. Not sure about youth, but fitness (or at least a compelling psychological drive to remain fit and very active) can’t hurt.

I wish this thread was started before my surgery, since I had no idea what to expect. The Lumpectomy Lounge thread is too big to sift through.

Yes, you can be back to normal within a couple of days.

I was tired the afternoon I got home (a Wednesday) and still a little the next day, but that was probably more due to getting less than normal sleep at night due to too many thoughts going through my head, etc. I was pretty much back to normal then following day, Friday. I worked from home on my laptop that day. I had planned not to try to go into the office that soon. Then there was the weekend (sang in the church choir) and then I commuted into the office on Monday (drive, commuter train, shuttle bus, walk, etc., which can take an hour and a half total). I've gone for walks every day since. Even the day after surgery I went for a walk of just under a mile. On the Saturday following (3 days after surgery), I went for a 4-mile walk with a friend! I added a sports bra for a little extra support for that walk. After a few days of being more cautious, I wear my backpack over both shoulders normally to carry my laptop and lunch to work, and walk 1.8 miles back from the office to the train station, instead of taking the free shuttle, for the extra exercise. I started using the elliptical cautiously after a couple of days, but now after 2 weeks, pretty normally. I went cross-country skiing today. I have not attempted jogging yet, though. Yeah, I consider myself reasonably fit, but I have never jogged more than 3 miles, which I last did on our warm Christmas day. I am 50.

Never took any pain meds, other than a single Tylenol or Advil the first couple of nights, just to make sure I would not be uncomfortable an night and fall asleep better. I would not say that I really felt pain, just discomfort, irritation, bothersome, more at the SNB underarm incision.

I wore a button-down shirt the day of surgery and day after, but I found that I could go back to pulling on my turtlenecks within 2 days.

I had surgery and general anesthesia only once before, and I recalled lingering tiredness for days, but I awoke and recovered much more quickly this time. I was fully awake within less than a hour after surgery. An hour and a half later, in the outpatient room, I did feel a little dizzy. I made the mistake of consuming too many crackers and drinking too much juice too quickly, and then on the ride home got sick (vomited). But that was 3 hours after waking up, so I don't think that was anesthesia-related nausea.