tired after mastectomy

Hi Shirley and welcome to Breastcancer.org!

We're so sorry you're feeling down and exhausted -- both emotions are very common in a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. We're sure many others will be popping in soon to share their experiences, too!

In the meantime, you may want to check out the main Breastcancer.org site's pages on Depression and Managing Fatigue for some really helpful advice on dealing with these side effects.

We hope this helps! Please continue to post, check in often, ask questions -- we're all here for you!

--The Mods

Hi Smallie:

I was also scared of surgery. Before the procedure, I had to have an excisional surgical biopsy on one side under anesthesia, which was kind of a preview for me and it went very well, which calmed my fears a lot. I also worked on my preparations to distract myself. The bilateral mastectomy (without reconstruction) and sentinel node biopsy also went smoothly. Although everyone is different, I did not experience significant pain, which was well-controlled both in the hospital and at home. I was on tylenol only quite quickly.

It is nice to have a small pillow to keep the seatbelt away from you on the ride home, but loosely rolling up a soft polartec-type jacket also works. Once home, the drain sites and underarms (from SNB) were a little uncomfortable, so I sat with regular pillows tucked under my upper arms/elbows.

Like most, I was advised not to raise my arms above shoulder height (90 degrees) at first. Before leaving the hospital, be sure to ask for guidance about post-surgery exercise. I note there is a low risk of lymphedema after SNB. If you have not already done so, shortly after surgery, you may wish to request a referral to a qualified lymphedema therapist to obtain baseline measurements of your arms, and receive some education about it, possible precautions, and safe approaches to exercise. Meanwhile, this is a helpful site for more information:

http://www.stepup-speakout.org

For now, try not to worry about the endocrine (hormonal) therapy. After surgery, you can request a referral to a medical oncologist ("MO") (at a time when the surgical pathology is available) to discuss the available options, which have quite different side-effect profiles. The MO can help you understand the risks and potential benefits in your particular case, in light of your risk profile (e.g., risk of recurrence or new disease in same or opposite breast), personal medical and family history, and help you to make an informed decision about what is right for you. I note that if you are post-menopausal, you would have the additional option of an aromatase inhibitor. Many tolerate treatment well.

Perhaps you can join the April 2016 surgeries thread here for support. The first post has links to useful information.

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/91/topics...

Sending my best wishes for a smooth surgery and the best possible outcome!

BarredOwl

Bilateral mastectomy and SNB (without reconstruction), Stage IA (Sept. 2013)

Smallie, antidepressants are great for the hot flashes that come with the hormone therapy so you can kill to birds with one stone! Do you take an aspirin a day? You might discuss that with your doctor after your surgery (no aspirin before surgery, of course).