Post mastectomy pain

It's not really abnormal to still have pain 6 days after a major surgery, especially if you had lymph nodes biopsied or removed. I'm assuming they sent you home with pain meds and, unfortunately, the nurse might have taken a cynical route and assumed you were a drug seeker if you called for more before the pills should have been gone or assumed you were lying when you said the pain pills didn't work and were, again, a drug seeker; it's unfortunate, but with opioids, if that's what was prescribed, a lot of medical professionals just tend to assume anyone asking for more or a higher dose or a different type is just a drug seeker.

That doesn't make it right, but that is possible what the nurse was thinking if you called to request more or a higher dose of pain meds, and she may have thought the "pain pills don't work well on me" was an excuse to try and get extra pills.

With my BMX, the incision sites didn't hurt at all, but the drain sites 'stung' a lot due to the stitches there, and because of how my arms were strapped down for the 4 1/2 hour surgery, my shoulders, arms, and upper back/neck were sore and painful for a good week and a half after the surgery itself. Mine was a preventative BMX so I didn't have anything done regarding lymph nodes, though from other posts I've seen here if there were SNB biopsies done or lymph nodes were removed, that can result in arm/shoulder pain.

I could also feel the drain tubes in my chest on one side, and that side hurt a lot while stripping the drain, but not on the other. When I asked about it I just got 'that happens sometimes'.

It also matters whether or not you had tissue expanders placed (if I missed that in your post, I apologize); if you have had those placed, it's definitely normal to still be in a good amount of discomfort/pain 6 days out from what I gather from other women who have had those put in. I elected not to reconstruct, so I don't have experience with that.

THAT all said, everyone's pain tolerance is different; what I'd consider mild to moderate pain, someone else might consider unable to function excruciating level, which is also something medical professionals also sometimes forget. It may be worth seeing if you can get the office to have the surgeon call you back whenever they're free as opposed to just talking to a nurse; some offices are more open to doing that than others, however.

Swelling 6 days out is still 100% normal; it can take 6-12 months for all swelling to fully resolve, though most see it fully resolve within 6-8 months, so it doesn't seem abnormal that you'd still be swollen under your arms as, even if no nodes were biopsied or removed, your arms were still stretched out for awhile and lymph flow does get disrupted as the breasts themselves have several nodes so swelling can be mild (and USUALLY temporary) lymphedema because of that, which can manifest in swelling and pain. Under my arms stayed swollen for a couple of weeks--it felt like I had 'knots' under there--while things started to mend and lymph drainage was re-routed to existing channels.

If your surgeon recommended compression, definitely keep doing that; if they didn't, it may be worth asking why (mostly to find out if there's a medical reason it wasn't recommended vs. just the surgeon's preference) as, for me, wearing a chest binding vest the first 6-8 weeks after my BMX helped a lot with both pain and swelling.

I'm also stubborn and active and it was HARD to be inactive (for me) for 6 weeks, it took every last bit of willpower to not overdo or over stretch things.

I have also read, on these forums, that when there is lymph node removal there is a bit more pain, usually in the affected arm, for a few weeks; for some women they end up with permanent lymphedema, and for others it clears up on its own. It seems to depend both on the individual and on how many nodes were removed in the area. Some have found relief by wearing compression sleeves, so that may be something to look into. There are a few threads on the lymphedema board that have brand/store recommendations and insurance might pay for them so that's worth checking as well.

That forum also has some threads on lymphatic massage, which may be worth looking into doing either with a therapist or by yourself (youtube has instructional videos) to see if it helps.

If they didn't or won't give you chest compression and didn't have a medical reason as to why, it may be worth looking into purchasing one; they're usually well under the $40 mark. I got a vest that's usually used for gynecomastia surgery which, honestly, is just a mastectomy for men. The bonus of that one was that I could roll it up over itself for even tighter compression if I felt like I needed or wanted that and, for me, compression really helped with the overall pain/achey feelings in my chest. You can also use an abdominal binder in a pinch, but those dig into the underarms a bit unless you modify them via cutting, so if your underarms are sore, that's probably not a good option.

https://www.eabmedical.com/product/breast-binder/ is what they sent me home with (a blue and a pink) and it provided some light/moderate compression. That's the one I wore when I still had drains in as it was soft/stretchy on the sides and didn't push the drain tubes into my side.
After my drains were out, I switched to this vest: http://www.underworks.com/power-compression-post-s... as I hated the velcro front on the other one, it was just too hard to get 'right' so it wasn't lumpy under clothes. A front closing compression sports bra works as well, though definitely go for front closing as it'll be hard (if not impossible) to get an 'over the head' style one on for a few weeks. I have one of those as well from when they did my revision, and it worked out pretty well for moderate compression; I did buy it based 100% on band size, however, as cup size was pretty irrelevant (and it's harder to find non molded cup ones than you'd think!).

The vest is pretty invisible under clothes and looks more like a tank top or sports bra (if rolled up) under a shirt. The only thing about the vest is that it provides compression all the way down, so you get chest and abdominal binding. On days I wasn't finding that comfortable, I just rolled it up over itself into the 'sports bra' shape.

I wore a binder every day for about 5-6 weeks, then at night until almost the 3 month mark before I was comfortable (i.e. I didn't wake up with a sore, slightly swollen chest) sleeping without one. My PS' recommendation was "at all times except for showering for 4 weeks minimum", but every PS seems to have different feelings on compression after a mastectomy.

I hope you don't mind me piggy backing on this thread....

I had an UMX and SNB a little over 2 weeks ago. I had very little pain after my surgery. Saw my BS and MO earlier this week -- I am healing well. But some discomfort started in the past two days. The surgery site, especially the SNB site, is sensitive -- it's kind of like that tingly feeling you get after you get a burn. It's not swollen or inflammed. Tylenol helps with the discomfort.

Is this normal? If so, how long will this feeling last?

Hi SThompsonRN, welcome to Breastcancer.org! Sorry for what you're here... but glad that you've found this wonderful Community! Hope you keep improving and recovering from surgery. If you wish, you can also join the November 2017 Surgery Group or the December 2017 Surgery Group, where you can meet others under similar surgery timing/circumstances than yours.

Hope this helps!

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