BMX w/ recon post op questions

Hi there - I was told for the first 24-48hrs after my drains were pulled to literally sit there and do nothing....minimal use of anything. My body needed to adjust and use would build up or possibility of building fluid. So I literally just sat there...I would say THIS was the one instruction I followed to a T. :-) I had periods of hot feeling around my breast area, but I did not have any additional swelling.

I had a bilateral mastectomy with immediate reconstruction on 11/27/17. I do believe it is normal to still have swelling and tenderness. I still have some swelling and tenderness and my reconstruction surgeon says it is normal.

As for sleeping, don't get me started! I am a side sleeper, but so far I still cannot sleep on my side. I can finally feel comfortable with only a few pillows under my head to prop me up a little, but I'm still stuck on my back. I don't know what to say about that. I have to assume we will eventually be able to sleep the way we want in time.

By the way, as I started moving around more normally (reaching for things, driving, etc), I started getting twitches and light spasms in my chest muscles. I'd lay down (propped up!) for a nap or go to bed at night and my chest would be jumping and twitching. Normal. Also, as I started pushing the boundaries of mobility with my arms, fire works started going off near severed nerves under my arms. Also normal. It all calms down as I get further along in the recovery. I did just do my first bike ride since the surgery and my right breast is tender and a little sore.

One other thing, both of my new breasts are very warm to the touch. My reconstruction surgeon is not concerned about it at all.

Hope I answered a question or two. I'm learning every day about all this

swellimg , fluid build, or seroma are all possibilities however it's prob too soon to tell unless you have an obvious fluid fill pocket my PS position was to let it resolve on its own . What you described sounds pretty normal Try it too worry too much.

Hi acesmith, just wanted to follow-up and find out how you're doing? Are things getting better? I'm finally sleeping on my sides again. I'm back to running, but sometimes it's uncomfortable still. It would be great to hear about your progress.

I think my progress is okay. I started going to a physical therapist to help because I was having a difficult time relaxing my shoulders and using my arms normally. I had a lot of compensatory movements going on and some of it was just due to fear. The stretches are so simple but have made a really big difference. Getting a cold pushed things a long too because I didn't care what I was feeling, I was not going to lay on my back anymore and drown in snot! LOL So that's when I got back into sleeping on my sides and whatever discomfort I initially feel goes away quickly.

My biggest complaint is that I still feel the implants 24/7. I'm really sick of feeling the pressure and tightness. When I run, it feels like a hard softball is sitting on my nipple (but I don't have nipples anymore). My reconstruction surgeon had told me that eventually my brain will ignore the feeling, like how you don't even feel your watch on your wrist because you're so accustomed to wearing one. I'm really looking forward to when that will happen. Otherwise, for now, I still have regrets at having the reconstruction. If this all works out, then it will be great and I'll be happy I did it. So, it's some days happy about it, and some days unhappy.

Part of the complication for me in my recovery with the reconstruction is my surgeon. She has no compassion or empathy and when I see her, she acts like she is annoyed that she has to see me or answer any questions. She's rude, discounts my feelings, pushes the implants around and becomes irritated when I feel uncomfortable about it. She has single-handedly done so much in holding back my recovery because I have many questions to help integrate this reconstruction into my life and I get shut down every time and treated like a dope. Even though she did the surgery, I need to find another reconstruction surgeon who is willing to have a conversation with me about what I'm feeling.

Haha, I wrote a novel! I guess I needed to maybe. Speaking of building up endurance, I do the stretches that my physical therapist gave me and then use resistance machines at the gym. I couldn't use some of the machines at first, but with the stretches, I'm now back to using all of them and even adding some weight! Cycling and the machines got my endurance back up, but I still run maybe 2 miles and that's it. Just the act of running, no matter how short of a distance does me a world of good.

Thanks for listening! Keep us all up-to-date on your progress. It helps me to hear from others that's for sure.