Pain After Lymph Node Removal Surgery

I had a similar procedure on the same day as your wife! But I had the full axillary lymph node dissection, I don’t yet know how many nodes they removed. And like her, the lumpectomy site is fine but my underarm is uncomfortable/painful. I think the drain is causing more discomfort than the actual node removal site, although the scar there is pretty large. I am being very careful to not lift anything with that (my left) arm, and to not turn on that side in bed. I have taken some pain meds when it bothers me a lot, but find that regular Tylenol is almost as effective. I'll get the drain removed on Monday and hope that helps with the discomfort. Also, the back of that arm is numb and I am REALLY hoping that is just a temporary thing.

Overall, I would describe what I am experiencing mostly as discomfort, and only occasionally morphs into a consistent pain.

Does she have a drain?

My lumpectomy with just one node removed was in July 2018. I still have to sleep with a pillow between my arm and body in some positions. Keeping it moisturized with Eucerin or something similar helps a bit once it's fully healed. But it's the crappy gift that keeps on giving.

I also had significant armpit pain from node removal. I had some cording and the surgical bra dug into the swollen area of my armpit. It was the most painful part of my surgery. Faithfully doing the exercises finally resolved the cording and the swelling improved quickly after drains were removed. I hope your wife finds some relief

Mine's just in the one small spot where the node incision was. It's not so much painful as annoying, like getting rubbed with sandpaper unexpectedly, and just noticeable enough to not let me forget it's there. But it's not constant, and doesn't restrict movement. Sometimes I think it's as much from the radiation and extremely dry skin pulling the scar - hence my advice to use Eucerin or something similar.

I think most of us would tell you that the sentinal node surgery is surprisingly painful.

I've had 7 major abdominal surgeries, my sinuses drilled out (yep the bones) and some other stuff done. This sentinal node removal was right up there with the worst of the worst, to my complete surprise.

Finding bras that didn't cross the incision was difficult. I had the best luck with AnaOna bras, what a relief to put one on and NOT be in pain from the bra.

i'm not supposed to exercise with that arm until the drain is removed (which should be this afternoon.). You don't want to do anything that could shift or dislodge that drain

@ asjones, I had a mastectomy and 8 nodes out 5 days ago, and the lymph part/ armpit/side is DEFINITELY the part that hurts (feels like I'm holding a large pinecone in my armpit, and lots of nervey pain and tingling). It helps to have a small pillow between my arm and side, so there's less pressure or rubbing on the area. I also sleep with pillows propping my arm up and away from my side. I would encourage your wife to use her arm and hand a bit- just gently; use it to hold a cup of coffee, pull up pants, etc, just nothing repetitive or that lifts arm above the shoulder. I know too well it feels better to NOT use that side at all, but I was told that actually can make pain and recovery harder in the long run. A bag of ice feels uncomfortable at first, but it can help ease pain a little. I wish we had better options (& that DR's weren't so hesitant to give us more than a few pain pills!), but sadly I think time may be the biggest factor. Hoping your wife feels better soon!