OK to drive myself long distance 1 week after lumpectomy + SLNB?

mle42
mle42 Member Posts: 151
edited October 2021 in Surgery - Before, During, and After

I have a question for those of you with lumpectomy + SLNB experience.... my treatment center is about a 3 hr drive from home. My husband will be driving me to/from surgery next week, but he has had a work trip come up for the following week, when I need to go back for my follow-up appointments with SurgOnc and MedOnc doctors. I figured I would be OK to drive myself at that point, but am slightly worried about it. Especially since my surgery side is on the right, and I drive a stick shift. If there's a lot of traffic (which there always is), that's a fair amount of repetitive motion with the arm that I will have just had at least a couple lymph nodes removed from, 8 days prior.

Thoughts? Should we veto the work trip, or find someone else to drive me? Or were most of you OK with this sort of activity a week after surgery?

Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

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Comments

  • AliceBastable
    AliceBastable Member Posts: 3,461
    edited October 2021

    I'd find someone else to drive you. A lot of us felt fine in a few days after surgery, but I've seen several women who developed seromas or had other issues that took a while to resolve. Good luck!

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  • gb2115
    gb2115 Member Posts: 1,894
    edited October 2021

    I've gone through lumpectomy, mastectomy, and two separate SLNB. And I used to drive a manual. I would not attempt this sort of drive with a stick shift so soon after SLNB. Like you said, it's repetitive movement. Even if you feel fine, that's a lot of movement really early on after surgery and the last thing you need is a complication. Maybe driving somewhere locally, but not a 3 hour trip. I would try to put some other plan into place.

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  • AMG2
    AMG2 Member Posts: 130
    edited October 2021

    Mine were also on the right, and I'm in agreement with others - I could drive, and didn't need anything stronger than ibuprofen at any point, but I was driving an automatic, and using my left arm almost exclusively. I had a lump that came and went at my SLNB site, and I think it was painful enough when present that it would have made driving a stick extremely unpleasant and could have been dangerously distracting on a 3 hr drive. If it's possible to avoid putting yourself through that, I'd advise avoiding it.

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  • ceanna
    ceanna Member Posts: 5,270
    edited October 2021

    Maybe just wait to decide to see how you feel a week after the LX and you have no complications. Also ask your doctors about driving after a week and go with their advice. I drove a day following LX but not a stick shift. Any possibility of trading cars with someone with an automatic? As long as you don't find driving stressful, you might be able to do. All the best for a successful surgery. Please let us know how you're doing.

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  • AlwaysMeC
    AlwaysMeC Member Posts: 167
    edited October 2021

    My first car was stick shift and I drove a stick over twenty years. You may feel okay after the procedure, however as already mentioned, the repetitive motion for 6 hours to and back might be too much. I developed a seroma and it would get enlarged if I moved that arm a lot. It helped to wear really form hugging sports bras. I pulled them up a bit to stay over the axillary incision from the SLNB. If you think you might risk it, at least wear something that will compress or hug your incision sites.

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  • mle42
    mle42 Member Posts: 151
    edited October 2021

    Thanks all, I really appreciate you taking the time to reply and share your experience!

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