Hello ladies,
I’m exactly two weeks post op now. I had WLE and SNB on the left side and have suffered stinging pain in my armpit and down the underside of my arm ever since. I really thought it might have got better by now but, if anything, it seems to be worse. There’s a weird sensation as if my skin is ripping every time I move my arm. Has anyone else had this after two weeks? Am I just being impatient? I’m keeping up with exercises and I’m still popping pain killers with very little effect. I’ve heard pregabalin is good for nerve pain. Anyone else tried it? I have my appointment with the consultant tomorrow to find out results of the op. I think I’m beyond nervous and into the twilight zone…
Ali
Hummm, I wonder if it might be that you have been overdoing the exercises a bit, it will be worth checking with your consultant and bcn tomorrow.
Sending you a hug and let us know how you get on
Helena xxxx
Hi Ali, what a shame. I had some sickening pains until , I would say, a month after surgery. I think some of mine was sweat!! However , I ended up with an infection in the last stitch in the underarm. As I’d preferred not to look to closely perhaps it was my fault? I’d get the medics to take a good look at the scar, and also perhaps chart when the pain occurs. Is it pre / post exercise, or when you are lifting. Anyway, bless you, it is nasty. X
Thanks for both replies, ladies. There doesn’t really seem to be much of a pattern to it but it is perhaps worse when I haven’t been moving around so much. Dressings come off tomorrow (thank god) so I’ll get them to have a decent look at how it’s all healing. It’s such a weird combination of feeling bruised, burnt and ripping all at the same time. Perhaps walking the dog and going camping might have been over doing things! Anyway, a date with the consultant tomorrow to see whether the surgery was a success or not.
Hi Ali.
Sorry to hear you’re still getting the burning armpit thing. It sounds very much like the sensation I had, but it has got better and I hope yours will too. I’m almost 5 weeks post surgery and though it sometimes stings, the pain level has reduced to the point where I’m not needing painkillers every day. For the first couple of weeks, though, I was swallowing paracetamol tablets as though they were going out of fashion. The second week was worse than the first, because the intravenous painkiller they gave me on the day took a while to wear off. I still have slight numbness on the underside of my upper arm, and the hot lumpy feeling under my arm comes back when I’m tired, but it is manageable.
Wishing you well for the appointment tomorrow,
Lin
Hi Lin,
That’s really helpful, thank you. I thought I would be able to reduce the paras by now but am still having to rely on them. I’m glad your pain has subsided now and it gives me hope that mine will do given a bit more time. Hopefully I’ll get good news at the hospital today and that will cheer me up a bit. Feel as if I’m in a bit of a post op slump x
Hi Lizzie,
I’ve seen the surgeon today and had the dressings taken off - hallelujah! He says I can drive again now (it’s been 2 weeks for me) but my op was relatively minor (WLE and SNB). He told me pain and numbness could continue for weeks and that painkillers won’t really help that much as it’s probably nerve endings. Strangely today it seems to be a bit better but perhaps that’s the three week psychology of it all. I’m not sure I’m keen on driving yet so might give it some more days unless I hit a childcare crisis. Good luck with your recovery x