Hi,
when explaining what is going to happen on the day of my lumpectomy as an aftertthought they mentioned injecting a blue die into my nipple to find the node.
After my disgraceful performance on the needle biopsy they discussed wether or not i wanted to have the proceedure, and after hearing how much easier it made finding the node I said of course Ihad to go for it.
they said it was not too bad and I would be given tranquilizers before I had it.
I have just scared myself silly reading a thread on an american support site about how painful this proceedure is. Do they do it different over there??
I am sure there are people here who have had the blue boobie bit. Did you have any sort of local anesthetic?? was it that bad?? How long did it take.
I will ring my breast nurse today and check it out again. But I dont think she will want to frighten me too much, she saw me during the biopsy and knows what a problem i have.
I will go through with this proceedure, but need to know what is what.
I also had a core biopsy which was very painful and I can reassure that the blue dye was not anything like that- I didn’t feel a thing. However 8 months on I still have a blue nipple although it has faded a lot! Good luck with your op
Eileen
hi OAL, i had the blue dye needle. i must have read the same usa website as u cos i t scared the c**p out of me too! hand on heart it did not hurt one bit! i dont think i had a local and if i did didnt feel a thing(had eyes shut) not even the sharp scratch coming up(they always say that dont they?) feeling, nothing! good luck x ps the blue wee after is a good talking point! my 5 yr old was seriously impressed!lol! love alex xxx
Mine was done during WLE op, so I was asleep, did have blue boob for about a week though, also be prepared for blue wee n poo!
Good luck hope all goes well x
Hi, I had this in January and it just felt a little bruised. Yes the nipple area was very blue and it is still a little blue I was told it could take up to a year to fully go. I have had worse!!! Good luck. Adi
Before my op I had to go to nuclear medicine for a radioactive injection into my nipple, that was less uncomfortable than a local injection. I then had some kind of scan and got drawn on in felt-tip pen. While I was asleep in the op I also had the blue dye, so as I was asleep at the time I didn’t know anything about it.
Had blue wee (like peeing Toilet Duck, very alarming if you’re not expecting it!) but didn’t have blue poo. Mind you, I don’t normally look to check…
Ask if they do it while you’re awake or can they do it after they’ve knocked you out.
Hi
I had the ?radioactive injection near nipple when awake - didn’t hurt at all. Blue dye was while asleep. K.
I had all this done in Feb and it didn’t hurt at all. They did a local anaesthetic first so it numbed the area. It was quite a performance getting the right x-rays afterwards so do expect to be a bit bored by the end of them lining you up and mucking about with plates etc but it was fine (and I’m ultrasensitive to sensory things and pain). Do check with them what they will do about pain relief first.
Interesting stuff having a blue boob for months afterwards, but it’s nearly faded now 
Ann x
CM - “like toilet duck” LOL - spot on!!!
I can also say hand on heart it did not hurt. I was really worried about having it done, the idea of a long needle in the nipple made me cringe like mad (I once had a long needle in my lady bits - now JESUS that hurt like HELL, surprised the nurse didn’t get kicked in the face, I jumped towards the ceiling) - they didn’t offer to numb me beforehand, but it honestly didn’t hurt and I was shocked as hell, I said to her “Have you done it???” and she said “Yes” and I went “Well you must be GOOD, I ddin’t feel anything at all, I was still holding my breath”
My blue dye injections were done whilst i was asleep under general anaesthetic having wle. My boob was blue for almost 2 years after!
The worst bit was laying in the scanner in the freezing cold x-ray department for ages while they naff about taking pictures and marking you with the felt tip pen so that the surgeon knows where to aim for!
Jane x
I will definately be awake,they said if i did not have the proceedure whilst awake there was another die they could use whilst i was asleep but it was not as good at marking the node, so i decided to have it done to give them the best chance of seeing what was what. He said the needle was like an insulin needle, that sounds very small.
Will ring breast nurse tomorrow, there is a clinic today so she will be busy.
I will definately be awake,they said if i did not have the proceedure whilst awake there was another die they could use whilst i was asleep but it was not as good at marking the node, so i decided to have it done to give them the best chance of seeing what was what. He said the needle was like an insulin needle, that sounds very small.
Will ring breast nurse tomorrow, there is a clinic today so she will be busy.
I didn’t like the idea of having the radio isotope injected into my nipple either and was expecting it to be very painful.
When the technician started rubbing it, I thought they were swabbing it before they injected…but no, they had done it already and were massaging it afterwards (to help get it moving) which was normal practice. Honestly did not feel a thing and it was over in just a few seconds.
The blue dye is done in theatre once you are under anaesthetic.
Don’t we all have different experiences with these things - must depend on which NHS Primary Care Trust you’re under as to how they do things.
I had the wire guided blood dye in jan, I had it while awake & it didnt hurt a bit. When the wire was in I had to have a mammogramme, which again didnt hurt at all, I think I was in shock really. I still have a faint blue nipple, but not that noticeable.Its suprising what we can put up with when this dx happens to us. Good luck
Janeruth, how right you are - and WHY is there always a really filthy stained ceiling tile right where your eyes end up pointing? You’d think they’d stick something interesting up there, seeing as so many people end up staring at the ceiling for ages!