breast tissue expander

hi i had a mastectomy in feb followed by chemo. an expander was put in as i am going for reconstruction. this has been pain free until recently, i am even waking up with pain more under my arm than in the breast area. anyone else had this experience.

Hi Penny, I have been undergoing tissue expansion for the last 6 or so months. I find my breast is really uncomfortable to the point where I take pain killers for a couple of days. I can’t even sleep on that side for about 2 weeks afterwards. My last expansion was the worst and yes I had pain under my arm. I think this is due to the fact that it is almost at full capacity and the fluid had nowhere else to go. There must have been a little corner of the bag unfilled under my arm, for a while it felt like I had a tennis ball under there. It has been 4 weeks since the last one and it is no longer a bother.
cheers
Ann

hi ladies… i’m interested in anyones experiences of these too.

i had a bilateral mastectomy on 6th nov, (10 days ago!).
i also had expander implants put in, and both were inflated by 100mls at the time of initial surgery. surgeon said he could do this as my muscle looked strong and healthy! i have about a B cup already but will be undergoing further expansion in due course.

my god its sore though, at times it feels as though and elephant is sat on my chest and that my muscles will tear away from my sternum!

thanksladies, yes it does feel as if i have a tennis ball under my arm. I have a strong family history of breast and thyroid cancer and have been advised to have the other breast removed during reconstruction. the waiting list is long so not sure when this will happen.