Hi all,
I had shoulder surgery four weeks ago and then a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy on Thursday. I’m sleeping loads but feel so “drugged up” - I’ve stopped the codeine and just taking paracetamol now. My head just feels so woozy and I’m lightheaded. I’m eating and drinking loads of water. My leaflet from the hospital says women feel moderate tiredness - this isn’t moderate!
The compression bra is rubbing under my arm - not on the incision and my husband says there’s no mark or soreness but it hurts!!
I just feel so sad and fed up with this. I know having had the shoulder surgery is probably making this worse and I’m more worn out but I’ve been so positive up until this and I’m not - I feel empty and just so tired. I say tired but it’s like the worst hangover - without any fun. Like I’ve been on some trek or something. What else can I do?
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@masona3 you just need to be kind to yourself your body has been through a lot! I’ve had shoulder surgeries in the past too and they were no joke! It was fully 6 months before they were fully better so what with the BC surgery you’re asking a lot of yourself at the moment! It will all take time so just take things slowly and get plenty of rest to allow your body to recover. You will get there day by day just be patient with yourself and take the time to rest.
In terms of the bra can you use some padding to help reduce the pain in that area? It might look ok but you have healing to do inside and some kind of padding may help take the pressure off.
Don’t rush off the painkillers too quickly and suffer - they’ve been given to you for a reason!
Again I’d say just be kind to yourself and take the time to recover. Wishing you all the best xxx
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Give yourself grace. You’ve been professionally stabbed twice and had 2 anaesthetics and 2 lots of painkiller in a month. Your leaflet wasn’t written for this situation.
Firstly the rubbing. Try tucking something silk (hanky) or bamboo (sock) where it’s rubbing to reduce the friction.
Secondly codeine makes me woozy and is definitely not the painkiller for me. When I said this to my anaesthetist he explained codeine is broken down by the body to make morphine and some people (me) are more efficient at this than others hence wooziness. Pain can be exhausting and also make you lightheaded though so try taking ibuprofen and paracetamol as per the box but overlapping so it’s only first thing in the morning when you have no pain relief.
You feel like you’re getting a lot of sleep but it’s maybe not good quality just now as I’m guessing it’s hard to get comfortable. I found my 1” Pilates pillow very useful to pop under my incision as I’m a side sleeper. A rolled up hand towel would work too.
Rest as much as you can. Eat lots of iron rich foods too. It will get better.
Sending very gentle hugs.
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It’s only 4 days since your surgery - you need to be kinder to yourself and more patient ( admittedly I wasn’t always good at being patient with myself ) . Two anaesthetics and in one month isn’t good for anyone - it’s powerful stuff . Your body will still be working to mend your shoulder and now it’s been tasked with more healing. I’m not surprised that you are fatigued . I would suggest listening to music / audio books / Headspace anything that you like that will help you relax in the meantime. Keep your arm and shoulder moving as best you can and take some little walks in the fresh air if you’re up to it.
As to the compression bra - was this fitted to you or given you by a BCN ? Maybe you could contact them for advice - I did go into a post- op bra but not immediately and often wore a Proskins or M+ S sleep bra underneath as they were softer and prevented friction on my skin . Other suggestions would be a silk scarf or bamboo cloth .
Take care xx
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