i developed very strange pains in my upper arm and tingling in my fingers about six months after surgery, which was a single mastectomy, with cavity shaves and sentinel node removal, plus five other nodes. After a few weeks rang the BCN, who referred me to charity physiotherapist who then referred me onto nhs physio. Told had frozen shoulder and could be 18 months!
im waiting for scar revision surgery, hopefully in May or June, as the surgery left me with a large protrusion on the side and underarm. Also, was to.d body has to heal after chemo and radiotherapy, which finished mid December. Hoping frozen shoulder will improve before surgery, or at least, have no impact on the surgery.
Does anyone have any similar experience, hints for coping with daily discomfort and more than occasional pain, well-being tips? BCN says I’m between a rock and a hard place, yup, agree with that for sure.
Hi @sharlea , I am sorry to read you are experiencing discomfort.
I hope Forum users who have experience of this come forward and suggest some tips, and you can always speak to one of our breast care nurses on freephone 0808 800 6000 (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm; Sat 9am-1pm) if you’d like to talk things through.
Sending positive vibes your way
Bernard
Hi Sharlea,
Im sorry to hear this, I finished chemo and radio in december 2020, and around the same as you in May 2021 started to develop pain that got worse and worse over months down my right arm, ending in me, not being able to use it, took a couple of months, to get to the point that they were sure it was “just” frozen shoulder, and further appointments, had my first steroid injection in Nov 2021, which was the best thing ever, I actually slept for the first time since May, had second done in Feb this year, and Im still having physio, to get normal movement back in my arm, still not there, but at least the pain has gone. If you havent had the injections, may be a good idea to discuss, as I know it doesnt always work for everybody, but I was willing to try anything, I wouldnt want to wish this on anybody, due to no sleep and constant pain, I got very down, which is something I managed not to do, while going through ops, chemo and radio, but this broke me. I wish you all the best, and remember to be patient, as it will take time to get your arm back to normal x
I’ve only just read this and I hope your shoulder is much better now. Just to say, I also had a frozen shoulder after surgery and during my zoledronic acid IV treatment. My GP recommended specific exercises and these helped enormously. It was a good 18 months before the pain had completely gone but the exercise helped the day-to-day discomfort. x