I had my surgery over 5 weeks ago and I have healed rapidly. I am walking nomal now but very tight. I can raise my left arm (I have the left boob done) up with no problem, but not so straight like before. I felt like my arm is pulling the breast when I stretch up, or the other way round. It is so tight and uncomfortable, a bit painful if I force it.
My left arm pit where they cut for the sentinel lymph node is also very tight, probably this is what the nurse meant by cording. I can feel under the scar is like a cord and hard. I have been active and resume my activities, but wonder how long before this armpit could return to normal function?
Do you have the same problem? How soon can you fully raise your arm after DIEP??
I wonder whether your arm would ever go back like before?
How soon can you gain full mobility or raise your arm straight?? Do
Hi Miss Piggy
Keep doing the arm exercises! The mobility will come back eventually, although slight stiffness remains from time to time ( normally with me it’s first thing in the morning) Cording is very obvious if you have it, you can often see the ‘cords’ running from your armpit down your arm a bit like a raised vein.
I had it quite badly and managed to get rid of it myself by some fairly extreme stretching and massaging:
‘Walk’ your arm up a wall,standing as close as you can. I then massaged my arm stroking firmly from the wrist down to the breast, whilst my arm was at full stretch above my head. I did this every day and on a couple of occasions felt something give, almost as though the cording had snapped. It seemed to release something and slowly improved and has now gone.
Throw a hand towel over the top of a door. With your good arm, pull the towel down as far as you can, whilst holding the other end with your bad arm, which gives it a good stretch. I then held it for several minutes at full stretch - sometimes massaging the cording at the same time.
Keep at it - it seems to work, although you will probably feel it isn’t making any difference for a while. It will go eventually and mobility will probably be the same as it originally was.
Good luck and hope this helps.
Lotty
Hi miss piggy and Lotty…great to catch up with your progress due to us being the same amount of time post op.Ive been very lucky as Im able to hav physio locally and also a couple of times at the hospital.They really do stretch the arm and work on the cording in the armpit so im almost back to normal…I can now have my arm straight above my head.Im off to see my PS today and see if he can syringe any more of the bleeding from my new boob,the seroma in my tummy has stopped so Im at last getting there and starting to feel happier,even my boobs getting to look less like a balloon.I dont feel comfy in my bra and was thinking it would be good to visit a qualified bra fitter (Im rushing,so cant think of the proper term lol)as the bra isnt fitting as it should,maybe I should have had this idea at the beginning when support was so crucial,never mind.You both take care,Im now off to the hospital,we live in the country in a tiny village so the trips to Glasgow have been a complete day out!!! Bye for now,Debs x
I dont think it is the DIEP that is causing the problem with your arm - it is the procedure regarding the nodes that has caused it. They need to move or cut nerves to get to the nodes which causes the cording effect. I, too had this quite badly after a few weeks. I was ok at first, but then all of a sudden my arm was like a boomerang, with a visible cord across the inside joint… it then moved along my arm - along my fingers and fell off the end!! Odd. It was strange, I was doing all of the exercies - but nothing seems to ease it, but when I went on holiday for 3 weeks, I stopped doing housework and the exervises, and it all seemed to fall into place, and greatly improved. So, quite the opposite that we are told by physio!
I only had a mastectomy - this was on 12th May this year. I still get a very stiff arm, and it is very weak despite body toning at aerobics. A friend of mine had a mastectomy 5 years ago, and she says that it still troubles her now.
I am having a DIEP on Satruday in Norwich! I am more bothered about the tummy.
You are right about those exercises to loosen up the cord. The cording seems to affect us in different ways. I found that my underarm is stiff but massaging the cord seem to ease it. Lotty you are right about stretching to reach, I do that a lot too.
Sounds like Lisa just needs more holidays, it seems to do you good
Hi Debs, hope your boob is improving and that you find good support bras.
Hi ladies
i see that one of you have experienced a seroma in the tummy, i am now about to have mine drained for the third time and wondered what you had been told about the reasons, diagnosis and treatment as i am getting very depressed about the whole thing as i cant fit into clothes that i was happily wearing a week after surgery.
thx Sarah
