A little advise needed, had 25mm tumour removed and 22 nodes removed on 17th Dec. I had lots of problems with seroma but this at the moment has cleared up.
My biggest problem is this still no feeling in my arm! It´s hell, I wake in the morning and can hardly move it then exersise a little move about and the pain starts right from my armpit down to elbow.
I still cannot straighten my arm it´s like burning sensations all the way down. If someone touches the top part of my arm or brushes past me it´s as if they plunged it in boiling water!!!
Is this norm or do you think I may have a problem, Oh ivé also found a lump under my arm but i´m thinking this could be scar tissue as quite large.
Thanks have a good day to you all, It´s pissing down here in Spain but as we say another day in paradise!!! (Sarcastically of course)
Hi Theresa, poor you - sorry you’re not feeling too good. I had exactly the same symptoms after lymph node removal. The burning pain I was told is due to nerve damage. A lot of the nerves will repair themselves but you will feel extreme sensations now as they do. The weirdest thing I think is when you have a real itch but the area is dead. Yes, scar tissue will also feel lumpy - have you been massaging all along your scar and under the arm. I was told to do this to prevent the tissue sticking, also the arm exercises are a real pain in the derriere but really worth it to make sure you get full movement back.
My op was nearly a year ago and I still feel like I have a pillow under my arm but when I think of what I can do now that I couldn’t do a few months ago, I realise the progress is there.
Hope this helps, I was told it could be a year or more before all the swelling goes down so hang in there1 Di
sorry to hear about these problems. I had a full axillary clearance and also had seroma problems so have some understanding of what you’re going through.
I found that my arm was very difficult to move at first and painful. I religiously persevered with the exercises as Di suggests too. I had a sudden improvement and it was definitely after 6 weeks because I remember ringing the helpline around that time as I was worried about the pain and lack of flexibility. However I find that 7 months down the line that stiffness quickly returns if I stop even for a couple of days. I still do them now 3 times a day without fail - they really work!
I also had some of that pain too and that is nerve pain. That does pass but it all takes time. You’re only 7 weeks post op so it’s still really early. I had a risk reducing mastectomy on the other side and no clearance and I can tell you that I had no problems that side at all (except seroma and haematoma) - none though with stiffness, pain or flexibility. Pain does seem to come and go a bit with all this.
I have just started very gentle massage. I wasn’t told about this and have a lot of tightening around the scar tissue. I rang my BC nurse and she said that one of the other consultants recommends it. I was told about it by a nurse from BCC.
I also have a big lump in arm pit which I think is scar tissue and possibly a bit or seroma.
I would say though that if you’ve not got an appointment with the BC nurse or Consultant coming up then I would ring the BC nurse to talk through. I see you’re in Spain so perhaps that is harder but sounds like you maybe need to see someone for reassurance.
I had mx and node clearance just under a year ago and experienced the same sort of problems as you. I was too scared to move my arm immediately after the mx because it hurt so much. But the nurse told me that the more I move it the better. I was also given a course of physiotherapy which helped a lot with the mobility. I live in France and was wondering if you might be entitled to physio in Spain like I am here. I also had cording under my arm which was greatly improved by physio. But my armpit is still rather lumpy from scar tissue. There are also large areas of numbness which they say will improve over time as the nerves regrow.
I have just started another round of physio because of lymphodema in the arm and chest after radiotherapy. So my arm is again quite painful. So I’m afraid it is just a slow process. I think the key is to keep your arm moving, do gentle exercises, but don’t overdo it!! I must admit it didn’t realise that having the lymph nodes removed would cause so many problems!!
I hope things start to improve for you. Try to talk to your consultant or GP about it.
I had a terrible problem with my arm and could not lift it above my elbow - none of the physio worked. One day I was on a ladder trying to push some bamboo down from the garage roof and I felt a snap and the whole thing just eased straight away. That was 9 years ago. I still get itching but I have found a TENS machine really helps with this and in the early days I used it all night to help me sleep. I still do have problems with my arm and cannot wear a prostethis because I have alot of burning pains - a pressure bandage helps and I wear one all the time.
I find the pressure bandage helps when I do DIY and dig the garden - I do alot of heavy work and don’t let it stop me!
Good luck Sally