Hi,
I had lumpectomy and axillary node removal on Wednesday. Stayed in hospital Wednesday night and came home yesterday.
I’ve been sent home with paracetamol and nurofen which I’m taking, but the drain is agony in my armpit when moving around to go to the loo, get dressed etc…
Is this normal? It hurts so much it makes me cry in pain. Will it get better over the coming days, or will the drain be painful until its removed?
Not experiencing pain anywhere else other than the drain. Its like a red hot poker in the arm pit. All looks okay and no infection. The drain itself is draining properly and doing what its supposed to do, just HURTING!!!
Advice gratefully received…
Debbie
Sounds like your drain is touching a nerve. It happened to me when I had my mx last December, the pain was unbelievable. I ended up being sent back to the hospital to have it removed. In my opinion you will be stuck with the pain until it is removed.
Hi
I had the same thing and it does ease after a couple of days so wouldn’t worry too much but if you’re not happy get it checked out.
I’m half way through chemo now and in my opinion having the drain has been the worst part.
Hope you feel better soon
Gail xx
Debbie, I was the same after my ANC, could barely breathe without being in absolute agony, pain relief didn’t make any difference, my drain came out after 3 days I was instantly free from pain.
I had a left side mx and full node clearance on Wed and i have exactly the same pain that you are talking about. Its a sharp burning pain in my back just under my shoulder blade every so often and i have cried 3 times today because of how strong it is and I thought i had a high pain threshold! I was on the phone to my bcn at the hospital and she said its possible the drain in touching a nerve and told me to keep taking meds and rest. Sound like it wont get better untill the drain is removed so the sooner the better.
I agree with the suggestion it is pulling on a nerve. This happened to me and I had the drain removed (not much was draining so i was lucky in that sense). It is excruciating pain and well beyond the ‘normal’ surgery pain, so tell your nurse!
I HATED my drain - had to endure it for 28 days. You won’t know yourself when it’s gone xx
Thanks my BC friends, it’s actually not hurt so much today, but still catching me out from time to time.
It does not seem to be draining much more, so hoping I can get rid of it on Monday. Fingers crossed.
I will no doubt be in touch with another post soon, with yet another query!!
Debbie XX
Hi guys.
I had my Mastectomy and felt like nothing had changed at all. I was in and out, back down the stables. Amazing I thought. I then had results, and had underarm Lymphs removed. I expected the same.
In out same day, yippee, home. The first night the drain lost suction. Off we trotted to hospital to get it sorted. All fixed, stood at the lift’s waiting to go home, and POW. I thougth the police had been following me and tazored me. I screamed, ran forward, and must have looked like id gone mad. I was in shock. wow, WHAT ON EARTH WAS … BANG tazored again in the shoulderblade. So now im trying to rip my jumper off, screaming, that someone has thrown a lit cigarette down my top, and that it was burning me. My poor fella, went white. There is nothing there!! Im shouthing, help help, its burning me… There was nothing there.
I was whisked off to the white room. ( no one can hear you scream ) I was given two paracetemol. After much gnashing of teeth and wailing, the pain subsided a bit. I went home, red eyes, terrified to move incase I got tazered again. I did. Many many many many many many times. For 3 Miserable days, I was being shocked, burned and tazored in my shoulder blade. I couldnt sleep, Paracetemol… do me afavour. My lovely fella got me some thing else. It worked for a while but as soon as it wore off, Bang scream, wail. When they removed it, I looked like a zombie. Deep breath, on three… AAARRRRGGGGHHHH… one final stab,burn,shock,tazor and scream, all pain gone.
Question. Why was I not warned of this pain.
The person who gave me paracetamol, I hope thats what they give you if you ever have to give birth. Here love, pop that under yer tongue and get ready.
Its not just you love, i guess its different for everyone. I never ever ever ever will have a drain again. Id rather have a deformed armpit, and go get it juiced every day than that. No sir. Keep that away from me.
Its so bad, i think it would be less painful to have peeled my skin off and rolled me in salt. Thanks . 
Hi C1tyof4ngels, although I am in absolute agony, and haven’t slept all flipping night, your post has made me smile. I have had a problem with my drain and thought I was the only one. Had a wire guided WLE and full clearance on Friday. The boob is fine but my armpit! Boy. oh boy! I have been in pain with it since being discharged on Saturday. By Monday the wound was oozing all out of the side and not through the drain. Obviously drain had dislodged or something. No aftercare. No district nure. Just left to get on with it! Struggled along till yesterday when I couldn’t take anymore. So my sister took me back up to hospital and we had a sit-in protest until they did something! The doctor said drain was performing no function and just a possible source of infection, as wound just draining out onto my skin! Hallejulah - you think - its been doing that since Saturday!!! Took the drain out (no pain relief - sore!) and packed it with bandages and has sent me on my way. He said I will probably develop a seroma. And will need to go to A+E to get it sorted. Brilliant! I am still in agony and can hardly move my arm and shoulder and worrying now that this will put me at rick of lymphodea. The aftercare I have received has been apppalling - they almost did the procedure in the toilet until my sister complained. Paracetomol not helping or coedeine! Anyone else had problems with drains / seromas? anyone else had crappy aftercare? Feel quite traumastised by it all and wonder if I should make a complaint? Any advice gratefully received. Not a happy bunny!
Blimey Spookymoo, that is awful. Cant believe you are not getting any aftercare, I had same procedure as you 18 months ago and had District nurse in every day for a week, then after that (still had drain in leaking over 100ml per day) I only needed to go see the BCN at the hospital to get it re-dressed or changed as necessary for next couple of weeks (drain removed day 10 but did develop seroma which needed draining a couple of times.
So I would suggest you speak to your BCN rather than A & E.
Like you I worried that not being able to do excercises would cause Lymph, but it didnt, although I did get quite bad cording which made my rads measurinf visit quite uncomfortable. When I started rads a couple of weeks later I was fine by then, just a bit stiff still.
18 months on I’m fine, just get a bit stiff and achey from time to time.
Hi spooky, sorry you’ve had the problems with the drains. My drain blocked once and it was a trip to Accident and Emergency for me-like you my wound was leaking (nice!!). I only went to A and E as it was the weekend.
You should be getting follow up. Mine was via my surgeon (who has seen me every week since my op) and the doctors in her team. A doctor rang me every day to see how I was getting on and asked me to come in twice (in addition to seeing my surgeon). Who is monitoring how much you are draining? You shouldn’t have to go to A and E unless your team are not available.
I’m sorry this is happening to you-I found having drains was really getting me down and was really glad when they were removed (they are hardly discrete!). hope you manage to get it sorted xx
Hi spooky i had radical masectomy and full node clearance to right side in dec. i found packing really soft pillows around me so that i could sleep sort of leaning on my left with my right slightly raised helped me sleep better. also i carried my bottles around in a wine bottle gift bag, it took off the strain. most of the ladies i was in with had drains out after about 4/5 days and then just went to BC nurse for draining with a syringe which didnt hurt at all. i think i had three drains with the nurse then said to let the body do its own work and absorb the fluid. still have a little left but still reducing down.xx
Hi everyone and thank you for your posts which have helped me as I have felt a bit emotional this week - bursting into tears at the slightest thing and very down - which is not like me at all. I am blaming it on the anaesthetic! The drain is out now and I went to my GP surgery yesterday and nurse took all dressings off and I just have a plaster where the drain was. I had a nice soak in the bath which helped a bit with the pain. And best of all I got some Tramadol. I was a bit nervous about taking them but the pain has been really bad so I plucked up the courgae. I still have pain and still am in pain this morning, even after taking an exta dose at 4 am , but I feel much more able to cope with it. So things are getting better! And at least I don’t have to drag round the drain anymore - that was a right pain.
Hugs to all having to do with this s…t! Em x