Hi all, I wanted to share my positive experience of recovering from surgery to hopefully offer reassurance to those facing surgery that it can be easier than you might fear.
I had a wide local excision 2 weeks ago to remove IDC grade 1 and sentinel nodes.
From the start, it was less sore than I expected and I could comfortably move my arm more than I expected. I removed the dressing after a week, as advised by the hospital, and the incision was fully healed and wow, it looked so much better than I expected! There’s still some swelling and bruising but each day it’s reducing and feeling better.
I was really tired for a few days and rested as much as possible. My energy gradually improved and is now totally back to normal.
I’ve been doing the exercises religiously, and going for a daily walk – the first few days I felt absolutely exhausted after a half hour walk but I’ve been able to steadily increase my activity levels. For context, I am 45 and in general good health otherwise.
I drove for the first time yesterday and it felt totally fine (surgery was on left side). I’m planning to resume work tomorrow and take it easy at first.
I feel very fortunate to have had such a positive experience and I fully appreciate not everybody does/can have this for reasons beyond their control. I wanted to share here as I know before I had surgery when I was reading up on what to expect, I found it reassuring to read about people who had had straightforward experiences, as well as reading about more difficult and impactful experiences. It helped me to have a sense of the range of possible experiences I might have.
Best of luck to everyone facing or recovering from surgery xx