i have had a mastectomy 04 november 2010 i have previous history 10 years ago i had a lumpectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy left side, mastectomy right side.
when i had the lumpectomy i experienced numbness for a while but it didnt bother me too much.
the mastectomy is a totally different thing i have constant pain, tingling and tightness across my chest area, it feels like i am being rubbed with sandpaper, does anyone else have this and what can i do i feel so miserable, i am taking co codamol, and diclofenac but the pain is still there
Sorry to hear that you are so miserable.
I had a mastectomy on 28th October following an unsuccessful lumpectomy.
I also feel a great tightness across the chest and sometimes feel the most painful neurological stabbing pains as well. The most pain for me is under the arm where they took the lymph glands seven weeks ago.
I find doing the arm exercises excruciatingly painful (especially The strething up the walls) but there has definitely been an improvement since I forced myself to start doing them.
My BC nurse told me that these physical symptoms are normal and could last for some time.
It’s very early days for you. I personally found that ibuprofen was better than co-codamol.
Hi Ladies,
I had a mx in oct last year and suffered from post mastectomy pain syndrome. This is a well known complication but not widely told to ladies about to undergo this procedure. I would suggest you ask to be referred to the hospital’s pain team. They helped me and a subsequent operation has eased the pain greatly. I wish you both well and let us know how you get on.
Regards,
Maggie
Hi Elizabeth
I had right mastectomy in June. I had the same awful tightness and pain when moving or reaching for something. I found it difficult to excercise at first. It seemed best to me not to try too much to begin with but to take it gradually. The worst area strangly was my arm both under and behind shoulder, which is still numb and painful but getting better noticeably, though gradually. I started doing yoga (after a couple of months) for those recovering from illness - it helped me maintain the excercises and was very gentle too. You will begin to notice that things do change and get better on a week to week basis. I also found it helpful to use calendula ointment around the wound itself to help maintain flexibility of the skin and to improve healing. I use Weleda baby calendula lotion too which is very gentle. I still have quite a lot of tautness around the scar and find I do need to keep up the excercise or it does not continue to improve.
It is different for everyone depending on how much of the lymph nodes have been removed etc. Things will get better. In the meantime, do check out what is available at your hospital. Sometimes they have classes with question and answers to start you off. All best wishes Harebell