Post Surgery Reflection & Recovery Tips

Going through breast cancer treatment Surgery
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It would be great to share some post surgery reflections, recovery tips and questions.

Some Reflections

1. Surgery Timing
I was glad to have my surgery scheduled first, even though it meant getting up very early. I had to fast after midnight, so good to get it done first thing, so I didn’t have to wait till the afternoon to eat or drink water. So if possible see if you can schedule earlier in the day. Others may have different thoughts on time of day?

2. Anesthesia
I was hoping for Twilight anesthesia, which is used during colonoscopies and it is easier to recover from. The anesthesiologist that it is best I get general anesthesia, so I am not awake and conscious during the surgery. I thought that you are not conscious, but breathing on your own in Twilight. Not sure about this. What’s been your experience?

3. Scopolamine patch to prevent nausea
Also they put the patch behind my ear to prevent nausea, but I didn’t know about this before the surgery, so had no time to research it. They recommend leaving the patch on for 24 hours to 3 days. Did you get this patch? What was your experience with it? After reading about the side effects, I am not sure I would use it, but I didn’t experience nausea.

4. Post Surgery update
I had someone drop me off and pick me up. The surgeon said they will call this person after the surgery with an update. Both of us received the discharge instructions, but no surgery update. I think it’s helpful to get the surgery details about what was done and outcomes. This can be shared with the person taking you home. Be sure to have them ask since you may still be drowsy. Maybe next time I will see if the person can wait there, instead of picking me up because there is less communication between the surgeon and nurses after the surgery if they are not waiting on site. What has been your experience?

Also I discovered a Medi Trace patch on my back. It was very itchy and caused some pimple like sores. I had not been told about this patch and what it does. I believe it is for monitoring the heart. I removed the patch and put aloe on it, so the area was not so itchy. Maybe they forgot to take it off after surgery. Not sure.

5. Sleeping after surgery
Supposedly it is best to sleep with the chest elevated and on your back. I actually listened to a sound bath on Youtube and it helped me to sleep and heal.

6. Eating, drinking and digestion
Your digestion may be off for a few days. Eat some prunes, dates and other thing that help you with digestion. Drink lots of hot tea, ideally with lemon, ginger and honey. Your throat may be sore from anesthesia. Drink lots of water. If you have the nausea patch, it may make you feel more dehydrated. Eat lots of nuts, protein, fruits and healthy meals. Other tips here?

Start walking to get moving, but don’t over exert yourself. Rest when you are tired. Be sure to sleep well since sleep is ctitical for healing. Do deep breathing exercises to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and reduce stress. Take time to let yourself heal. Don’t rush yourself to get back to your normal routine.

7. Pain Medicine
I took one tablet of Tylenol Extra Strength when I got home, and took 1 tablet every 6 hours for the first few days. Instead of taking strong opiods if your pain is not high, this may be a better option because it does not have as many side effects.

8. Compression bra
A Masthead compression bra was put on me after surgery. As recommended, I have kept it on during the day and at night. There are different versions on Amazon, but get the front closure ones with velcro. Maybe see if you can get a prescription for them, so insurance can cover part of the cost.

9. Bathing
I was told to wait 48 hours before I could remove the bandage and bathe, so this is what I did. I think bucket baths with a hand towel may be than a shower that may have too much force. I avoided the incision area when I took a bath.

10. Photos and documenting your journey
I took photos before the surgery and after the surgery. It is helpful to document the process in case questions come up later. Save the photos in a locked folder on your device, so only you can access them.

11. Estate Planning
I created a Trust a while back. It’s good to do this because you never know what may happen in surgery. It is not about being morbid, but rather making things easier for your family.

12. Insurance and costs
Be sure to call your insurance and find out what will be covered by insurance and what you will be responsible for in terms of costs.

13. What to wear to surgery
A zippered sweatshirt, jogging pants and yoga socks with grips. These were comfortable and good for the cold hospital lounge. Leave all jewelry at home. Don’t put on any lotion or deodorant.

14. Surgery details
Schedule a pre-op visit a few days before the surgery. Find out where the incisions will happen and if the tissue removed will be filled in with tissue from another location, how the breast will look afterwards, patches and medicines used during surgery and any other details they can provide.

Wishing everyone a smooth, gentle recovery!

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Very helpful, thank you so much for sharing.

All the best for your ongoing recovery xx

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I added a few more things to the list.

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What a helpful list! Thank you for taking the time to share this with us. I hope you are recovering well :sparkling_heart:

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I’ve had both twilight and full anaesthesia. Twilight I think would not be appropriate for actual surgery; under it for colonoscopies (and my husband’s hernia surgery) you know what’s going on all the time; you just don’t feel too stressed about it. I’ve had an appendectomy (four years ago) and a lumpectomy (this summer) with general anaesthesia and definitely would not want to undergo actual surgical removal of any body part with just twilight sleep!
On the bit about clothing for the hospital, I forgot slippers and had to go down in my socks or street shoes. A robe and slippers definitely help!!

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For endoscopies if sedation is used its usually midazolam. Could that be what you mean by ‘twighliight’? This does not cause an unconscious state and a patient is fully able to move around at will - and they often do, a lot.
With most surgery it’s pretty imperative that your body is motionless as a slipped scalpel could be highly dangerous. With general anaesthesia a paralysing agent is usually given that prevents movement, so I can’t see how ‘twighlight’ sedation would be a viable option without risk.

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i had my second surgery of this year on monday and lying in the hospital thought of all the useful things I had learnt between the first and second (which made the second much easier!) first surgery was WLE for multifocal IBC and sential node biopsy- which took about 4 hrs.

second surgery symetrisation surgery on other side (about 3.5 hours)

1- first time round I was really naseous after the surgery, felt sick for about 5 hours and it took both a tablet and injection of anti sickness to help.

this time round I asked the anethetist if she could give me extra anti sickness meds and told her how i felt last time. so pleased i did because this time woke up from surgery and felt totally fine. only difference was it took slightly longer to go under before surgery but otherwise was all the same.

first time i was 2nd in theatre so had fasted since the night before but had been allowed some water - so they also gave me a catheter and medication to block my bladder - but when i woke up i was massively thirsty but then couldn’t wee at all for about 10 hours after the operation - so I kept waking up needing a wee but couldn’t have one

- second time i was last in theatre - as the schedule changed last minute, so i hadn’t eat or drunk anything at all for 10 hours before surgery - annoying at the time as i was staving but it meant I didn’t need a catheter and could wee normally after surgery.

  1. pack some biscuits you can nibble in bed. like rich tea, digestives etc. first time round I was starving as came out of surgery and then felt sick for ages but when I finally wanted to eat it was night time. this time I had my own stash of biscuits to nibble on
  2. wireless eye mask- last time I didn’t sleep at all because of the beeping, lights and squeaky trollies etc and all you want to do is sleep after something so stressful. this time i packed an eye mask with built in earphones and listened to a sleep track on spotify - I managed to sleep for about 6 hrs in total (woken up in the middle) but again the next day felt so much better from having had some sleep. the eye mask with earphones was £6 from temu. life saver
  3. under arm pillow. didn’t have this last time but a friend bought me a heart shaped pillow about a week after my first surgery. I have slept with this under my arm ever since - also used an old maternity wedge pillow as well. so i took this with me and slept with it under the arm on the side that was operated on. it helps create a barrier so your arm isn’t catching or pressing on the side that’s been operated. maternity pillows are also helpful for sleeping propped up.
  4. pack face wipes and chewing gum. when’ve you’ve got a drain in and potentially a catheter you are not going to want to get up and drag two bottles to the bathroom so you can clean your teeth or wash your face. but feeling fresh is nice.

when they say rest for as long as you can and ideally the first two weeks they mean it. first time round i didnt rest as much as I should’ve done. I also developed cording in my arm pit- but looking back at my diary now I see that i felt worse 4 weeks after than i did 1 week after, and thats because i over did it. even though i was off work i didnt sit on my arse long enough each day and was forever thinking to myself oh i’ve got some energy today i’ll just do some little jobs. mistake.

so this time round i have parked myself on the sofa and not moved unless i can help it. it’s boring but i know i want to recover quickly and i also know how rough i was still feeling 4 weeks after last time.

i think post surgery food is a good one to think about. a combination of general anesthetic and wearing a very tight compression bra meant that i feel like i can only eat very small meals often. getting a lot of indigestion as well not sure what that’s down to. so plan to nibble a lot rather than have big meals.

don’t lift heavy stuff. i nearly undid some stitches first time and got told off by the nurse. if it’s heavier than a kettle leave it alone and it it’s higher than your armpit ask someone else. if it involves reaching up/over then don’t.

do the physio every day religiously. when i had cording which was painful and restrictive i had to do extra exercises that the physio told me so that it felt like i was doing physio for ages every day- but it worked and the cording popped once as i was exercising.

if you are an active person the not being allowed to exercise thing is annoying and that’s where i messed up and thought i could still do things (like 1 week after surgery go on a long walk) again this time round i’m not going to push myself because it doesn’t help. the most i’ve allowed myself will be a gentle walk around the block.

there is also nothing wrong with napping during the day. first time round i thought there was, as i was the type of person who never sat down and probably made it to the sofa about twice a week in the evening for 20 mins so sitting on the sofa all day felt wrong to me - so i would potter about and do ‘light jobs’. this time im happy to say to people im tired im going for a lie down. major surgery takes a lot out of you and when you add in the stress generated by having cancer it takes a lot out of your nervous system too. first time round I spent a lot of time pretending to everyone that I was fine (because they were worried about me) but its ok to say to people yeah its a bit shit and yeah it hurts and it’s uncomfortable and i’m worried about it. I realised there are a lot of very kind people around. who will help if you ask for it.