Post Op hardness
Posted on: Sun, 10/08/2008 - 19:52
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Post Op hardness
Hi all - I joined the site today and have tried to read as many posts as my tired eyes will allow but I still would like to ask my question.
I had a mastecomy and axillary clearance and tram flap reconstruction 2 weeks ago. For the first 2 days post op i didnt get the chance to do any exercises and then since then I have tried to do the exercises every day - some days better than others. I find I get a shooting pain up my arm when I try to do them and this puts me off and I dread doing the exercises. I take pain killers beforehand to help but this doesn't always work. I also found that once I came home after a week in hospital the tissue surrounding my boob on the outside and up into my armpit has turned very hard and when I try to do my exercises this hardness is very restricting. Is this normal? My breast care nurse says it is probably blood clots and tissue trying to repair itself but I hadn't heard of this as a side effect. I was expecting a lot of swelling and numbness which I still have but nothing that concerns me.
I would appreciate it if anyone else who has experienced this let me know how they got on.
Cheers
Anneliese
i had a mastectomy with back flap recon just over a year ago, like you i struggled with the excerises, mainly due to swelling, and i still have awful cording under my armpit, i think its just a case of keep at it and hope for the best! i do find that excercise is good for the bad side, and even though i fell down a flight of steps last year and nearly pulled the muscle in my chest back round to my back, well, i think i do quite well, mind you it has taken them 8 months to just check what damage i did falling down those said steps, i find out tomorrow!!!
anyway, if it doesn't get easier then get in touch with your bc nurse, you may need some physio to help you get anywhere back to normal
Alisonxxxxxxxxxx
i am not positive, i am realistic
Thank you Alison for your reply. I guess it's a case of being diagnosed with BC you start to think of everything as suspicious. My husband says I am being unrealistic wanting things to get back to normal. Time will tell I know. It's just frustrating.
Best wishes
Anneliese
things just seem to get back to a different type of normal, i have never felt as i did before diagnosis, and i really don't think that we are allowed to grieve the great loss that we have, plus its so very hard to cope in your head with whats happened, and yes, there is always a certain amount of fear, thats why we all understand each other so well on here, it really is like we are on a different planet sometimes, but then we wouldn't want anyone we knew to go through this, and i really think you have to go through it to really understand the impact. Anyway, i am so glad that you found here, pm me anytime you need to, or just post on here, i find it really benifical to get what i feel down in my blog, not everybody's cup of tea but it works well for some of us. Please don't ever feel alone
lots of love
Alisonxxxxxx
i am not positive, i am realistic
Hi Alison - thank you again for your reply. I saw my breast care nurse the other day and she has told me that what I have is scar tissue and I need to massage it quite vigorously everyday to break it down and the pain is cording, which I thought was a trapped nerve. The exercises are definately helping if very slowly. I do notice when I have missed a session.
Today I went to see the oncologist. She has told me that my tumor was only 22mm and it had a clear margin of healthy tissue surrounding it. When they did the axillary clearance they found one node with substantial cells in it but the cancer hasn't spread into the vascular system, which is a relief. I am having a course of chemo - FEC-T x 3 and T Treatment x 3 then onto hormone therapy as I am Progesterone positive.
She is also going to look into the possibilty of genetics playing a part seeing as 3 generations of my family have suffered with cancer.
On the whole I have come away feeling very positive. Not looking forward to the side effects of treatments, if any, but I will take things one step at a time I guess.
Sorry to ramble but it feels good to off load.
Thanks, Anneliese