Improved
6112 HealthChanged
3786 LivesSaved
3568 Lives0 lives impacted in the last 24 hrs Learn More
I had double mastectomy Feb. 18, 2010, with expanders put in. But its been weeks with this buring feeling to the touch on breast. Now i only get it in the afternoons. And I have trouble with what i can wear. March 30, the dr. will start filling expanders with fluid and I am worried. Is this normal?
All user-generated information on this site is the opinion of its author only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions. Members and guests are responsible for their own posts and the potential consequences of those posts detailed in our Terms of Service.
Add a Comment12 Comments
Hi, Ssalazar,
Welcome to EmpowHer, and thanks so much for writing. I'm sorry you had a double mastectomy in February and have experienced so much pain, but I'm glad you're on the mend now.
Pain after mastectomy is very, very common. There is actually a name for it: Post-Mastectomy Pain Syndrome (PMP). The Journal of the National Cancer Institute describes it as "sharp stabs of pain superimposed on feelings of an aching, burning tightness" and says that it "can make an agony of the lightest touch or slightest movement." This sounds exactly like what you are writing about.
Some doctors have trouble believing this pain, the article says, because the incisions have healed and there is no recurrence of cancer. But based on a study at the University of California San Francisco, the lead author of the study believes that at least 20 percent -- 1 in 5 -- women suffer from this. And she believes that it is due to the surgical trauma to the intercostal brachial nerve, which cover the chest, the armpits and the upper arm.
Here is the journal article:
http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/90/10/731
Another doctor in the same article says it's very important to have physical therapy to help maintain mobility in the shoulder and upper arm. Have you had any difficulty with this?
That doctor is Richard Payne, M.D., a neurologist who has headed the pain management service at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for 6 years. He believes that because it is a nerve injury, a tricyclic antidepressant -- amitryptiline, for example -- may be indicated. The tricyclics are thought to help nerve pain. But if that doesn't help, he prescribes opoid pain medicine.
What's very important here is that YOUR doctor understands this pain, knows that it is real and helps with your pain management. Have you mentioned it to her or him? What was the response?
In terms of the expanders, it appears that the injection of fluid, if done slowly enough, should not be painful. One doctor calls it "very mild discomfort." Another says "may be uncomfortable but not painful." Another says that if the patient feels pain, the fluid injection needs to stop or some fluid needs to be taken out. Yet another doctor, however, says that some patients have little pain and others have a great deal. With the latter, he goes very slowly and removes fluid if he needs to.
You are right to be concerned since you are still having PMP at least part of each day (though that's a very good sign that you are healing). Please call your doctor now, explain that you are having this pain every day in the afternoon, and ask her or his opinion on whether the injection of fluid may make it worse. If you are still having to be very careful of what you wear, I know you don't want extra pressure on this area.
Will you do that? Call and ask? And will you come back and update us?
March 18, 2010 - 9:26amThis Comment
Diane, thank you for your respond. Sorry I hadn't reply i had computer problem. Your were right I had PMP. Doctor said some patients have nerve damage but didn't prescribe anything. I took advil and it finally went away. But now it's the pain with one breast when he injects the fluids it will last about 3 to 4 days. Since my muscle on my chest were so tight after surgery, he waited to inject me with fluids on my 6 weeks after surgery. I time the first time he injected he tried to double the amount, I had to make him stop. The pain was terrible. Two weeks later the same, but this time he remove some fluid, its been five days and I am uncomfort some time. Next week I go again and hope it's the last. And again it's the same breast I had pain problem since surgery that hurts so much. I am going to work part time because of the the discomfort. On the day I go to get injected I always take advil before appointment. Thank God I am alive but can't hardly with for a day of no pain and discomfort. Thanks again for your info
April 18, 2010 - 9:15pmThis Comment