I jus.t had a reconstruction taken from my back. My arm movements are ok but my back is almost completely numb and uncomfortable. I saw someone called it like having a iron bra several sizes to small and thats how it feels. I have had to go everyother day to hospital for a change of dressings and have had fluid drawn of my back which has filled up again and again i'm going to have that done, underarm feels heavy and uncomfortable. I 've asked how long this feeling will last but the nurses just look at me as if i am mad......anyone got any ansers for me its nearly three weeks since my op
Be so grateful for so advise
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geysermom Joined: Jan 2009 Posts: 81 |
Nov 4, 2009 04:29 pm, edited Nov 4, 2009 04:30 PM
by geysermom
geysermom wrote:
I am an RN and have also had bilateral mastectomies with implant reconstruction. The numbness will take quite a while to resolve (months). The numb area will gradually get smaller and smaller as you recover and one day, before you know it, most of the sensation will be back. The amount of time this takes is variable from person to person but with the seroma (fluid buildup) you've experienced you may be on the slower side for the numbness to resolve. The underarm areas will take weeks to possibly months to feel less heavy. As the swelling decreases you will notice the heaviness and discomfort will improve. When you are able to do this (have enough range of motion), put your arm up on the shower head during a shower and let warm water flow over your underarm (be careful the water isn't too hot... because of the numbness you need to be careful about burns). I read this recommendation on this site and it really helped me a lot. I used to take an extra shower just before bed because doing this made me much more comfortable for getting to sleep. I know when you are recovering it seems like nothing is improving or like it's taking forever to improve. Try to keep track of the small improvements. My husband usually noticed them before I did. I would get so frustrated and impatient about my recovery and he would say, "but today you were able to do X that you haven't been able to do since surgery". When you are so focused on the discomfort and pain and everything you can't do it's easy to overlook the things you can do again. HUGS!!! Julie Bilateral Prophylactic Mastectomies for Diffuse ADH
Diagnosis: 12/2007, Stage 0 |
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2Xsenough Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 144 |
Nov 5, 2009 02:03 pm
2Xsenough wrote:
I second Julie's advice on the shower. I've been doing that ever since my surgery and follow the shower with the stretching exercises my doctor gave me. I had seroma's also on my old radiated side and my doc said to wear my compression bandage till they were all gone. Sometimes I wore a sports bra. That took about two months for me; I still had one drain at seven weeks because it wouldn't stop putting out fluid. He wanted my drainage to be under 20cc a day, and I still had seromas. I'm now three months post op and feeling great, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Good healing vibes go out to you, Bobbi |
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