Topic: SNB Recovery Questions

Finally something I might be able to help with!  When I went in for my lumpectomy and SNB, they didn't need the biopsy on the lymph nodes - the cancer was so obvious they removed 21 nodes with 19 being visually affected.  The recovery from that was not a problem.  There was some pain, the worse part being the feeling that the skin was stretched too tight.  I did the spider crawling up the wall numerous times a day and now have full mobility of my arm.  I am allowed to use deoderant now - but for a while I could not use anything.  I have been told that I cannot use antipersperant ever.  There is underarm numbness that will probably remain, and that took a little getting used to.  I had a drain for about a week, then that was removed.  All in all, it was not a bad experience.

My SNB recovery wasn't bad at all.  My arm was sore and I didn't do alot of heavy stuff with that arm for a few weeks.  My axillary lymph node dissection is another story.  I have experienced pain and soreness with it.  Most of my pain is in the back of my arm near my shoulder.  It is getting better, but it hasn't been easy.  I had a mastectomy, port in and lymph nodes out in one surgery, I also had major complications with that one. 

The lumpectomy and SNB weren't bad, I was actually feeling good after about 5 days.  He gave me Ambien and we finally figured out it made me groggy, I would have felt much better without it.

Nancy

I had my SNB at the same time as my mastectomy.  Most of my arm movement restrictions for the few first weeks were because of the mastectomy - not wanting to stress the incision - and not the SNB however I wouldn't recommend any heavy lifting or reaching for a few weeks after an SNB.  Normal stuff should be fine.

I found the SNB recovery to be more painful and longer than the mastectomy recovery.  My underarm area was very sore for at least a couple of weeks, and my underarm and arm were numb down to my elbow and sometimes had a pins & needles feeling, for about 4 months.  Over the first couple of months, I occasionally had these very sharp, burning pains that shot through my arm with no notice.  I'd be sitting there, move my arm, and wham! the pain would run from my underarm down my arm.  The pain was very strong but only lasted a couple of seconds.  From what I've heard, this is pretty common; it's from nerve regeneration.  After about 4 months, my arm felt fine but my underarm remained a bit numb for another couple of months. I bought an electric razor since I didn't want to risk cutting myself with a normal blade.  I was never given any restriction about antiperspirant.

All that might sound quite bad, but really, I didn't find it to be much of a problem.  A bit of an inconvenience, but that was it.

An SNB is a Sentinel Node Biopsy.  It's a way to check the lymph nodes without removing as many nodes.  Usually only 1 - 3 nodes are removed in an SNB.  If you have any invasive component to your breast cancer, a check of they lymph nodes is necessary to ensure that the breast cancer hasn't started to move beyond the breast. 

Do you have a lot of non-invasive breast cancer, known as Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS), along with your invasive cancer?  While a mastectomy is an option for anyone diagnosed with BC and many women prefer to have a mastectomy, usually doctors don't recommend a mastectomy unless there is a large area of breast cancer in the breast, or if there are two areas of cancer that require a large amount of breast tissue to be removed.   Your family doctor is not the expert on this.  You need to talk have that discussion with the breast surgeon.  He or she will be able to tell you what all of your surgical options are.  It could be that a lumpectomy (probably followed by radiation treatment) is possible for you, which would allow you to keep your breast.  You might still prefer to have a mastectomy, but it's important that you have an expert explain your choices, and then it's your decision as to what to do.

I got through the SNB injection by focusing at a spot on the ceiling and saying to myself, I can get through this and doing deep steady breathing. Oh I also said a few 'oh s**t". The discomfort did not last long, mabey 5-10 minutes. Of course Doctor said he had good news/bad news - I had to have the injections on both sides.

Sheila

Hello,Determined1 I went today for the SNB mapping, and I must say it was not nearly as bad as I had imagined it would be.There are needles but they were very thin, only four enjections very quick. The techs were great you even get a little massage(a little odd). You wait and let the dye drain into the nodes. Than there was a scan to get a view of the node,X marks the spot and you are done !!  I must addmit that I had an Ativan and a Vicodin before hand,But you gotta do what ya gotta do .On to surgery tomorrow.

Wish me luck and I will keep you posted.                                  

Well I"m back  and I am feeling more like myself than I have in quite awhile.The morning of my surg. I had my wire inserted, that was very much like the stereotactic biopsy.I took an ativan which helped , but it was still pretty much an unpleasant experience.I have a hard time  in situations where I am confined (claustrophobia!)It went pretty fast one needle  stick and a little pressure and in goes the wire and the dye, than I had an x-ray to make sure everything was in place. Than on to the hospital where everything seemed to go right on time.All I can say is thank goodness for anesthesia!Dr. said, all went just as he expected ,we will wait (yet again with the waiting!!)for the results of the path. report. In the mean time ,I took it very easy 1st day felt tierd and sore. Better today,wonder how long I"ll be peeing blue dye?And by the way can anyone out there tell me how to

remove the surg. tape without also removing my skin!?

         Thanks, Terry
 

I hear you, Clessie.  My surgery was yesterday.  Definitely not the most fun I've ever had.  The injections for the nuclear stuff in my nipple went better than I'd imagined.  I listened to my music and tried to get as far away as possible.  The injections themselves felt like bad bee stings, but a few seconds after he was done I thought my boob was on fire!  The nurse gave me some gauze to put over my breast and told me to mush it around (medical term, I guess) to help spread the stuff in.  It only lasted a few minutes, but it hurt (partially because I didn't expect it.).

Then waited for 4 hours for MRI.  That was a snap for me (not the wait--it was boring, the MRI was a snap).

THEN the needle with the wire.  If I NEVER do that again, it will be too soon.  Even though I had Ativan, I couldn't control my fear.  Of course, you can't move, so I just had tears streaming down my face the whole time.  I was face down with my boob hanging below me.  They put two plastic things with grids drawn on them and tiny holes in it on either side of my boob.  After several MRI pix, they began inserting the needles.  I had one nurse holding my hand and another laid on top of me to keep me from moving as I was having a hard time not shaking/kicking my legs (yes, I'm a pansy, but we all have our thing).  After needles went in, more MRI pix, then the wires (did not feel those go in at all).  Then the needles came out and I was able to get up.  When I did, my tears had caused my nose to fill and drip onto the table, so I had this very lady-like string of snot connecting me to the table.  They assured me it happened all the time and that they'd clean it up, but of course, all I could think about was "whose snot had been there before I was sticking my face in it???!!  I came out of that and when my husband saw me he said that must've been rough for me--well, at least he's perceptive.

Then off to surgery, which was a snap once they put me out.  Only problem was, I was SOOO out of it even when I came to that I have very little recall of what they were saying.  My husband tells me that I have no lymph node involvement (YAY), they ended up removing two tumors(!), but they won't know about clean margins till the path report comes in.  Fingers are crossed.

Today I feel as though I've been beaten with a baseball bat on the chest, but I'm using a lot of ice.  So far, no painkillers since 2:30 this am (it's 10:30am to me now), so the pain is not horrible.  Just achy and bruised feeling.  After posting, it's back to the sofa to assume the position with ice--ummmm.

Thanks to everyone here for your support.  It means more than you'll ever know (although with this group, I think everyone knows EXACTLY how I feel).

Note to Clessie, if you're only having surgery on one side (I'm sorry, I can't remember), you will still have one good arm to help your spouse.  You won't be able to do much heavy lifting, so you'll be smart to line someone up to help you.  Hopefully, you'll have a similar experience to mine so you won't be totally out of it and helpless.  I've already made my bed and done a load of laundry (although VERY slowly).  The beat really does go on!  I'll think of you.

D1

Thanks Determined, the procedure you have been through is exactly what I will be doing next Mon., its on my left side only and was told yesterday I may have 2 drainage bags but with my stay overnite they could possibly be removed before I leave the hospital, I am staying overnite.

How long did the localization and sentinal injection take for you?

They had said plan on an hour and half, which I hope it doesn`t take that long, and I`m so dreading that procedure, but you have helped with your account of it, also did you have the drainage bags?

I`m so worried as I have had problems with my heart and my mother when she had her last mastectomy coded on the table, so that is a worry in the back of my mind.

At least by this time next week it will be all over with and the healing begins.

Just as Sheila said, Clessie, the SNB injection takes no time at all.  I think I was in that room for 5 minutes, tops.  The hard part is that you have to wait (my wait was 4 hours, looks like Sheila waited for 2+), for the dye to get to your lymph nodes before they stick you in the scanner.  I didn't go into an MRI machine per se, I used the same machine they did a bone scan on me a couple of weeks ago.  When my scan was done, they showed me the picture of how my nodes were lit up with the dye.  You could also see the three sites where they'd injected the dye--in fact, they were lit even brighter than the nodes.  The tech actually put a lead shield over my nipple to take one of the scans so the nodes would be brighter.  Reminded me of how it's sometimes hard to see the stars when you're in the city cause of the city lights.  Scans took about 30 minutes.

If you're also having the needle localizations, that takes a bit longer.  I think I was just over an hour in that.  When they first laid me face down on the table with my boob hanging down, they couldn't get a good scan.  Guess my boob is too small.  Anyway, I suggested that it would be okay to take the 1 inch padding off the contraption holding my boob as long as they put a piece of cloth over the hard plastic to keep me from getting cold.  This did the trick.  Just getting me into position took about 20 minutes.  They did a scan for about 15 minutes, then stuck the needles in for 2 hours (naw, it was maybe 5 minutes!  Just pulling your leg.), then took about 5 minutes more of scan, then put wires in and pulled needles out for 5-10 minutes, then 10 minutes of scans, then a wait while they checked to make sure they had what they needed.

After that, I was scooted off to surgery as I was behind schedule and everyone was waiting for me.  (I'm just that popular!)

My surgery lasted about an hour and a half--maybe a little more.  I do not have drainage bulbs-my doc said I would only get that accoutrement if I had my anxially nodes removed as well.  Since there was no cancer in the sentinal nodes, they did not remove my anxially nodes.

I went to the hospital yesterday at 7:30a and my first procedure (the dye injections) was at 8:30.  I went home at 8p.  Long day for my spousal unit!  But I did sleep in my own bed.  Slept like a log, too, Percocet is wonderful.

I will say that I'm developing some NASTY bruises as the day goes on.  Can't wait until Thursday, when I take my ace cummerbund off and get a good look at the bruises, incisions, and what I have left (or maybe I can...).

Given the situation with your husband, you'll be better to stay overnight in the hospital.  It will give you a chance to build up your strength.

I will say, the last week before my surgery was the pits, so I completely understand where you are now.  Keep yourself occupied as best you can.  And try to do something for yourself--take a long bubble bath, if you're in to that, as they won't let you bathe for a while after surgery!

I'll try to check in here periodically this week to see how you're doing and to let you know what's up with me so you know what to expect--sorta, as we're all different.

D1

I can really empathise with you D1, regarding the wire localisation. Most women here seem to have been not terribly bothered by it but I found it quite traumatic. I am usuall ok with needles  but I found this procedure the worst of all. I had to sit up for an hour in an uncomfortable position, staying really still while they used mammography to locate the DCIS in my left breast. By the time they inserted the 2 wires, I was tired and cramped. When my breast was finally released from the mammo machine, impaled with 2 long wires, I felt bruised and battered. I took deep breaths as I tried not to lose control but then I started to shake with the shock of it. The doctor and technician were so kind and soothing that I started to cry. They told me that I had gone very white towards the end of the procedure. Loved your description of the stream of snot! ROFL!

About 3 weeks later I had a mastectomy. The SNB radioactive stuff was injected at about 2pm. The actual needles were very fine and hardly hurt at all. Then, a quick massage to get the rads moving and I went into the next room to lie under the big camera. And lay and sat and lay some more, over and over again....and absolutely nothing happened! For 3 hours I changed positions, had my breast massaged but the rad liquid refused to flow up to the lymph nodes under my arm. It just sat in a little pool around my lumpectectomy scar and they eventually gave up and sent me home. My mastectomy & SNB were early the next morning and I was told that the surgeon would have to rely on the blue dye injection to locate my sentinel nodes.

After all that, there is some doubt over whether the 2 nodes my surgeon removed were actually the sentinel nodes but they were clear and I'm not losing any sleep over it now.

BTW, I didn't have blue pee after the SNB.

Hope your pathology comes back with good results. And Clessie, I will be thinking of you on Monday - good luck and hugs. 

gb 

Hey Gang,

Today was a little rougher, but not the end of the world.  I still feel bruised and sore, but did not take any painkillers (my family is all mad at me cause they seem to think I'd be better off drugged).  I didn't do much.  It was slow today, lots of TV (no wonder I don't usually watch during the day).  Straightened up a little with my good arm, but had to take a nap.  Good news is that I get a shower tomorrow!!!  YAY!  I may also hear from my doc about my path report tomorrow, but I might have to wait one more day.  To say I'm anxious would be an understatement.  I'm gonna take my Percocet now (I do take the drugs at night).  I'm ready for bed.  Sorry not much of excitement to report--just another day on the road to recovery...

I'll let you all know how great the shower is tomorrow--I sure couldn't smell any worse than I do now!

Till then,

D1

D1, I told the surgeon at my first follow-up visit after my lumpectomy that the worst part of the whole thing was that I couldn't shower for three days.  I felt so GROSS!  I can't tell you how good the shower felt--even though the water hitting my incisions was (and still is) a little painful.  I'm glad to hear that you're still doing well, even though you were a little more uncomfortable today.  Have you had to wear your arm in a sling at all?  My surgeon made me wear one on the bad side to remind me not to use my arm.  It was a pain in the rear, but it did the trick.  I probably would have tried to do things I shouldn't have been doing if I hadn't had it.

Susan, good luck with your procedures.  Keep in touch and let us know how things go.

Hugs,

Karen

Hi Clessie.  I had to wear the sling on my arm for three days.  He wanted me to use it as little as possible.  After those first three days, I was allowed to take the sling off, and the only restriction was that I couldn't lift more than five pounds for four weeks.  That's been a tough one to follow and I know I've lifted more than that (shhhhhh.....don't tell).  You can definitely tell when you've done too much with the arm because the incisions--especially the SNB one for me--will ache.  Don't worry too much.  You'll be back to your normal activities in no time.  I only felt "incapacitated" for the first three days after surgery.

Hang in there!  It won't be nearly as bad as you're probably expecting.

Hugs,

Karen

I have been wondering where you been D1, sorry your reports weren`t better but I think after going thru the surgery we are just stronge enough to accept these reports and do what it takes to get well.

Mt anxiety is up sky high and so has my B/P but even than there is still a peace, hard to believe isn`t it.

I do have help coming for the first 4 days including my day of surgery so hoping by Fri. I will be feeling almost normal.

I have very long hair so today went and got a french braid, thought that would be good to have all that hair out of the way, I know how knotted hair can get when just laying in bed.

The hospital called me for a history yesterday and I was told I`d be on a pump for pain, so I`m relieved that I will have a button to push for pain instead of waiting the hour you usually have to wait in a hospital for pain meds.

I will let you know how it went on Tues. maybe when I get home, Wed. at the latest, gonna take advantage of the help and lay around for 4 days.