Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Blair, I was given Dramamine for nausea just prior to surgery. Did the trick for me (or else I didn't need it in the first place). But I figured whatever they offered I'd take, including a Valium. I don't remember what was prescribed for me. Likely it was Tylenol 3 but I don't know.
HUGS!
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Oh yeah - I had to also pay a whopping $75 for this one pill called Aprepitant. It was taken just before the surgery. What a rip off! All the drug stores were out of the generic - even that would have been expensive. The stupid thing was, I took it in mid morning as instructed and wasn’t operated on until that night. It probably had worn off by then - at least it wore out my wallet really good
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Horror story. I had lumpectomy followed by post-op bleed into lumpectomy site. Boob blew up like a balloon, all the internal sutures tore out. They put me under again, cut me open again, cauterized everything, re-stitched everything and then gave me Tylenol. Not even Tylenol 3. Just plain, stupid, utterly useless Tylenol.
I have said on other threads that I had excellent medical care and I believe I did. But somebody really dropped the ball badly on pain management. I have NEVER been in that much pain in my life. And when I think back now it makes me very, very angry. I laid in bed crying and almost gagging from pain. Two days later it was even worse and I ended up in the emergency room. I was black and blue across my ribs, stomach and down to my pubic bone. I get angry just writing this post.
You might not need pain meds. I didn't for my surgical biopsy. But it was a different story with my lumpectomy. Just make sure that you have this completely and clearly worked out with your surgeon BEFORE they roll you into the room. I do not mean to scare you. Most people do not have the miserable time I did. But I tell you, it scarred me for life. If I ever go into the hospital again for anything, I'm taking my own pain meds in with me in my purse! Forget hoping someone inside is going to help me, because they sure didn't. We have some stuff we give the horses that will knock the pain out of you, and all of your memory, for about 4 days straight! That's what I am going to have in my purse if there is ever a next time! Good luck to you - speak up for yourself. But you will most likely be fine.
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My BS' NP said I would probably get a prescription for painkillers but that I shouldn't get it filled unless I absolutely needed it, on the way home from the hospital--because of all the procedural hoo-hah about having to return unused opioids to the pharmacy for secure disposal. When I came to in the recovery room, they injected a bolus of Fentanyl into my I.V. and then gave me a couple of regular (not extra-strength) Tylenol before discharge. I started to ask about a prescription, and the nurse said I probably wouldn't need it but before I could reply, Bob said he had a few Norco left over from his abdominal surgical adventures over the summer. Turns out I didn't need them. But if Bob hadn't mentioned his post-op stash, I'd have insisted on at least a few days' prescription.
Around here, pain management post-op is taken seriously. (For non-surgical pain, not so much). Just read today about FDA approval for a new medication--a combo of 325 mg. acetaminophen with a "precursor" of hydrocodone, for short term (<14 days) treatment of pain not manageable by non-narcotic meds. The idea is that the "precursor" is inert until it is ingested--when it hits the digestive tract it is broken down by stomach acid into hydrocodone and relieves the pain with a very minimal amt. of euphoria. The "precursor" drug dosage per-pill is half that of the usual dose of hydrocodone; if crushed and snorted (or even injected), there would be no high because it remains inert without contact with stomach acid--thus little abuse potential. I forget the name--the blurb just came out in MPR today. Not sure when it's coming to market.
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I went for a second opinion right after I was diagnosed. I gave it much thought and did much research on the net before deciding I wanted a breast specialist surgeon rather then the general surge my local clinic set me up with. One of the reasons was because I was guessing, and correctly I think, that he'd be more empathetic to the pain of breast surgeries.
I had my Lumpectomy yesterday morning and was given crackers and a Percocet right after waking up, and set home with a 7 day prescription of Hydroco/apap 7.5. I was going to try not to take it but that resolve went out the window as soon as the Percocet wore off. I hurt pretty bad, expecially under the armpit (the sentinel node was down further and to the left, but the armpit was burning. I felt like It was on fire ... even one Hydro didn't ease the pain so I called the Dr office to see if was normal to hurt this bad. I got the best instructions from the nurse there... she told me to take another Hydro! I did and worked like a charm! So I took two hydro's before bed and slept well.
Today I've been able to go longer without pain meds and I'm taking 1.5. Hopefully tomorrow I'll need only 1 hydro and by Monday I'm hoping I can put the rest of the bottle away for a rainy day.
All is well, love that I still have a nice left breast. I feel very comfortable that I made the right choice. Yes, it is good advice to ask for the pain meds ahead of time. I did at my first meeting with my kind empathetic Doctor and he assured me that he'd have no problem giving me anything I needed to keep me out of pain. It was awesome, the nurses were awesome, the surgery went well... I'm so grateful to have found him and he'll be getting 5 stars from me on Google for sure.
Now I'm just waiting for Pathology to come back and, hopefully, it will be onto Brachytherapy and from there to WELLNESS!0 -
Dustien,
Glad your lumpectomy surgery went well, and your pain is in control. Sounds like you have a great surgeon. I was given Fentanyl IV and Toradol before I woke up along with phenergen for nausea. Although, I still woke up with nausea and dizziness I wasn't in pain. I never took anymore pain meds after leaving the hospital even was discharged with norco. I hope your arm pain decreases. I still feel nerve pain in my arm pit but not enough to take pain meds.
I'm guessing that not too much tissue was taken out since my tumor was 8 mm so it's healing quite quickly. After a week I felt pretty good. I hope your pathology comes back ok. It's hard waiting for that.
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Good for you, Dustie! You are being a great advocate for your health & well-being--from second opinion to choosing a breast specialist rather than general (i.e., mostly abdominal/digestive) surgeon to insisting on adequate pain control. Hoping all is well--node-negative, clear margins, uneventful brachytherapy. Unless something changes drastically from biopsy path to surgical path, OncotypeDX might not even be appropriate because you would not be a chemo candidate, due to such a favorable size, grade, and tumor biology. So you might well be into endocrine therapy by the time the trees are green. (They usually recommend a healing period of anywhere from 4-6 wks post-op before starting adjuvant treatment--in your case, brachytherapy).
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Astyanax - my surgeon also sent me home with a prescription for pain meds (hydrocodone) as well as one for a stool softener. Be sure to take both together or you’ll be in a world of hurt! I only took two pain pills as my pain was very tolerable. Best of luck to you - keep us posted on how you’re doing!
MJ
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Veeder...it sounds like we are pretty close together on this one. My tumor was 7mm and the incision for it isn't all that large. It's in a V shape right under my breast (at 6:00) and is about 1.5" on each side of the V. The scar will never show unless someone lifts my breasts to look or unless I were to have a breast lift (very unlikely prospect of that though). Doc set me up with a followup on Wednesday so I'm guessing he's expecting the pathology to be done by then. Have your pathology reports come in?
ChiSandy... I do hope you are right about Chemo and that I won't need it. I feel so fortunate compared to so many in here. Thus far my experience has been about as positive as one can expect this to go and I hope it continues so. Hopefully I will get the radiation 4 weeks out rather then 6 weeks. April is my favorite month and I want to be free to hunt morel mushrooms and driftwood along the creeks and lakes of our beloved Ozark hills. I'm guessing this is going to be a very special spring because of all this and I don't want to miss a minute of it!
Edit.. Surgery Pathology cam back that the tumor was 1.3cm.... rather then the 7cm they first thought it was via the MRI...quite a bit larger. But still Class 1 - Stage 1A with no lymph node involvement. Been on pain meds..a lot the first two days and now 1/2 twice a day does it (one week later). Most pain is just an "ache" under the armpit and near the nipple where they did the nuclear needle thingy...bruise there too.
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I'm glad you are doing so well Dustie. Best wishes that the good news continues for you.
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Hi Dustein,
I got my Pathology report~the tumor was 8 mm instead of 5 mm like originally thought at 4:00, ILC, Stage 1, Grade 1, pT1b, positive for DCIS at posterior margin, 0/7 nodes. My scar is kind of a curved half circle. I'm not really worried about how it looks but it does feel lumpy, scar tissue I guess.
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Veeder, does that mean that you do not have a clean margin
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No, it means the outside margins are clean. There's an area inside of the cancer area where the two different types of cancer meet and there's an inside margin. I had to get clarification from the surgeon because the Nurse Practioner called me before my appointment and told me incorrect information, stating that I had to have a revision to get clear margins. She didn't understand the results of the test. The report never said I needed more surgery. I spent one whole night worrying about this stuff.
For future advice, always get a copy of your pathology report, don't have staff summarize it. I did ask for a copy and the Nurse Practioner refused. The surgeon gave it to me.
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Hi, everyone. Thanks for sharing so much info and personal experiences in this thread.
I'm going to have a lumpectomy on Monday, 3/5. Two weeks later the plastic surgeon will do a bi-lateral reduction (if margins are clear.) I had been riding the high after finishing neo-adjuvant chemo and my surgeon scheduled the procedure sooner than expected. Now I feel like I've been caught a little flat-footed and am rushing to prepare.
One question I have right away is about the pre-op Radioactive Seed Localization procedure that's done in place of wire insertion to mark tumor location since it isn't palpable. I've read some horror stories about how much the wire insertion hurts. Has anyone had the radioactive seeds instead? Is it just as painful?
I'm sure I'll be back with other specific questions. I'm just approaching panic mode now :-)
THANK YOU!!
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Hi AgathaNYC,
I had the wire localization. The doctor used a novacaine type numbing but didn't do a great job. I could feel too much of what was going on. Make sure your doctor gives you enough numbing medicine. When I had my biopsy that doctor really numbed up the area and I couldn't feel a thing.
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I too had wire localisation. Numb and never felt a thing. But they had me sitting in a dentist type chair, and took multiple mammogram pictures for correct placement. By the end, with being nervous, I was sweating and told them if it wasn't done soon, I might pass out. They finished, I was fine. I hope you will be too. Hugs!
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I also had a wire locator. I had had one about 10-12 years prior and vowed I would never ever have another it was so awful. However THIS time, they shot me up with lidocaine and it was very tolerable. No fun, of course, but doable. I also had been given a valium. Then shortly before surgery I was a given a Dramamine for nausea (worked like a charm or I didn't need it in the first place). The radiologist who discovered my BC had implanted a titanium chip when she did the core needle biopsy. It did not wipe out the need for the wire locator. My BS injected lidocaine again before injecting the dye used to find my lymph nodes and it was fine. Everything is so scary. Keep reminding yourself that it is doable. You'll be fine!
HUGS!
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I had the seed placement followed by a mammogram to make sure it was in the correct place. The site was numbed up well and didn’t hurt but there was a lot of pressure as they place the seed. I faint even when getting injections etc. and almost did it for this procedure but managed not to.
Good luck. It wasn’t as bad as I expected
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AgathaNYC, I had my lumpectomy on 1/4/18. I had the wire insertion and the radioactive injection. The wire was the guide for my surgeon to get to my tumor and the injection of the radioactive dye led my surgeon to the first lymph node (sentinel) dow from the tumor.
I was not given anything for my anxiety (Xanax or Valium). I knew the pre-op was going to be painful but due to some miscommunication at my doctor's office nothing was given to me. The radiologist supposedly gave an injection of lidocaine to my left breast but then instantly began the wire insertion. He did not give the lidocaine time to numb me. Yes, it was painful.
Then the same radiologist prepared to give me the nuclear dye injection. I knew that it was going to be excruciatingly painful. After all, he is injecting it in my nipple. The first injection I believe now was lidocaine. He still did not give it time to numb the area. He went forward with the second injection. It was the most pain I have ever felt in my life. I just had a BMX with DIEP Flap reconstruction last Thursday. I would do that any day of the week rather than go through pre-op for a lumpectomy.
I might have tolerated it better if I had Valium or Xanax. I was so angry to be put through so much pain. There are a lot of reasons why that happened to me and I have since addressed them with my surgeon and breast cancer navigator. I do intend to address the protocol with the hospital when I have healed abit more.
I don't want to scare you but I also can't stay quiet. The reason I was not under sedation is because both radiology labs are on a different floor. In one lab I had to sit up for the diagnostic mammogram. My breast stayed squashed in the mammogram during the wire insertion. After that I was wheeled into the nuclear radiology lab. After the injections I was rolled into a gamma ray machine. Then I was taken up to the surgical floor. I have surveyed my friends and acquaintances who had the procedure, and 100% said that is was awful. Something needs to be done.
I am grateful for technology that guides our surgeons to the specific location of the tumor which in turn helps us to be cancer free. I just think that we could be better cared for and not be subjected to so much pain
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Hi agatha- I had a reflector placed at my tumor site instead of a wire. The surgeon was able to use this wand like thing with radar to located it the location for my lumpectomy. My tumor bed was close to the surface of my skin and it was slightly palpable. It was more uncomfortable than painful. They gave me shots of lidocaine before the procedure, so I mostly just felt pressure instead of pain. It was placed 13 days before my surgery. Also for the dye, I asked my surgeon if they could do that while I was under anesthesia and they did.
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AgathaNYC:
My surgeon never told me that I would have the wire procedure and than I see it was on my appointment schedule prior to surgery. I questioned the doctor and she said yes, it’s required. I told her that she never spoke to me about that. She said she did. I told her no, I would remember that. She then asked if I found my own tumor and I said yes. She then said it wasn’t necessary. I also questioned her about her statement that I was stage 1 but that didn’t seem right because of the estimated size of 2 cm. She said of course everyone wants to be a stage 1 but that I was a stage 2. That made me quite mad because I had told my parents and daughter that I was stage 1 and that’s quite a bit of difference. Oh well. The nuclear injection was scary but was just very uncomfortable, not a severe pain. No lidocaine was provided. I would imagine at 6 cm that perhaps they wouldn’t need to do the wire, I would ask them. My tumor was 3cm. Good luck with your procedure, it is very doable, not too much pain relatively for the entire procedure.
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I had the wire guide while boob was squished in mamm machine. My anxiety was way worse than the actual procedure. The doc froze me slowly, a bit at a time and kept asking me how I was doing. Overall I was surprised that it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. The dentist has done way worse!
The radioactive injections, three of them into the nipple, no freezing or numbing cream. Just boink, stab, done. Again, it pinched a little, no biggy. I was surprised. Had read about other people using numbing cream. I was offered none and used none and I am the biggest wimp, but I was okay.
I had to psych myself up for it before hand. Like a fighter going into the ring. Instead of telling myself it wouldn't be bad, I told myself yup, this is going to suck, this day is going to blow, this may indeed hurt like hell, but it's not going to kill me. I've had a baby. I can do this! I was braced to just tough it out but was very surprised at how smoothly it all went. Hugs to you.
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Radioactive injections I had the day before surgery. I was thinking big pain, but its fast and not lasting. Over and done, I had two shots. Relief once you realize its done. They let me go home afterwards for 2- 3 hours, then back for the scan. They used Sharpe marker to circle the areas that light up under my arm, in armpit. Scary... But I ended up with 5 nodes removed, all benign!
You can do it!
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Thanks for everyone's answers. I think I'll call the surgeon's nurse in the morning and ask her to walk me through pain management for these pre-op procedures. Mammograms are exceedingly painful for me. I have a horror of thinking they leave me compressed in the plates for 30 minutes while they insert the seeds with a needle. Doable if I get a lidocaine shot. I'll pass out if I have to do it without any numbing.
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I'm with 'ya, Agatha, on the lidocaine. I know what you mean. I had the lumpectomy (no wire stuff, put out with local) and then did the radiation. But I swear the biopsy was THE WORST part of this whole ordeal. Without the lidocaine, it wouldn't have been bearable, and it still was almost not bearable. In fact, after they gave me about four doses, I could still feel it, and the person doing the biopsy turned to the nurse and said, "Do we have more of this?" (Thankfully, they did!)
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Veeder and Dustien, good, great diagnoses!
Dustien, the Ozarks, huh? Ah....our beautiful region. Missouri or Arkansas? I'm in MO, not in the Ozarks. Northern MO, Pike County, but familiar with all of our state and some of AR.
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Hello ladies. This site is so wonderful. Thank you all for sharing. I was diagnosed with DCIS last month and I am awaiting a surgery date (hopefully they will call this week). I'm having a lumpectomy and oncoplastic reduction followed by radiation. I'm very happy with my team thus far - I hope and pray it stays that way!!!
My question is this -- it was recommended to me to buy a "sports bra" for after surgery. My BS said just go to WalMart and buy a couple of cheap ones. Also suggested the ones that zip or velcro in the front. Any suggestions or tips?
Blessing to all as we walk this journey together.
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I have big boobs and the weight of them pulling on stitches after lumpectomy was agony. I had what's called a night bra, that nursing mothers sometimes wear at night for extra support. Not much support, but just enough. It closed in the front with hooks. Soft and flexible. It saved the day. It was much less sturdy than a sports bra. You don't want anything you have to pull over your head cause you might have trouble getting your arm up. Better to have something that can slip on one arm at a time.
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Yeah, me too. Not a sports bra. And I'll say that I went with even less support when I first came home. I went with cheap really, really soft Walmart 100% cotton bras with hooks that hooked in front, not over the head, put on one arm at a time. I still wear them with T-shirts when I work at home in my home office (which is a LOT of the time...)
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Mo-Beth... Arkansas Ozarks, though the Missouri portion of the Ozarks is equally as beautiful.
I'm nowt 4 days post surgery. Day before surgery I had the nuclear dye injection... was told it was going to hurt and I said...well, surely there's a dance or something we can do to help it not hurt so much. The nurse laughed and then said that she just remembers something...that awhile back a gal had asked her to rub her ear lobe while the Dr. was giving the injection. At first she thought she was kidding but the gal explained that she worked as a vet tech that's what they would do to the pets, rub their ears, and it seemed help...so the nurse rubbed the woman's ear lobe between her fingers during the procedure and it seemed to help. She said she did it quite a lot after that, but then got out of the habit and hadn't done it for a long time. So I figured, what did we have to lose and asked her to please do it for me and she did and IT REALLY HELPED! There wasn't much pain at all...maybe only the last 10 seconds felt like a serious bee sting, but then all over. I was totally pleased!
About the wires...I didn't have to have any of that. They called to make sure but Doc said he could see my cancer just fine on the sonogram and would just use that way to find it during surgery, thank goodness!
My follow-up appointment is Wednesday with the Doctor and that's when we'll be going over my Pathology report. Veeder, yours sounds very promising! Hope mine will be too.
Pain has been manageable. Still have most of my pain meds left...I was given 30 Hydroco/ATAP 7.5. For the last two days, I've been cutting them in half and taking a half about ever 6 hours.
CLOTHING TIP.... I went to our local thrift and bought 4 of those really soft fleece throws. I folded them in half and then cut out a small half moon hole and put a 2" slit on either side for my head to fit through. They go over my head like a poncho and are extreamly comfortable. I can put them on and take them off with one hand! I wear my sweat paints with them..even color cooridinated them. I wear one every day. I even wore one home from surgery and am going to wear one to my Doc's office. I feel better in them...not like I'm in my PJ's but like I've actually gotten dressed.
I've not been moving around a lot, and I'm not very large, so I've not worried about putting anything on my chest. The first couple days I did use the super long ace bandage they gave me when I had the biopsy, only not as tight as they made it, of course...but I've not worn anything under the "ponchos" for the last couple of days.0
