Hypersensitive skin/nerves after mastectomy
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Hi, I had BMX May 2021 and I swear my chest and arm felt tight for at least 2.5 months if not more. to the point where I couldn't or didn't want to stand up straight. difficult to raise arm to shave. funny this stuff the Drs never mentioned. around Oct-ish 2021 I started experiencing frozen shoulder on my right side which is the problematic side of BC. I had 3 surgeries total: lumpectomy, lymph node, then BMX. no other treatments, drugs etc. I am under PT who specializes in breast area but she mostly works on my scar tissue. Lets see how long frozen shoulder will stick around. very unpleasant. good luck to anyone who's dealing with pain after surgery. Keep the faith.
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Hi Choco1818. So sorry to hear about your frozen shoulder and other recovery issues. It's terrible the things we have to endure after the nightmare of cancer treatment. Hope you feel better soon.
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Choco1818 keep at it with the PT work. They should also work on your shoulder along with any lymphatic massage or deep scar tissue relief you need. Sometimes I think if you experience the hypersensitivity you are at higher risk to have these other issues. I know my shoulder improved a lot once I had revision surgery to remove all the scar tissue. I struggled for about 2 years then had to just trust my PS that she could make this better and boy was she ever right. Shoulder still somewhat of an issue (my LPT believes in part because we bow inward protecting ourselves unconsciously) so have been working on releasing the shoulder with massage and acupuncture. It has helped tremendously. My best to you hope it begins to improve
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Rah - perfect!!! >>>because we bow inward protecting ourselves unconsciously<<<
I unconsciously straightened up my shoulders when I read this - before I even realized I was doing it. And I'm 7 years past the last treatment so really nothing to protect, but still I sit and walk "hunched". Urgh... I need to make sticky notes to post all over the house to continuously remind myself to throw my shoulders back.
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Y'all… I so appreciate those who have shared already in this thread.
This suuuuuuuuuuucks. I guess I should just be grateful it didn't start earlier, as I see it did for some of you. I am about two and a half years out from my reconstructive surgery, and just started having what seems to be nerve pain two weeks ago. Started out as a sore spot on the lateral side of my reconstructed breast, spread down to wrap around the bottom over the next 24 hours, then started radiating across it by the end of that weekend, and then started radiating through to my back/shoulder. It is a constant ache that feels like sunburn, plus lights up like fire if anything brushes the area. It hurts more when I get cold. And I live in New England. And temps have been in the single digits.
My medical oncologist did an MRI, which showed nothing, and while I am grateful that what I was imagining was not there, they didn't really have any further recommendations, so I have reached out to my surgical oncologist. But meanwhile, it hurts like the Dickens, and I am wondering how to handle this. Looking at what folks have said here, I guess I'll start by trying some arnica cream on there, since I already have some.
Thank you again to all previous posters!
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I’m almost 5 weeks out from surgery, and @ week 2 had developed some kind of weird “rash” on the front of my chest and under the “bumps”, & the scars are still terribly sensitive. I haven’t put anything on my skin (have been afraid to). I have fibromyalgia, had tried both Lyrica & Cymbalta but had adverse reactions to both. Plastic surgeon put me on low-dose gabapentin (it’s basically another version of Lyrica) to see if we can find a “sweet spot” where the nerve pain is lessened without activating the adverse reaction. So far, the gabapentin seems to be easing the stripe of agony along the underside of my arm, but chest is still so sensitive that any fabric moving across it feels like I’m being rubbed with sandpaper. More than happy to try lidocaine cream, Vagisil, or anything else that cam ease the discomfort, thank you so much for the suggestions.
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@brooklyngrrrl1828 - what helped me most was a pain specialist doctor prescribing a compounded ketamine ointment with lidocaine in it too. Lidocaine alone didn’t do it. Really suggest you pursue this if nothing else is working. Pain finally went away after a few months. Hope it leaves you sooner than that.
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Thank you! Seeing the plastic surgeon tomorrow, oncologist Friday, & I’ll ask them. I resorted to wearing an old padded bra because the molded cups didn’t touch the scars, but the underwire was seriously uncomfortable.
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Hi I’m new to the group. I had a bilateral mastectomy with full reconstruction. Has anyone had issues with at their drainage sites and parts of their body sticking together where they stitches and there was some type of surgical glue or tape? I’m prescribed gabapentinand it is not working. I’m unable to sleep at night shooting at times is unbearable. The only thing that has worked is eating an edible high in CBD. Any recommendations?
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Dear @c2024faithwalk - Welcome to the BCO community! We're sorry you haven't received any responses yet, but hopefully our post will bring attention to your question and others will respond soon.
It would be great if you could share more about your diagnosis and type of reconstruction to help others with similar experiences offer the best advice. You can also fill out your Profile with your diagnostic and treatment information.
In the meantime, here are some articles from our main site that might be helpful to you:
Hope this helps. Looking forward to hearing more from you soon!
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