Mar 5, 2008 10:40PM otter wrote:
gandl,
I saw your post so I thought I'd respond. I am in a different situation, since I had IDC (not ILC), I had only a left-side mastectomy, and I didn't have recon. Is that TOO different?
Anyway, my mast/SNB was Feb. 5 (just about 4 wks ago). I had one drain at my mast site and another in my armpit at the SNB site. The mast drain was pulled after 7 days and the armpit drain after 10 days, when they were producing less than 30 ml 2 days in a row. Even after they were pulled, I continued to produce fluid, which accumulated in a couple of places and had to be aspirated by my surgeon.
Did you talk to your surgeon about the seromas? If they're very small, he/she might want to leave them alone to resorb by themselves. My surgeon thought mine would go away on its own, but she decided to drain it so it would quit hurting. Infection is a possibility once a needle is stuck in there, but if the surgeon does a surgical scrub at the site, the risk is small.
As for the muscle spasms and pins-and-needles "shocks", I know exactly what you mean. The muscle(s) over my chest would get very tight, often just after I had done some stretching exercises. It even hurts when I shiver, because my chest muscles tense up under the skin. I'll bet yours hurt even worse because they're stretched over your expanders. Do they give you any muscle relaxants when you have implants/expanders? Seems like that would be a good idea.
My skin over my chest, mast site, and armpit is completely numb, but the muscle underneath it is not. The muscle can "feel" almost any pressure at all--even just the pressure from clothing or buttons, and it hurts!
The good news is that this eventually goes away. It just takes awhile. Mine gets better every day, as long as I keep doing my exercises and stay active.
I wish you the best, and I hope you recover quickly. I'm sorry you are so uncomfortable. It will get better, though! Someone will write soon who has more relevant experience.
otter