post op numbness

lbgal · March 2001

Hey everyone. I had my lumpectomy on Thursday. The margins were clean and I'll results tommorrow about the lymph nodes. It seems like they had to take out more lymph nodes then I originally anticipated with the sentinel node biopsy. The underside of my arm is numb and feels sooooo weird. Will this go away?. I still have the drain in and that's probably the only incision that really hurts. I'm suppossed to be a couch potato but it's really hard for me to do that with my personality!

cruf · March 2001

Glad your surgery went well. The numbness is normal and probably won't completely go away but you do get used to it. I had a lumpectomy in Aug. and they thought the margins were clear but they weren't so I had a mastectomy in Sept. and still very numb.The drainsite was very uncomfortable but a relief when it's removed.It is hard to be a couch potato but don't overdo it as you will swell,and may fill with fluid after drain is out then you'll be glad you're numb cause they'll have to drain it! Hope your lymphnodes come back clear. Keep in touch. Cathy

judyd · March 2001

HI, I had a mastectomy in Dec. I still have some numbness under & at the back of my arm but it has gotten a lot better. At first it really bothered me but I don't think that much about it anymore. I had 19 lymph nodes removed. The drains are very oncomfortable but I had instant relief once they were out. Good luck to you. Judy

nancys · March 2001

lbgal, I also had a sentinel node biopsy but was randomized to the group that got both the sentinel node and the axillary node dissection. As it turned out, I would have gotten that anyway because 1 node was positive, the sentinel node. My surgery was in Sept and my underarm is still numb. It feels like I am touching a sunburn when I rub it. My surgeon told me nerves will grow back in about a year. My arm aches some and feels tight but I have never had any swelling. As soon as your dr. tells you to starte exercising that arm, do the exercises regularly. They will really help. The follow up,about a week after my surgeon took the drain out, she drained another 5cc of fluid from the underarm. I did not feel one thing when she did that. It was totally painless. Let us hear about your biopsy results. Love to you, Nancy

tiger · March 2001

nancys said:
lbgal, I also had a sentinel node biopsy but was randomized to the group that got both the sentinel node and the axillary node dissection. As it turned out, I would have gotten that anyway because 1 node was positive, the sentinel node. My surgery was in Sept and my underarm is still numb. It feels like I am touching a sunburn when I rub it. My surgeon told me nerves will grow back in about a year. My arm aches some and feels tight but I have never had any swelling. As soon as your dr. tells you to starte exercising that arm, do the exercises regularly. They will really help. The follow up,about a week after my surgeon took the drain out, she drained another 5cc of fluid from the underarm. I did not feel one thing when she did that. It was totally painless. Let us hear about your biopsy results. Love to you, Nancy

HI, I had my mastectomy in Jan 00, and my underarm area is still numb. I dont have as much swelling anymore though, because I am exercising more. It feels really weird to shave that armpit though, tingly and just plain strange!! I do still get sensations on my chest where the breast was removed, sort of electrical little shocks and tightening as if i still had a nipple there. Good luck with your path report and let us know.
Hugs from Tiger

pamtriggs · March 2001

I had my mastectomy & lymph nodes removed 20 years ago. I am still numb. It really depends on how much nerve damage is done. Do all the exercises religiously & the pain will soon go. After a while the numbness ceased to bother me. Now I only get frustrated when I have an underarm itch & scratching does no good whatsoever. You just have to wait for the itch to go away on its own. Hope your biopsy results are good. Hang on in there. Love Pam.

lbgal · March 2001

cruf said:
Glad your surgery went well. The numbness is normal and probably won't completely go away but you do get used to it. I had a lumpectomy in Aug. and they thought the margins were clear but they weren't so I had a mastectomy in Sept. and still very numb.The drainsite was very uncomfortable but a relief when it's removed.It is hard to be a couch potato but don't overdo it as you will swell,and may fill with fluid after drain is out then you'll be glad you're numb cause they'll have to drain it! Hope your lymphnodes come back clear. Keep in touch. Cathy

Thanks for the advice. So I guess I still have to take it easy after the drain is removed. The drain is what's really bothering me the most. Unfortunately the sentinel node came back positive. I guess it's good news that it's only one. I'm hoping that my surgeon will not tell me I need additional surgery, maybe just a more aggressive chemo treatment plan. Take care.

lbgal · March 2001

cruf said:
Glad your surgery went well. The numbness is normal and probably won't completely go away but you do get used to it. I had a lumpectomy in Aug. and they thought the margins were clear but they weren't so I had a mastectomy in Sept. and still very numb.The drainsite was very uncomfortable but a relief when it's removed.It is hard to be a couch potato but don't overdo it as you will swell,and may fill with fluid after drain is out then you'll be glad you're numb cause they'll have to drain it! Hope your lymphnodes come back clear. Keep in touch. Cathy

Thanks for the advice. So I guess I still have to take it easy after the drain is removed. The drain is what's really bothering me the most. Unfortunately the sentinel node came back positive. I guess it's good news that it's only one. I'm hoping that my surgeon will not tell me I need additional surgery, maybe just a more aggressive chemo treatment plan. Take care.

lbgal · March 2001

nancys said:
lbgal, I also had a sentinel node biopsy but was randomized to the group that got both the sentinel node and the axillary node dissection. As it turned out, I would have gotten that anyway because 1 node was positive, the sentinel node. My surgery was in Sept and my underarm is still numb. It feels like I am touching a sunburn when I rub it. My surgeon told me nerves will grow back in about a year. My arm aches some and feels tight but I have never had any swelling. As soon as your dr. tells you to starte exercising that arm, do the exercises regularly. They will really help. The follow up,about a week after my surgeon took the drain out, she drained another 5cc of fluid from the underarm. I did not feel one thing when she did that. It was totally painless. Let us hear about your biopsy results. Love to you, Nancy

Thanks Nancy . Unfortunaely even though the margins were clean the sentinel node was positve. I hope I wont have to go back for a lymphectomy. What a drag to go through surgery again! I'm hoping the drain will be taken out in a day or two. Take care, Lorrie

Unknown · March 2001

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kononi · January 2013

I am 3 weeks post bilateral

I am 3 weeks post bilateral mastectomy. I still have a lot of numbness, but I can feel sensation returning. When I left the hospital after surgery, I got some special gauze pads that help to remove adhesive (I'm a nurse, so I knew to ask). When my dressing came off, is was so nice to have the adhesive remover. The sensation of removing adhesive from numb skin was unconfortable, but the gauze made it so much easier. As a nurse, I will now make sure I send some home with all the mastectomy patients I take care of. Ask your nurse if you can take some adhesive remover home with you after surgery

cinnamonsmile · January 2013

kononi said:
I am 3 weeks post bilateral
I am 3 weeks post bilateral mastectomy. I still have a lot of numbness, but I can feel sensation returning. When I left the hospital after surgery, I got some special gauze pads that help to remove adhesive (I'm a nurse, so I knew to ask). When my dressing came off, is was so nice to have the adhesive remover. The sensation of removing adhesive from numb skin was unconfortable, but the gauze made it so much easier. As a nurse, I will now make sure I send some home with all the mastectomy patients I take care of. Ask your nurse if you can take some adhesive remover home with you after surgery

I have had so much pain since

I have had so much pain since my BMX with node removal on 1/11/11. I was never able to use the Lidocaine Patches anywhere I had nerve damage pain. Even with the adhesive remover, it was like being burned with a blow torch on the back sides of my upper arms. If you have a patient in severe amounts of pain like I was, they will cause more pain when being removed. I work with a pain clinic specialist and they agreed it was just too painful to remove them and nothing they found worked.

telecomjd · January 2013

Exercise worked for me

I had a lumpectomy in November, followed by a double mastectomy in December (fun holiday season!). I had some numbness after both surgeries, as well as some fluid build-up. What worked best for me was hitting the gym as soon as I was able (i.e., once drains were out). In addition to doing the recommended physical therapy exercises, I got myself onto the recumbent bike. That seemed to activate my systems and get things working better again. Of course, consult with your doctor about what's best for you. But getting moving really seemed effective for me. I hope your recovery goes well.

post op numbness

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