Yes, this is the tough girl who took no pain meds after the shot of Demerol they gave me without asking in Recovery…who still has the full bottle of Darvocet in the cupboard…who only took an Aleve in the morning and one at bedtime for the first few days after surgery then quit because I didn’t need them.
Yes, I am now recommending that anyone who is about to have breast reconstruction after mastectomy save some (or get a refill on) pain meds for the tissue expansion process…if you like to use such drugs. Or, if you’re like me, keep some of your over-the-counter pain pills handy.
I’m not saying this hurts worse than immediately after the surgery, because it doesn’t. But it is — or at least can be, based on my experience — as disruptive.
For me I think it is that this was unexpected. I knew I’d have pain of some magnitude after surgery, and trouble sleeping. I even expected to have some discomfort during the expansion process, and I was even prepared to grit my teeth and soldier thru it at an aggressive pace to get it finished as quickly as possible. But I didn’t expect the TYPE of discomfort I’m having now at Day 18.
I’ve talked about the creepy, funnybone kind of feelings from inside the breast that have been bugging me when I move, especially leaning forward or to the side. Well, yesterday the doc pumped up the expander implant and removed a bunch of fluid from outside the implant. The right breast is now noticeably bigger than the left breast, which is good because we want the skin overstretched to get a little natural sag and to provide enough skin for the nipple reconstruction.
Now, however, when I move, it feels as if there’s a wooden bar inside my chest rubbing and bumping back and forth across my ribs.
I had planned for skin-stretching pain, but because the nerves were cut during surgery, all but a rim of skin around the very edge of the breast mound (and in my armpit and side) is numb. So skin pain is a non-issue since the tape is gone. I didn’t feel the numbing shot the doc gave me on Day 5, either on the skin or inside, but yesterday on Day17, I felt a little stinging sensation deeper inside, presumably in the muscle.
I had also expected pain from that upper pectoral muscle that is being stretched over the implant. And I do feel discomforts from that, tho they kind of fade to the background unless I’m using the muscle or push on it and can tell it is tender…more so since yesterday’s expansion.
But I didn’t expect that deep, rubbing-against-the-ribs kind of discomfort/pain. It’s not even clear to me whether this is a real pain or an enhanced funnybone feeling. Maybe a combination. In any case I took my first Aleve since about Day 5, hoping that some part of the sensation would be blunted with the pain medicine. I think it helped.
Nevertheless, I had the worst night’s sleep last night that I’ve had since that first night in the hospital with people and noises waking me up every 20 minutes. Why? I’m not sure if the breast was actually hurting and woke me up, or if I shifted and the apparatus in there moved and woke me up with its weirdness. Either way, I was awake a dozen or more times during the night to find a comfortable position. Even my old reliable left-side position only worked for a while.
Of course, since I took the Aleve around 5 or 6 yesterday evening, it would have been wearing off in the early morning hours, which may have been when I started to toss and turn. So tonight I will take one at bedtime. I haven’t taken one this morning yet, but I think I may go ahead and do that now so I’m covered for the daytime hours and will be ready for another at bedtime.
I have a high tolerance for pain but a low tolerance for annoyance and distraction. As long as a pain doesn’t annoy or distract me, I can ignore it. But this new thing is both annoying and distracting. For others, it could very well be experienced as pain, possibly equal to (tho different from) the pain following surgery.
So, for those who are planning to have breast reconstruction, I recommend that you keep some of your favorite pain meds handy for the expansion periods.
I have to assume that it is worst after each pumping up and will ease off as the skin and muscle stretch and adjust to the the new mass. I don’t know how much bigger this expander will go, but I suspect we’re not too far from its capacity. I’ve had 2 fills now, and during the first one the doc thought he had me near capacity. But he was thinking it was a 350 cc and it was actually a 450 cc. If I was at, say, 325 after the first fill and he put in another 75 yesterday, then I’m around 400 now. I don’t know if he’ll be less aggressive now and do smaller fills or if he’ll just do the remaining 50 cc next time and then send me off to wait for my body to adjust.
At least I now know what to expect. Who knows, I may even open that bottle of Darvocet at some point.
…or not. We’ll see.
