DCIS

Hello, I'm 44 and just undergone a left mastectomy and 

Sorry pressed reply too soon. I'm 44 and have grade 3 idc and have just had a left mastectomy and full axillary clearance so not the same and not having a reconstruction until after chemo and radiotherapy but I'm 5 days post surgery and it's definitely more uncomfortable today. 

Hi, about same age then, I’m 4 days post surgery. Paracetamol and ibuprofen are not cutting it. Am wondering if there is anything else and how long this goes on for I guess. Bit of a rollercoaster so far! You’ve got a tough situation there to work through too. 

Such a stressful time for you.  I was diagnosed June 2015 with 10mm of intermediate DCIS.  I had surgery mid July.  Diagnosis after surgery was 11mm of high grade DCIS with clear margins.   I just had lumpectomy and strangely I had no pain afterwards.  Over the years I have had shooting pain, told caused by nerves being cut but I found out at I had my last check up Nov 2021 they had left about 10 marker clips for future reference so I wonder if they cause the odd pain I feel.  
Have you see. Your BCN yet for wound check?  I think I saw mine on the Thursday, had surgery on Monday.  She checked over, changed dressing and told me if it felt hot, throbbing, red, swollen  etc to ring her or GP out of hours service in case it was infected.  

Yes I must admit it’s not an easy journey. I was diagnosed Dec 21 with 6cm DCIS. Intermediate to high on biopsy. Had surgery Jan 22. Am hoping for clear margins. I don’t know if I will see the BCN before my next appointment with the surgeon. As I was glued together. The skin feels so tight at the moment. My temperature is ok and the area isn’t overly hot but I will keep an eye on it. 

Your GP can prescribe Codeine - be careful though as it breaks down into morphine as it goes through your system and can easily become addictive.  I only took it at night so I could (hopefully) sleep through.  I didn't have mastectomy, but had WLE lumpectomy and sentinel node clearance, which showed all four of the nodes had cancer cells, so 28 days later had a 2nd surgery for auxiliary node clearance, reopening and lengthening the wound under the arm to do this.  Lots of seroma from first surgery in breast, then kicked up a notch with the 2nd surgery in underarm.  Lots of pressure and pain as well as wound pain and nerves knitting back up again as healing progressed.  My GP was more than happy to prescribe the codeine for me just so I could get some half decent sleep, but cautioned me not to take it more often than was necessary.  I found going from 'vertical' during the day to 'horizontal' to sleep, then vice versa in the mornings the most uncomfortable.  During the day, I managed okay with 4-hourly doses of paracetamol and ibuprofen.  After a week of doing this, I was okay.

Hope you find a solution - consult your GP for pain management advice.

How are you doing today Greenfairy?

I accidentally pulled my drain slightly by standing on it which actually freed the blockage but it still aches but think it's more the nerves than anything. Wasn't prepared for that type of pain. Are you doing your exercises?

Hi VWGirl, I’m ok thanks, catching your drain sounds painful, I hope it settled down. I’ve managed to get codeine today which has helped but think a seroma is building so maybe that’s been contributing to the pain. I’ll see how it goes and get into the BCN tomorrow if need be. 

I just wanted to say thank you for your reply, I’ve managed to get codeine so feeling a bit more comfortable. I did see the nursing team and surgeon again. There is fluid there but they are looking for it to go naturally. The pattern you mentioned of vertical to horizontal is spot on, plus the regime of the pain killers. I guess I need to be patient now and let it heal. 

Glad to hear you're getting some pain relief and good support from your team. I was producing so much seroma fluid, I had to have it aspirated twice a week for 3 weeks following the first surgery, and 2 weeks following my 2nd surgery.  My personal best was nearly 200ml in one aspiration. Keep a watch on your temperature too. I was getting occasional spikes and turned out I had a mild infection in the seroma, so was put on amoxycillin for 10 days. 

I hope you get some better rest now. Take care . x