Hi. I had a lumpectomy and lymph nodes removed on Wednesday. I have read many threads on here about the pain after surgery. However I haven't had any. Is this normal?
Normal for me. I remember when I was in recovery after lumpectomy coming round saying brain and she asked me score on 1-3. I said 2 . Three hours later I'm home & pain free and never needed pain killers. I was same after a c-section. Interestingly my daughter who studied pain as part of her neuroscience degree said sufferers of chronic pain handle acute pain better. I have chronic back pain from a road accident when 15 and only take pain killers when I get a bad flare up to reduce inflammation and so I can function. I'm prescribed naproxen for this but I try to manage with ibrufen.
6 years on I get awful phantom pain in my breast before annual mammogram. I've read on her other women get it too. I was told future stabbing pain on breast is normal as nerves repair but that's just happened occasionally.
I had absolutely no pain following lumpectomy (Feb 2021) and was pleasantly surprised because, 9 yrs ago had similar and it felt like a 'burning' sensation then. When I went to clinic, 2 weeks after op, my boob was considerably swollen, tender to touch, but not painful. I had 350 mls of seroma drained off!!!
After histology found invasive cells, I then needed further excision plus lymph nodes checked and, this second time, it was just very slightly sore.
So, how you find it after surgery is very individual and almost random. Also, everyone has a different level of natural tolerance plus so ,any other things come into play, all which affect how you percieve pain.
If your breast is swollen, with no pain, I suggest you just get it checked in case you have collection of seroma. Draining it off is not a problem.
