sharp stabbing pain after mastectomy on Monday

Hello Lizzy, sorry can't be of help but wanted to say sorry to read this and I'm going to watch with interest. I am having mastectomy on 10th May and just trying to get a sense of what to expect. very best wishes

Hi - thanks for the reply if i can help or you have any specific questions please let me know - i am no expert though!

Hiya, 

I had this 2 weeks after my mastectomy, it was so painful it took my breath away! Codeine did help a little, and thankfully it didn’t last long. I’m sure it was disrupted nerves causing it, I had similar in my shoulder following a later lymph clearance and was told it was nerve pain. 

Hang in there, you’ve got this xx

Lizzy1701 Hi Lizzy, I didn’t have a mastectomy, just breast conserving surgery and radiotherapy, but in both cases experienced needle sharp shooting pains that took my breath away. My BCN confirmed it’s the nerves repairing and any movement can trigger the pains. Painkillers, lots of sleep/rest laying down and a decent soft support bra all helped me. I’d add silk hankies saved the day when my skin reacted following radiotherapy - the only thing that soothed my skin and didn’t create more irritation. Hope the pains start to subside soon xx

My mastectomy is on May 14th so I am sympathetic and hope you are ok. Let me know how you get on.

Yes me too.

thanks so much for the response feeling better now i know this is normal x

I had 6 lymph nodes removed a month ago. Like you I experienced sharp pains in my arm, but after 3 weeks or so the pain stopped, and now I have no discomfort at all. So yes, pain after sentinel lymph node removal does seem to be perfectly normal. 
Jan

Hi Lizzie. Although I haven’t had this with my mastectomy and clearance, bizarrely I got very sharp stabbing pains following my core biopsies into my lymph nodes. These pains made me drop my arm off I was moving it. It was definitely nerve related and it recovered after about a week. I think after last weeks operation my nerves are still very numb at the moment, Good luck with your recovery 

Hi Lizzy, I had my mastectomy on 1st April. I suffered from the stabbing pains. I am still getting them. It's normal. They are becoming less frequent though. Xxxx