Double Mastectomy at 34

Hi Charlotteaw

Welcome to the forum, I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis.  I know it can be really overwhelming. 

I received my diagnosis in Feb. Left IDC and right ILC. I had bilateral surgery in April, L mastectomy and R lumpectomy. 

Everyone is different but I found it  pretty uncomfortable on my mastectomy side after the surgery. However, I did the exercises consistently and I had daily improvement.  

I walked daily from day one and did light tasks around the house almost immediately but also rested often.

The things I found most difficult was sleeping and finding comfortable bras. I think being as upright as possible helped a lot. I'm having a R mastectomy after I finish chemo. Knowing what I know now, I'm definitely going to be sleeping in my armchair with footrest for the first couple of weeks post surgery. 

Your needs might be different if you're having immediate reconstruction, I didn't. 

The things I found most helpful  were:

Wedge pillow from Amazon 

Zip front bra/crop top from Sainsbury's- about a tenner - found after spending a small fortune on post surgery bras!

Heart cushion from Cancer Research UK - absolutely invaluable in the early days post surgery 

I know you will get replies from other sisters here, some may have a similar diagnosis/treatment plan to yours.

I wish you so well with your surgery and beyond. Sending all the hugs  

Hi Charlotte

I had a single Mastectomy just over two weeks ago. I kept the pain under control with paracetamol and ibuprofen every 4 hours and took codeine at night. I used a wedge pillow from Amazon that kept me on an incline at night in bed (for one werk) and I still  sleep with a pillow under my arm and across my chest for support and I can gently hug myself, too.

I wore M&S post- surgery crop tops as I found the front-fastening post-op bra too fiddly and annoying, plus very frumpy LOL The crop tops are much prettier which helped with my mental health.

You may be discharged with a drain which is annoying but just make sure the hospital gives you a drain bag. I wore mine like a cross body bag to stop it slipping off my shoulder. If they don't give you a drain bag you could use your own cross-body bag or bum-bag to keep it in. Make sure you start your arm exercises the next day and do them regularly as I found my range of motion has recovered quite well by doing these. You will be pottering around within days but just remember to not over-do it as you'll get tired quite easily. It's really not as bad as you think! Good luck xx