Good morning
well few days away from my slnb ,so anxiety kicking in a little ,doesn’t help I have to self isolate 72 hours before.
was wondering those that have had slnb how painful was it and because I do a physical job(when u have one) ,how long would it take to heal. Ask this question as I’m trying to look for a job as covid got me laid off. Trying to workout when i will be able to start o be if I found one.
kind regards
andrew
Forgot to say I have found latchbrook replies really helpful also on here maybe drop her a message 
Hi 46 male and Sparkle871
I feel a bit like a genie, magically appearing when someone calls my name, lol.
As Sparkle871 has said, a lot depends on whereabouts your SLNB is done. With yours being on your shoulder the SLN might be in your neck or in your armpit. Mine was in my armpit and was sore and uncomfortable for a few days. I was advised by the hospital to take ibuprofen and paracetamol at regular intervals and not wait until it became painful. I did this for the first two days then stopped and it felt comfortable enough.
I don't know if your hospital has given you any leaflets about what to expect. If you click here it will take you to the leaflet I was given. There's lots of helpful information about the procedure and what to expect and if you scroll to page 10 you'll see it says that you will be able to work once you feel up to it, after about 2 weeks, but if your job involves a lot of lifting or heavy work then you will need to stay off longer.
I was advised by the nurse at my pre-op not to do anything physical, ie housework, shopping, etc for at least a week. I then eased myself back into doing things the following week, although I still didn't lift anything heavy.
You also might not feel up to driving for a couple of weeks so you need to take that into account as well if you normally drive to work.
All the best with your op Andrew
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
