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Breast lumpectomy and node removal op

Sandra123
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hi to anyone due to have this op

i had mine yesterday. Got there for 7:30 am. Changed into gown, dressing gown nd slippers. Had bp nd temp done met consultant, anaesthetist. Had breast marked up then radioactive injection (to help them find nodes during op- negates the need for the blue dye). 

Then the wait to go. There were 4 of us for the same op so we pulled up chairs nd sat and chatted. 

I went for op at 1:30. Woke up in resus then taken back to room (no bed in room just a chair)5:00pm. Bp and temp. Cup of tea nd toast. Approx hr later told could go home. 

I have no pain ( I am taking 2 paracetamol 4hrly). I slept well last night. I can move arm freely etc and had no problems getting dressed or moving around. 

I am waiting now for the district nurse coming to check me over. At the moment there is no bruising and very little swelling. 

All the staff were brilliant I can not fault them. 

If you too are to have this op I can honestly say it was no where near as bad as I had built it up in my mind. As always it is the waiting that is the worst. 

Good luck to those due to have this and try not to worry   

Take. Care

Sandra x

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  • Offline
    Hi ty for it post it has helped a lot I'm due to go in next week how long before you go back to work I have had mixed answers thanks x
  • Offline in reply to Tealie69
    I went back after two and a half weeks but only did half days for the first two weeks back.
  • Offline in reply to Sandra123
    I've gone up a complete cup size in bras! I found the mood swings kicked in after about a week, maybe in line with my body having to start to deal with the repair work necessary and the tiredness that comes with that. My skin, never say never, has remained OK. I cream up before I leave, depending on how it feels either aloe vera if it feels hot aveeno if ok. The radiographers have been trying to avoid hitting my lung as much as possible, that was one of the reasons for having another ct scan, when they tried to do the mid point images, they were hitting it. I was warned by the bcn before starting that my Breast would probably not look the same once treatment was complete and a lot of women end up having some additional procedure(s) to try and make it look better and that the breast unit is happy to try and sort something out. In the tat department the only thing they do is black quink, don't offer any removal, they don't care once they've finished, as per the radiographer who did the first ct scan.
  • Offline in reply to rileyroo

    Ladies I had 6 tats which have disappeared - little dots so hopefully so will yours.

    Thanks for encouragement Sandra and Rileyroo. Have either of you started tamoxifen? Mood swings are also as a result of hormones settling when starting it. I still get shooting pains 8 months after. Pain is something I've just gotten used to. At times it takes my breath away so am afraid the burning feeling and pain has remained for me.

    Yes most definitely breast is never the same but at least its still there. That's what i keep telling myself. Alas gotta keep moving forward! I won't lie and say it gets better but at least we are able to move forward.

  • Offline in reply to Jbains

    Yep, already taking the stuff, have been since early September. I got my dose rearranged so I take 10mg twice a day instead of one 20mg once a day. The world was coming to and end on the one tablet, this is more manageable for me. I started by cutting a tablet in half and doing it that way, got the Onc to sort it when I went for appointment. 

  • Offline in reply to rileyroo

    Hi 

    I got a couple of the freedom comfort bras ready for when I had my op. They r front fastening nd u buy them according to your bra size cup size not needed cos the cups stretch. So the ones I got ( size38) the cups stretch fitting b-c-d-dd all on the one bra. They do sizes from a 34 to 48. Mine were a comfortable supporting fit even when I was tender post op. I got mine on amazon. 

    Hoping these will see me through RT too :-)

    sandra x

     

     

  • Offline in reply to Sandra123
    I've used cotton sports bras, every little helps. They've been pretty good and mot expensive. Unfortunately I'm a bit of an odd size even under normal circumstances and need a sized bra to get support, hence the cotton sports bras. None of the sizes you mention would actually fit even if I wasn't the size of a barage balloon on the left side.
  • Offline in reply to Jbains

    I’m on letrozole- onto my 3 rd wk. No mood swings but getting really bad hot flushes( they might b normal hot flushes just when I went through the menopause I had next t none symptoms so just might b taking it bad lol ) 

    sure ive asked this before but is it age that dictates if u get tamoxifen or letrozole? Just wondering lol x

  • Offline in reply to rileyroo

    Barrage balloon - made me smile;-) love your turn of phrase lol x

     

  • Offline in reply to Sandra123

    I'm on Tamoxifen for two years then going on to an AI. Sweats aren't great on this either. 

  • Offline in reply to Sandra123

    Not sure if it's age but whether you've been thru menopause. Tamoxifen will push me thru to menopause so they may put me on metronome after 3 yrs ad I'll have hone thru menopause by then.

    Gosh the amount of sports bras I bought and went through! They told me to wear a really supportive bra due to fluid but the wires were hurting where they cut me. So Victoria's secret did a no wire super supporting bra which has seen me through. I've only just started 2 months ago been able to wear a bra longer than 5 hours.

    Hot flushes are something I've had since March so perhaps you're just settling with the letrozole. Watching the documentary on George Michael  - loved his music. Have you guys seen it?

  • Offline in reply to Jbains

    I have some sports bras too ( though I’ve not done sport in em lol). Mine don’t have wires nd I was sleeping in mine for 3 wks post op. They were a god send cos felt they gave the support but no digging in - they don’t have a cup size either they just stretch to the size needed. 

    Now that makes sense on the tamoxifen vs letrozole front. Thank you .

    no not seen the George Micheal doc but I liked his music too - used t fancy him back in the day - which apparently was just wrong lol x

     

Reply
  • Offline in reply to Jbains

    I have some sports bras too ( though I’ve not done sport in em lol). Mine don’t have wires nd I was sleeping in mine for 3 wks post op. They were a god send cos felt they gave the support but no digging in - they don’t have a cup size either they just stretch to the size needed. 

    Now that makes sense on the tamoxifen vs letrozole front. Thank you .

    no not seen the George Micheal doc but I liked his music too - used t fancy him back in the day - which apparently was just wrong lol x

     

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