Hello jjchoccy

I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling with recovery following your recent surgery. It's understandable that you're feeling frustrated. 

It can be really easy to put pressure on ourselves to meet milestones during recovery and to feel that we are progressing at the correct rate. It can help to bear in mind that the exercises you've been given are a suggested timescale and everyone's experience will be different particularly if you're struggling with pain and fluid buildup. 

Two weeks can feel like an eternity but in reality, it is quite a short time frame. Keep doing what you can and when you go for your next appointment with the breast care nurse or Consultant, if you feel that things really aren't progressing then you can discuss this with them. It may be that in a few weeks, things are improved but if they aren't then the team can look at arranging for you to see a physio for some further advice and support. 

As you're living without reconstruction, I wanted to let you know about an organisation called Flat Friends which supports women who have had a single or double mastectomy without reconstruction. They have some very active support groups and I know you will be able to connect with other women who have been through similar experiences for some further support and advice. 

I wish you well with the rest of your recovery jjchoccy. 

Best wishes, 
Jenn
Cancer Chat moderator 

Hi Jjchoccy,

I am sorry to hear that you are still in pain post surgery. Our moderator, Jenn, is right. This is still very early days. While it is important to do your exercises as soon as you can, it can take some of us a little longer to be able to do them than others. Do you have a lot of fluid build up? Our care teams usually like to leave this to disperse naturally, but if this is causing you a lot of bother, please mention it to your breast care nurse.

I had a double mastectomy 13 years ago and I didn't have reconstruction. I manage fairly well with an assortment of prostheses for different activities. I had a lot of build up after surgery and had to have the fluid drained off a few times. This eased the pain considerably, but this can cause the fluid to build up more quickly, which is why the care teams are reluctant to do it, unless absolutely necessar. For all that you say that "there is nothing there", you have had a lot of breast tissue removed and you will be building up scar tissue, which can case tightening too.

I hope that this settles for you soon, but I think that patience is the key.

Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi jjchoccy, just wanted to say that I hope some of the difficult after effects of your surgery are easing a bit - how frustrating! My BC nurse said every little bit of movement helps even if it doesn't feel like it. My underarm where they did the sentinel node removal did feel like someone had stuck a bunch of stinging nettles under it xxx

HI DiDiHello,

A very warm welcome to our forum.

I am sorry to hear that you are still having prblems with fluid build up following your mastectomy. I had a double mastectomy and had the fluid aspirated from my breast 3 times, at about 3 week intervals. I expect that times may vary between different people, but I think that it took 12  - 16 weeks to feel comfortable. That was 13 years ago, so I cannot remember the time frame exactly.

I hope that this all settles for you soon. Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx