Tips on post mastectomy care with drenched night sweats

If you search “tips on mastectomy, you’ll see a lots of discussion about it”. I just want to wish you a successful surgery. I had BMX last year and the recovery was long but sot so bad. I had a large hematoma that I had to use warm compression to dissolve it. After the drains (I had 4) were taken out, I felt a lot better. My sis also had BMX two years ago and she sailed through recovery. A good surgeon is the key. Don’t worry about it. The pain is not so bad especially if you have nerves blocking. Wish you all the best.

Thank you. I’m naturally quite nervous. 🙏🥺

Don’t be. My sister had an excellent surgeon and she didn’t feel the pain at all. The next day she woke up and wanted to clean the house. Of course I wouldn’t let her. She only took one pain killer because she was worried that the pain would come. It didn’t. My recovery was a little tougher. But we all recovered. We went flat and both happy about it. We’re in the 60s, so we don’t care much about how we look. A bonus is that you will look thinner without having to go through tough diet! Wish you all the best. Don’t forget to ask for nerve blocking.

@myoga
Thank you for responding. I appreciate you taking the time.

The surgery was surprisingly easy for me. I had a double mastectomy with flat closure. The drains aren’t painful. They are a bit awkward. I ordered mastectomy recovery sleep shirts from Amazon. They have pockets for the drains. You can also get other helpful items for showering and managing your recovery needs.

I’ve had multiple abdominal, sinus and ear surgeries over the years and my experience with the mastectomy was that it was easier than other surgery experiences. I was surprised.

Your night sweats and hot flashes are vasomotor symptoms of menopause. Those symptoms may be different post surgery. But it’s likely that you will have the same issues. Talk to your doctor to see if there are medications or treatments to help.

Schedule friends and family to help with your recovery for at least four weeks. You will have to empty your drains and measure the fluid a few times a day. It’s easier if you have help with that. Your doctor will remove them in the office when the levels are low. I didn’t feel anything when my doctor removed them.

I found that the anticipation was worse than the actual experience. It is normal to be frightened. This journey is hard. I always told myself, “this too shall pass.” It helped me. Hold on to whatever works for you. I’m a stoic. Reading The Daily Stoic book helps me. Meditation, box breathing, visualization — lots of techniques can help. I hope everything goes well for you.

@myoga

I am also flat and love it. I have to be careful not to brag too much about never having to wear a bra again.

The DMX was surprisingly easy for me. Compared to chemo the surgery seemed easy. I have had many surgeries over the years and was concerned that being mid 60 would mean I would recover slower. But everything went smoothly. I wish someone had told me it wasn’t bad.