Discomfort after bilateral mastectomy & immediate reconstruction

Hi Catreen,
Did you go bigger than what you were before surgery? Also, was it nipple sparing?
I am 6 months post surgery and still feel some discomfort at times. But it does get better. I cannot sleep without a support surgical bra on.
For sleeping on my side i put a small pillow between my breasts.
Regards,
Diane

Hi @catreen, in addition to the helpful reply from @dinod1923, I'm tagging @toomey79 @kalola808 @smilinjack @colorado73 and others who had bilateral mastectomy with immediate reconstruction so they can share their experiences and what to expect.

Catreen, you had major surgery. It takes time to heal. Easy for me to say, right?

That would be greatly appreciated!

I'm sorry you're going through this too. It was 8 weeks before I could sleep in my bed! I HAD to sleep in my recliner with pillows under both arms, on my back. Ice packs under both armpits were my best friends for a year. Reaching, range of motion was SO limited for 8 months. Dr told me to practice walking up the wall with my fingers slowly every day, several times a day to build up momentum & regain range of motion. It was AFTER a year from surgery that a Nurse Practitioner suggested I try Occupational Therapy for Lymphedema I had on both arms. I'm STILL going to this lady & February will be 1 year with her, January will be 2 yrs since my surgery. I have to be careful how I lay down in bed now. Some days are better than others, but I still suffer pain & discomfort on the sides of implants & in my shoulders & back. Simply due my surgeon NOT LISTENING to me about going A LOT smaller than I was before surgery. He felt like he made the right decision for my body type as to how big my implants were. 7 1/2 hour surgery for him to decide how big/small implants to put in. I've been told that I was under for too long, stretched out as I was, doing damage to nerves & tendons, for him to decide. My OT Therapist told me this. So now I must live with the discomfort & sometimes horrible pain due to what he did. The implants are still too large & I'm waiting on insurance approval to have these taken out & smaller ones put in, by a DIFFERENT surgeon this time.
Talk to your Dr or surgeon. Don't wait to say anything & after 6-8 weeks if you're still struggling then I would recommend Occupational Therapy. They can suggest exercises & perform techniques on you to help with pain & discomfort. Mine has been a Godsend! I see her weekly. Good luck to you.
* Plus my Occupation Therapist also helped me get a compression bra to wear, which helps relief fluid buildup & pressure around the implants & she provided me with compression gloves for each hand & compression arm sleeves as well to help with swelling. And let me tell you THEY WORK!

Tell your Dr.

@catreen I am sorry you're experiencing discomfort and limitations. Do you still have the expanders in or did they put in the actual implants at the time of surgery? The expanders are not comfortable, although I had a lot less discomfort with them than others. If you did get the actual implants at the time and did go larger than previous, it takes time for your skin and tissue to adjust. As was pointed out, this is a major surgery so it takes time to heal. It's still relatively early and you're still healing. I would suggest asking for physical therapy specific to the situation of mastectomy and reconstruction. Best wishes to you.
Susan

Please see the private message I sent you. Regards, Diane