Today is May 16th – 3-1/2 weeks since my left breast mastectomy on April 20, 2011. Recovery has been a pain so I haven't felt much like writing until now. Time to update all that has happened since mastectomy, before heading in for the DIEP Flap reconstruction this Friday, May 20th.
The pain was so much more than I ever expected. The pain pills just didn't cut it! The label said take two every 4 hours, but after 2 hours I was checking the clock to see if I could have more. Tears were coming, it was really painful! Eventually called the hospital twice over the weekend to see what more can be done to suppress the pain. They told me to take Ibuprofen, which I did but without any relieft. Somehow I fought through the tears and dealt with the pain until my next appointment on Tuesday April 26th with Dr. Sahar.
Upon arriving at the doctor's office I was in a lot of pain; 6 or 7 on scale of 1-10, and that was with the pain pills and ibuprofen on board. During the appointment, the doctor removed one of my two drain tubes since it was not putting out much fluid and was safe to remove. As we talked about my pain level, he grew more concerned. I told him it felt like an elephant sitting on my chest. He was very concerned about my health, so much so that he sent me over to the Emergency Room.
The doctor called ahead so they were expecting me. It was just a short few mile drives from the doctor's office to the ER. Mom dropped me at the door and by the time she parked the car and came into ER, I was already in a space and the EKG was completed and IV was going in. My pain level at the time I got to ER was like a 2 or 3 and never got as bad as it had been all weekend or that morning at the doctor's office. While in ER they also performed a CT scan, ran bloodwork, tried nitro paste on my chest, all in an effort to determine if I was having or had had a heart attack or pulmonary embolisms (blood clots) in the lungs. It is good news that they found nothing and determined I was in good health. Good and bad because I still did not know what was wrong.
On the way home I called my former mother-in-law who has been an RN for decades and was explaining my symptoms to her and my pain issues. As we were talking, she helped me realize that from the time Dr. Sahar removed the one drain tube in his office that morning, my pain level never increased to that point all day. A drastic difference in the pain I had been feeling ever since I left the hospital (and the IV pain meds). Most likely, the tube was pressing on a nerve or something that was just causing lots of pain!
Per the doctor's request, I followed up with my regular doctor the next day who agreed that I was in good health. I called the UCD nurse who confirmed the pain could very well have been caused by the drain placement. There was still one drain in place and the output was rapidly decreasing day by day. The drain was so uncomfortable; I could not wait to get the second one out! Follow up appointment wasn't scheduled until the following Tuesday, which was going to be a long wait to remove the second drain. Friday April 29th I was complaining to Kevin (my boyfriend) about the drain discomfort (actually I think I complained about it a lot more than just that day) and he convinced me to call the nurse to see what could be done. After leaving a couple of messages, I spoke with the nurse, told her my output levels and after some persistence on my part, she said that the doctor who was in clinic that day could remove the tube if I could get to their office.
Kevin had gotten off work early and about 2:30pm we headed to Sacramento to get the second and last drain removed. When we got there, the nurse I usually see was there to assist the doctor with the routine drain removal. As he pulled out the tube, he noticed that the drain was clogged and my wound under my arm from where the drain had gone into my body started oozing blood and fluid. It was so gross! I don't like that sort of thing, but it was kinda funny the way it gushed out of me at the unsuspecting doctor. He was a bit surprised as he was not expecting that! Then I headed home with no more drains and hopeful that I would be able to get this recovery thing behind me.
From that day on, my intake of pain pills worked its way from every 4 hours, 24 hours a day, to every 6 hours as needed. I was able to sleep without regard for setting the alarm to wake me up so I would not wake up in pain. Sleeping in bed is not comfortable, so i sleep on the couch, non-surgery side down with my back supported by the back of the couch. Every day that passed meant fewer pain pills to the point where I am not taking them anymore at all during the day. I still have some discomfort and laying down hurts a little, but I just take one before lying down to bed. The last two nights I have taken just a half of a pain pill before bed to help with the discomfort of lying down. I think the tissue expander is pressing on my chest and is creating the discomfort.
Monday, May 2nd, 2011 mom and I went for follow up with resident at surgeon’s office who performed mastectomy to go over my lab results. The GOOD NEWS IS MY LYMPH NODES ARE NEGATIVE! This was what I suspected, but it was nice to get the official results. Later in the week, I stopped by the office where I had my mammogram and wrote a thank you note to the doctor who reviewed my mammogram and found the .7cm tumor in the first place. If not for her keen eye, this may not have been detected for years, and by then my outcome may not have been as good.
Work-wise, I have slowly returned to a few have-to-do jobs. 6 days after the mastectomy I got a ride to a client in order to get their payroll done. Worked for an hour and that was it for another ten days. Two days short of two weeks after the mastectomy I was able to drive one handed and worked 2-4 hours per day on things that just can’t wait. It has been nice to get out of the house. As of this Friday, I will be laid up again for quite some time.
