I know you guys are probably sick to death of me but I'm pretty scared right now!
For those who don't know I'm just at two weeks post op from a double mastectomy with Dr Hassal
When I had my first check up a week ago the surgeon had to go for unexpected surgery and I was stuck with the nurse
The nurse said my nipples seem to have taken really well so I was excited and relieved but...
For the past day and a half my nipples have been really sore
I was told I probably wouldn't get any sensation in them at all, so pain is kinda scary
And then all of a sudden today I noticed I have a huge stain on the gauze/dressing on top of my right nipple
That nipple has been hurting more than the other
Here's a pic
http://pho.to/9iRP9
I'm really worried that I'm gonna lose a nipple or something
Is this weird or bad??
I have another appointment with her tomorrow but I'm really afraid and upset so I just wanted to hear from someone here until then!!
For a little extra info
A day or two after I had the gauze put on there was VERY faint yellowed circular staining on it
And then it just stopped and didn't get any worse until literally today and it was so sudden which makes it scarier :(
Not sure if the pic shows it enough but the stain is a fairly dark grey circle on the outside and it gets lighter towards the middle of the nipple
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The pain is likely from nerves reconnecting. Unless it is debilitating, I would not be overly concerned by it. Take the pain medication that you have, if you have any left. If you don't, Tylenol should be fine. Avoid anything that was on the list of things not to take that your surgeon gave you pre-op.
The pic only tells me that it probably isn't bleeding. It's probably just releasing fluid. If you have other bandages to put on, I'd recommend taking them off and taking a look. You're not really going to know what you're dealing with until you look at them.
FWIW, my surgeon told me that the only instances of nipple death she's ever experienced were within the day post-op when the blood supply couldn't re-establish itself. If you're having issues at this point, it could be an infection - but again, you won't know until you take a look.
My recommendation would be to take the bandages off, clean your nips gently with a cloth and warm water so you can get the clearest view, do a touch test to see if anything feels excessively warm to the touch, then lightly coat them with some kind of bacitracin ointment and re-bandage. I think you see your surgeon again this week, right? If you see something that really concerns you when you take the bandages off, call and see if you can move up your appointment to today or tomorrow.
Thank you again
I've been seeing you all over the forum and you're always so helpful!!!
I was instructed not to take off my bandages until I see her but I see her tomorrow so I should be okay waiting!
Thank you again for the info, it's all very reassuring! I didn't know much about nipple death and I'd scared myself silly thinking about it!
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I can second what max said.
I, unfortunately, lost the areola around my left nipple (the nipple itself survived but the areola did not). You could tell within the first day or so that it was definitely not doing well. The skin was very dark looking (dark purple and turned to black) until the dead skin shed. It was due to swelling I had that cut off the blood supply. I would think it would be very rare for the nipple to look fine for 1+ weeks and then lose vascularity.
You should be looking for any signs of infection but yellowish stain could also just be from fluid and inflammation leakage from the healing tissue which would be normal.
Good luck :)
I lost both my nipples due to a double sided infection that the docs had never seen before. Trust me, when you have an infection, you -will- know. My first sign was pain, like a burn, and redness that quickly spread. I also had black nipples and a huge amount of swelling. The doctors had to reopen the wounds around the nipples to flush both infections out. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done.
Not trying to scare you with this story. But as long as there is no redness radiating from the wound, the pain is not too bad and getting worse and no swelling, chances are you are just experiencing after surgery pain. Your doc will know for sure, though!
Thank you guys!
I see the surgeon later today late in the afternoon but I just wanted to say thanks because I wouldn't have been able to enjoy my day at all without all this info and reassurance!!
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Also agree with Max on this. Just your nerves reconnecting so you're going to feel some sharp pains every now and then. Just be cautious and don't stretch your arms out too much, it can be very painful. Hope everything went well.
Just chiming in to jump on the nerve reconnection train.
My nipples hurt quite a bit the first two weeks. I never lost any sensation in them. Most of the skin along my incision lines has been completely numb since day one, but the nips no. My left nip actually itches a lot randomly, and I think my nips are actually more sensitive now than they were before. (I actually wish they weren't lol)
Surgeon in a few hours
Still kinda nervous but everyone has made me feel a lot better
I'm also pretty sure it's not going to be an infection as I've been taking antibiotics for an unrelated issue?
There's no redness and I've had like no swelling...
So now I'm thinking I overreacted and it's gonna be fine
I hope
Haha
I'll let you guys know what happened when I'm back from the surgeon !!
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Okay I'm back! It's all good, there was a fair bit of leakage but my nipples are healing really well!
She changed the dressing and took my stitches out, she said the pain was most likely my body saying the stitches were ready to come out :)
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Glad to hear the news was good! I'm 3 weeks post-op and also having a lot of nipple pain - it started as soon as my surgeon removed the bolster dressing. I started wearing the compression bandage again and it's helped a lot - I think it's mostly nerve pain which is a good sign - pain with no infection means the grafts are taking well and healing!
Glad everything worked out well!
I was so relieved!
I guess it's hard to wrap my mind around pain= good sometimes haha!
Does anyone know if heat pads or ice packs will help? Not sure whether To go hot or cold here!
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I would recommend cold packs. It will numb the pain and help cut down on swelling. My surgeon has said heat isn't typically recommended post surgery as it actually tends to encourage swelling. I kept ice packs readily available and iced as much as possible the first 2-3 weeks post op
I've had about 5-6 sutures now that have popped up out of my skin. It can sting a lot when it rubs up against your clothing. I'm 3 months post op as of today and I now have one that's poking from the side of my nipple :(.
Is having that many sutures pop out normal??
That sounds terrible :(
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I had a lot come out too. They were no big deal. Just called the dr and he took care of them. I probably had 5-6 as well over the course of a month or two.
Oh geez! I'll keep a look out for that then too!
Just so I don't make YET ANOTHER post I'll ask here
I think I pushed my arms a little too far the other day and both are in a LOT of pain
Should I give them a big rest and like avoid using them as much as possible until the aching stops?
Or is it better to power through and keep using them through the pain?
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If you're in pain, you should stop whatever you're doing and take a rest. Soreness is kind of inevitable for a while post-op, but this far out you really shouldn't be having pain unless you're pushing too hard.
That's really worrying cuz not only are both my arms in considerable pain, I have more!
For the last week or so I've had really bad pain that's sort of...
Under my arms but towards my back?
It's like
If you followed the line of the scars and kept going until you got to my back, that's where the pain is focused
It makes it really hard to sleep cuz there's no position I can be in without being in pain!
I thought it might be some internal bruising, but now I'm worried...
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I'm thinking your binder might be too tight. It could be cutting in under your arms and going towards your back. The binder was very painful to wear at first and even left marks under my arms from it being so tight. I was able to adjust it though and even put some wash cloths (ty to a member on here who told me about that) to relieve some of the pressure from it. Just continue taking your pain medication if you were given any. If not I would try some Aleeve? Also for sleeping I bought myself a memory foam neck pillow and that thing is heaven. I was able to sleep on my back without getting any neck pains. I was actually even able to sleep pretty comfortably :P
I stopped wearing my binder a while ago since I had no swelling so that probably isn't it :(
Thanks for the neck pillow idea though that does sound wonderful!
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Hmmm you said you had drains correct? The drain holes, for me,were extremely uncomfortable to deal with and hurt more than the incisions themselves. When I did over do something with my arms it hurt like heck too! So it's possible that the pain might be radiating into your back from that area. I'd say if the pain gets to the point where you are in tears and you're getting sick then call your doctor. But you're typing, so you must be ok :)
That sounds reasonable, my drains were incredibly uncomfortable and the site they came is kinda itchy or irritated even now
Yeah I don't think it's bad enough for a call to the doctor, it's just stopping me from sleeping
I'll stay on pain pills and keep an eye on it, and if it still hurts by my next appointment with the surgeon ill let her know :)
Thanks!
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Did your surgeon tell you that you could stop wearing the binder?
My surgeon hasn't seen me since the surgery :(
I've had her nurse though and the nurse said I could go either way atm like I don't have swelling but she said the binder would help with some of the bruising.
I just took it off though since I found it so painful :/
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