Hey all, I'm about eleven or twelve days out of a double mastectomy with Dr. Megan Hassall and I have a few concerns I was hoping to get feedback on!

Rather than making loads of topics I'm gonna put it all here and just number them, hopefully the long post thing is okay

1. Swelling or fluid?
    Today I noticed something new, on my rib area a little below the scars on both sides my skin is harder and sort of bumpy, and it pokes out just a little.
     Does this sound more like swelling or fluid retention to you guys?


2. Nipple squares have stains
      Sorry I don't remember the medical term, but those silver squares that go on the nipples before the dressing, I've noticed oval shaped yellowish stains have leaked through. I'm assuming this means my nipples are bleeding?
     Is this normal? Should I be worried?

3. Right arm is still very sore
    It didn't take long for my healing to take care of the majority of the pain, I still find it hard to move my arms like behind my back or lift anything too heavy, but I'm fairly good.
   One thing that scares me is my right arm, it's much less mobile than the left, and if I try to move it too much I get a stabbing line of pain shoot down it from the armpit downwards.

4. Last thing I promise! Numbness!
So much numbers, especially under my arms, how long can I expect this to continue? How was your experience with numbness?

Sorry again for the long post, this is my first ever surgery and obviously a very important one to me, so I'm very anxious about a lot of things!


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I'm not an expert but I'll take a stab at your questions.

1. Sounds like scar tissue or swelling if it's hard. Fluid buildup will have a squishy feel to it. All three are normal this soon after surgery though. Fluid might need drained if it's a large amount but it doesn't sound like yours is fluid.

2. Totally normal. The yellow stuff is just discharge from your nips trying to heal. Make sure to put antibiotic ointment or Vaseline on them before you put the dressings on. It helps keep them from drying out and reduces friction.

3. Also pretty normal. Your range of motion will be reduced for a while. Try doing some gentle stretching if it really bothers you. It'll take a month or two before you are healed up enough to get your range of motion back to normal.

4. Numbness varies greatly person to person. Some of it can even be permanent. The feeling will probably start coming back pretty slowly and bit by bit. I had surgery in March and have about 90% of touch sensation back. It just takes time.

Basically, everything you're going through sounds quite normal for being less than two weeks out from surgery. Just be patient with your body!

Ahh thank you!
It's good to hear that it's all normal, I don't get much time for asking my surgeon questions when I see her, and when I do there's always stuff I forget at the time!

I'm especially glad that it's probably not fluid build up for the first question, I'd rather never have to have drains anywhere near me again lol!



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