the surgeon said he did not get in the muscle is it normal to not be able to lift my arm without great pain?
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Q: lumpectomy and lymph nodes tested poitive removed 3 days ago.pain lift my arm normal?
Answers (3)
7/ 4/08 6:28pm
Irina, I'm sorry about your positive lymph nodes. And lymph node surgbery can be quite painful. I'm not in a position to tell you it's "normal," but I'd be surprised if you didn't have some pain when you try to lift your arm. Keep a close eye on the incision and be sure to tell the doctor if it seems to be getting infected. And if the pain doesn't seem to be lessening each day, but instead getting worse, tell the doctor that, too. No one wants you to suffer - but they won't know you need help unless you ask for it, OK? Good luck - PJH
7/ 4/08 8:02pm
Hi Irina,
I am so sorry that you have breast cancer. The fact that the surgeon did not get into the muscle is a good thing, though. It means he saw no cancer there and it will also mean a quicker recovery for you.
I certainly couldn't lift my arm over my head for weeks after my surgery (I had a mastectomy and lymph nodes removed). The second week was actually worse than the first and then things started to improve. Ask your doctor or oncology nurse to give you some exercises that you can do to help restore mobility.
It is always a good idea to keep the lines of communication open with your surgeon. He may want to prescribe something for pain and he will certainly want to make sure that you don't have an infection.
Good luck and stay in touch.
Laurie
7/ 5/08 12:27am
Hi Irina - when I had my mastectomy & nodes removed in 05 I had pain in my arm and was unable to reach for the sky. The surgeon later told me he may have caused some nerve damage. I eventually got over it by using some of those stretchy yoga bands, or using the wall and slowly walking your hand all the way up till your arm is in the raised position. And now that I am in radiation (cause my cancer returned) my radiation oncologist tells me to do this rotating motion, with my arm bent and hand on my shoulder.
Since you did have nodes removed, please be on the lookout for possible lymphedema. It doesn't happen all the time, but if you feel like you have a wing or that your arm is heavy it could be fluid backing up. if that happens ask your doctor about seeing a PT that specializes in lymphedema and about getting fitted for a compression sleeve, because having lymphedema can be a serious complication of node removal. but the more you know about it the better you can be prepared for it.
best of luck to you!
Angi
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