long term pain

I had a bilateral mastectomy 3 months ago and am still feeling constant tightness/pressure in my chest. My docs don't seem to know what to do for it and pain meds have not worked at all. My insurance does not cover alternative therapies. I'd like to hear from others who have experienced this and know if anyone has advice on what might have worked for them. Right now I'm being told to just "live with it." If that's the case, I'd like to have some idea of how long it will last. Thanks for any help you can give me!

Sounds like this could be lymphedema and/or adhesions from scarring. There is an excellent treatment for both: rebounding. Exercise on a mini-trampoline, otherwise known as rebounding is very  effective for getting lymph fluids moving, and for loosening up soft tissue that has stuck to surgical scars. Gently bouncing on a rebounder for 3 minutes twice a day will work wonders - should be able to start feeling better within 2 -3 days, and it's fun. Mini-trampolines can be purchased from department stores for as little as $30 - that's how I got mine, and it's holding up just as well as if I'd bought an expensive model. 

Excellent article on rebounding:

http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/rebounder.htm

I know that this sounds like an answer too good to be true, but it really does work. Since I started rebounding, I no longer need to use my compression sleeve for lymphedema, and I have considerable lessening of pain from scar tissue in my chest. It also has put an end to a long-term problem with fluid retention in my legs.

Sincerely,

Tre

 

On 10/30/2008 TQOTU wrote:

I had a bilateral mastectomy 3 months ago and am still feeling constant tightness/pressure in my chest. My docs don't seem to know what to do for it and pain meds have not worked at all. My insurance does not cover alternative therapies. I'd like to hear from others who have experienced this and know if anyone has advice on what might have worked for them. Right now I'm being told to just "live with it." If that's the case, I'd like to have some idea of how long it will last. Thanks for any help you can give me!

I had my mastectomy in April of 2005 and Micro-Surgical Breast reconstruction using "tummy tissue" in May of 2007. I still suffer from the original nerve damage from the mastectomay and from lymphedema. However, about a year after the mastecomy I started going to a physical therapist who was certified in treating Lymphedema. She taught me how to stimulate the other key areas that gets the lymph fluid moving. She also released the scar tissue from the good tissue by pulling and stretching my arm and chest area and that gave me a lot more mobility and less pain. Further on in my therapy she taught me exercises that would help using those rubber band exercisers. She also did and I continue to do a massage to all of the scar areas I have and that has helped soften the areas. I know this is not the answer for everyone, but I feel that this kind of physical therapy is a well kept secret the Surgeons and Oncologists should be recommending to their patients once they feel the healing is at a "safe" point. Had I gone to the therapist earlier I would not have had to endure the pain from when she would do the pulling to release the scar tissue. You could actually hear the pop and feel when it let go!  I admit, I still use pain meds when necessary because of the nerve damage from the lymph nodes, but I, like you, feel that "live with it" is no answer. We have to be more proactive in our recovery. If there is anything you'd like more information on, I'm more than happy to share.

We Breast Cancer Survivors are all Sisters and we have to help one another with whatever resources are available to us!

By the way, insurance companies are supposed to cover Lymphedema therapy due to Breast Cancer. Don't take no for an answer!

Feel better soon, Sister.

Carole

 

 

On 11/1/2008 Carole k wrote:

 

On 10/30/2008 TQOTU wrote:

I had a bilateral mastectomy 3 months ago and am still feeling constant tightness/pressure in my chest. My docs don't seem to know what to do for it and pain meds have not worked at all. My insurance does not cover alternative therapies. I'd like to hear from others who have experienced this and know if anyone has advice on what might have worked for them. Right now I'm being told to just "live with it." If that's the case, I'd like to have some idea of how long it will last. Thanks for any help you can give me!

I had my mastectomy in April of 2005 and Micro-Surgical Breast reconstruction using "tummy tissue" in May of 2007. I still suffer from the original nerve damage from the mastectomay and from lymphedema. However, about a year after the mastecomy I started going to a physical therapist who was certified in treating Lymphedema. She taught me how to stimulate the other key areas that gets the lymph fluid moving. She also released the scar tissue from the good tissue by pulling and stretching my arm and chest area and that gave me a lot more mobility and less pain. Further on in my therapy she taught me exercises that would help using those rubber band exercisers. She also did and I continue to do a massage to all of the scar areas I have and that has helped soften the areas. I know this is not the answer for everyone, but I feel that this kind of physical therapy is a well kept secret the Surgeons and Oncologists should be recommending to their patients once they feel the healing is at a "safe" point. Had I gone to the therapist earlier I would not have had to endure the pain from when she would do the pulling to release the scar tissue. You could actually hear the pop and feel when it let go!  I admit, I still use pain meds when necessary because of the nerve damage from the lymph nodes, but I, like you, feel that "live with it" is no answer. We have to be more proactive in our recovery. If there is anything you'd like more information on, I'm more than happy to share.

We Breast Cancer Survivors are all Sisters and we have to help one another with whatever resources are available to us!

By the way, insurance companies are supposed to cover Lymphedema therapy due to Breast Cancer. Don't take no for an answer!

Feel better soon, Sister.

Carole

 

Oh and I really do know how to spell mastectomy!

Carole ;)

 

 

On 10/30/2008 TQOTU wrote:

I had a bilateral mastectomy 3 months ago and am still feeling constant tightness/pressure in my chest. My docs don't seem to know what to do for it and pain meds have not worked at all. My insurance does not cover alternative therapies. I'd like to hear from others who have experienced this and know if anyone has advice on what might have worked for them. Right now I'm being told to just "live with it." If that's the case, I'd like to have some idea of how long it will last. Thanks for any help you can give me!

Hi, I know just what you are going through. I had a bilateral mastectomy 6 years ago and suffered with the "tightness/pressure" in my chest that was so horrific that I just laid in bed or on the couch moaning for six months. My surgeons told me to take Vicodin, which did nothing for the pain. I consulted with the pain specialist from the hospital and she tried all different pain pills, but nothing worked. The pain was like what people say it feels like to have a heart attack...crushing, squeezing pain all around my chest that did not stop! They also told me to "live with it" and it might get better, or maybe not. I felt like my life was over. I survived the cancer and was dying from the pain after the surgery. Finally, I read an article about nerve damage pain from mastectomies and found my answer. Back then, they used Neurontin and Fentanyl Patches, along with Effexor. I went to the pain management center at Stony Brook University Medical Center (I live on Long Island, NY), and the doctors there put me on that treatment and I literally got my life back....after 6 months of Vicodin, and suffering. Now I take Lyrica, instead of Neurontin (for me there are no side effects with Lyrica), and I started acupuncture last year and it dropped the pain level down about two levels (on the 0-10 pain scale it's about a 2 now). The acupuncture helped enough that I eased off of the Fentanyl completely (and then was told by the doctor that they have learned that Fentanyl does not really work well on nerve damage anyway). So, I guess my advice is get to a good pain management doctor, who knows how to treat nerve damage, and ask about Lyrica and Effexor (because chronic pain depletes your seritonin levels), and start acupuncture treatments. My Empire Blue Cross plan pays for acupuncture. I am amazed that it works, but it really does. Don't let this go on for too long because your brain starts to record the pain signal and it is harder to stop. DON'T JUST "LIVE WITH IT!" It is the worse thing you can do. I feel for you because I know that vice-like tightness...I still have it, but it is nothing like it was years ago. Get help ASAP from a pain management center that knows about nerve damage treatment. There is also a very well known doctor who lives in the Boston area named Dr. Daniel Carr. He is a specialist in this...who used to be at Tufts. He told me about 30% of women who have mastectomies end up with this type of chronic pain. Good Luck! Let me know how you make out. Betty

 

I had a rt side mastec.  The pain of the nerves growing back was awful!!!!!!!!

 The only thing that worked for me was hot packs.  It will eventually subside.  Your in my prayers.