PMPS

I am so thankful to come across this message board.  I had bilateral mastectomy surgery on March 20, 2008 with no reconstructive surgery.  I've been having major pain issues following surgery.  I've tried massage therapy and accupunture, which only helps very temporarily. I had no idea my chest would feel like someone was reaching inside my chest wall and pulling skin toward the back of my body.  The pulling and pain is constant.  I have to wear an ace bandage around my chest to be able to make it through the day.  I find this all very depressing.  Nobody prepared me for this.  I did have options for tissue sparing treatment, but after three straight months of breast biopsies I couldn't stand the thought of going through my life with constant mammograms, wondering what they would reveal, having people do stereotactical needle biopsies, surgical biopsies, ultrasound biopsies, etc.  I had eight biopsies in a three month period.  It sounds like PMPS is real and not imaginary.  I get very little response when I talk to my surgeon about it. She told me to take velcro and rub it across my incisions.  I find this very, very depressing.  Have other women responded worse to this surgery than expected?  I think there should be more help and advice.  They manage pain quite well right after surgery and then it gets worse as everyday goes on.  My husband says I'm getting stretch marks at the incision sites because they are so tight.  White Flower Oil helps some, but I can't even stand to touch my skin so someone else has to put it on for me.  This surgery leaves one feeling very hopeless and despondent.

Yes, PMPS IS real, and suffered by more women than you would imagine. (up to 49% of women who have breast surgery for cancer report on-going pain and 10% say it interferes with their daily lives.)  Unfortunately many in the orthodox medical community are still unaware of these statistics and the reality of pain for thousands of women, let alone having any idea how to treat it.

For some  women, scarring and inadequate drainage of lymph fluids causes the pain.  These  can be treated with self-massage, myofascial release (from a massage therapist or physical therapistwho has been specially trained to do it,) accupuncture, and rebounding (exercising with a mini-trampoline.  http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/rebounder.htm )

For many women the cause of pain is unknown, but may have to do with damage to the intercostal brachial nerve (runs from the spine, between the ribs, and up and out to the arm.) THis nerve gets cut when lymph nodes are removed. Sometimes this pain is treated with low dose antidepressants - not for psychological problems, but because antidepressant drugs can work specifically to halt nerve pain.

I came across quite a few good articles on PMPS while researching other aspects of breast cancer.  Unfortunately, I did not record the addresses for those articles.  But if you do a web search for alternative and natural treatment of post-mastectomy breast pain, you may find some very good suggestions for dealing with this.  Try looking at www.cancerlynx.com - sometimes their search engine brings up great articles that Google and other searches miss.

Other than myofascial release and rebounding (which is a self-applied form of myofascial release), I recommend using supplements to rebuild/ re-elasticize tissue and regenerate nerve tissue.  Medical interventions may not have much success if the basic nutritional building blocks for tissue and nerve support are lacking.  The B complex vitamins are absolutely essential, as is vitamin C,  and vitamins A and E.  The RDA's/DV for these are really minimum amounts for intake - getting one's body repaired after surgery (even years after surgery) takes a lot of basic elements over time. 

You can try taking a complex B vitamin supplement such as is recommended for treatment of fibromyalgia or arthritis - they are pretty inclusive, and provide each vitamin in larger quantity than you would get in a daily multiple vitamin.  

I also recommend that you take the following to boost your immune system - this will help your body to maximize use of other vitamins and minerals you either get through food or supplementation:

Selenium 200mcg/day (400mcg/day max for short periods)
Zinc 50 mg/day (can boost to 100 mg/day for short periods)
Manganese 10 - 15 mg/day
Magnesium 200 - 250 mg/day (350/day max, especially if using a lot of detoxifiers)
Calcium up to 1200 mg/day (this can include food sources)

the 6th supplement is Vitamin D3, at least 1000 - 2000 iu/day, necessary for absorption of calcium, and vice versa

Deactivated powdered brewer's yeast is an excellent source of B vitamins and minerals - some people think it has a slightly bitter taste, but 1/2 - 1 tsp twice a day in a fruit smoothie is an excellent way to get what you need if you don't want to do pills.  Also, powdered lecithin adds a lot of the building blocks for repairing tissue damage to the chest wall. 

Sincerely,

Tre

 

hello  i am sorry for your pain  all i know is my surgeon told me when i went back for the check up after surgery that it was very important to touch myself  he said it is real important to massage and rub my chest area   i think he said something about it feeling rejected or something i don't know but i listened and i just get itchy on my ribs it feels  but no pain it has been6 mos now  don't alienate that part of you  i think that was the point he was making