Nerve pain between sentinel and lumpectomy incisions

[salemsleep]

I have just finished 33 days of radiation - lumpectomy, stage 1, sentinel node biopsy clear - and still have extremely painful skin sensations between the two incisions.  This has been present since the surgery in December.  The Doctor believes the cause to be neuropathy, and prescribed Neurontin which I took throughout January.  Although the Neurontin helped with pain, the loss of brain function side effects were so strong that I discontinued (could not drive, memory loss, dizziness, slurred speech, difficulty concentrating).  Now that radiation has been localized and is not focused on the nerve-damaged area, I had hoped the pain would subside.  It is worse than ever...any clothing that brushes the area causes pain, which makes any normal functioning impossible, including work - simply can't stand the friction of clothes with movement.  Without taking anticonvulsants or antidepressants, is there something that can be done?  I am currently using Oxycon 10-325 for pain, but it doesn't help much.  I don't expect to be "normal" again from the perspective of pre-cancer life, but certainly need to get beyond this to resume a new "normal" routine.  And to get back to work (accountant)!

[yizzit]

To salemsleep and mrmb spmeir and Nancy 277
Did all of you have sentinel node biopsy?

I did NOT have SNB  and have had the same difficulty on and off
[for years!]  I only recently was told that it may be neuropathy
Think about that - why would there be pain if there was no "damage"
to a nerve or nerves?

Sentinel node biopsy requires skilled access to the underside of the
pectoral muscles- If it is not done skillfully - there is a danger of
either damaging or severing an important nerve in that area.
It has taken my years to figure this out - that my nerves are damaged.

I find that the Lidoderm patches help - but the sensation of applying
it and removing it are uncomfortable.
This is no way to live, for sure.....

Is there a way if anyone wanted to email  someone from here?

[salemsleep]

I finally found relief.  Doc prescribed Lidocaine patches for the nerve damaged area.  Twelve hours on, twelve hours off (I take off in the evening so I can wear clothing during the day).  I was worried removing the patch would be painful, especially to the nipple, but it is not.  I can function normally now.  Pain is gone with the patch, and the area is protected from rubbing clothes.  Note:  it cannot be applied to radiation-damaged skin, so must wait until effects of treatment have subsided.

[Nancy277]

I have also had nerve pain in my feet since finishing up my chemo from last September. I have found taking plenty of B vitamins,especially B-12 1000mcg, B-2 2mg and B-6 2 mg,  2 times a day has lessened the pain. Take with food in the AM and PM.

[spmeir]

OMG I do not want to laugh because it cause's me to much pain, but I thought all that you described was "normal"....only because they 'being the doctors' said it would go away in time...but since the lumpectomy and sentinal node in July I have yet to feel any relife from painful skin sensations where the nodes were removed, as far as the sensitivity and pain from the Radiation I was given a cream that they supplied me with and I applied it at least four times perhaps even more each and ever day 'I think I used at least a bottle a week' and that worked for only so long then the itching began with the pain and I was given a hydrocain cream I would apply just before the lotion and just as often and all was well until the nipple became burnt and then I was given a novacain type gel that was applied like an ointment but was pushed thru what looked simialiar to a hyodurmic needle with of course no needle involved....the only thing I was able to wear the whole 33 treatements and up to this date and still wearing 'nearly three weeks since laft Radiation treatments have to be very soft and very lose fitting 'called cuddles' that I wear a rather large sweatshirt over that to keep me warm during these winter months. Hope that is of some help with the Radiation problem but like I meanted as far as the sentinal removal good luck I am 9 months and counting and still feeling the effects!

Keep smiling and remember Normal is as normal does....just for grins I looked up Normal in the dicional one time and came to find Normal is where ever the you set the standards, so I always remember not to set mine to high!
As my mothing always said till her dieing day "might as well laugh, if not you would be crying"

[mbwb]

I also have pain in the same areas a year and 2 months after  surgery.  When I talked to the doctors about it early on they felt that I shouldn't have the amount of pain I described and they gave me Motrium, which didn't take it away.  The touch of clothes was very painful for many many months and I wore a very tight sports bra at all times in order to decrease pain/movement of breast.  Cortizone creams (recommended by the RN)  applied to the site helped some. (Try not to get into pain meds because of side effects.)  But I still have some pain; I'm use to it and it's decreased in intensity.  I use over the counter meds to handle the pain if it becomes very painful.    

[japdip]

Actually there is no reason why you can't be "normal" again but that's off the subject. It certainly sounds like neruropathy and the radiation may have made the situation somewhat worse. There is another drug (not Neurontin) that can be used for neuropathy. You might ask you Dr. about that. It's used in cases of Fibromyalgia and the side effects may be less than Neurontin. You'd have to try it to know this for sure though. We all react differently to medications. A Pain Clinic might be in order if this persists ... chronic pain is their business.   Good luck ...