Before Mastectomy Surgery Tips

I thought I'd share a few tips that I wish I had known about before I had my mastectomy.  Before your mastectomy surgery I highly recommend that you purchase a few zip up the front robes.  I don't know what I would have done without mine.  I had read before my surgery a recommendation that I should get some button down shirts to wear after my surgery, but the robes are so much more comfortable that I really wouldn't recommend the button down shirts at all.  You are probably now wondering why you will need a robe or button down shirts.  I'll be straight forward here in telling you that you will not be able to raise your arm over your head at all after your surgery.  Don't worry about that though because you'll be able to do that again in a little time.  Having a robe to wear that zips up the front will be a lifesaver to you as it was to me.  I wore my robe home after my surgery.  With the zip up style of robe you won't have to worry about your robe coming open in the front.  I wore my robes for a good month after my surgery and I still wear them today.  I even wore my robe along with a pair of jogging pants to my first 2 visits to my surgeon.  The way I look at it is if people can wear their pj's out in public to go to the grocery store and they aren't sick then I can wear my robe to a doctor's appointment when I am sick!  I bought my robes at Kohl's, but I'm sure you can find something similar at other stores. 

If you only have the one pillow that you sleep with you will want to buy a few more pillows.  After my mastectomy the first night I slept on my couch that is a recliner.  I had to put a pillow or two under my legs to try to make it more comfortable to sleep.  I also had to prop up a few pillows around me for my arm to rest on.  If you are a side sleeper like I am you won't be able to sleep on your side for a good month or longer.  When I did sleep in my bed I had to sleep on my back.  I have sciatica and that about killed me more than the surgery itself.  You will need a few pillows to put under your legs while you sleep.  I also would put a pillow under my legs when I was in my recliner during the day.  Anything to make yourself comfortable and to try to keep from getting in pain.  When I slept in my bed I would put my hands in the pockets of my robe to help me to have a place for my arms.  It was so unnatural for me to sleep on my back.  Once you are able to sleep on your side you will be glad you have those extra pillows as you will want them to help prop you up or to prop your arm up on or hug which is what I do.  It has been 2 years since my surgery and I still sleep with my pillow on the one side.   

My next tip and an important one at that is that you should shave your legs and under your arms the day before your surgery.  I can remember having a hard time shaving my legs after my surgery.  I also remember not shaving under the arm that had a lymph node removed for a good month as I lost the feeling under my arm and I was scared I would cut myself.  I also was bandaged up for a good 2 weeks after my surgery that went under my arm or thereabouts.  This is probably not something I should share, but I did not wear deodorant under the arm that had the lymph node removed until a good month had passed also.  I was not going to take any chances of getting an infection of any kind over that. 

You will want to clean your house before your surgery.  I am a stress cleaner so cleaning the house was therapeutic to me!  I especially wanted the living room and my bedroom clean.  I made sure I had all of the laundry done before my surgery because I knew my husband was going to have to do the laundry for a few weeks after my surgery.  He did the laundry and never complained about it girls!  You will not be allowed to lift anything over 5 pounds.  I'll be honest with you here, you won't be able to lift anything over 5 pounds either.  You won't feel like moving your arms to put clothes in and out of the washer or dryer.  You will have just had major surgery.  Your body will need some time to heal.  Don't do something you shouldn't do or it might come back and bite you on your tiny hinny! 

You will want to stock up in your pantry also.  If you are as blessed as I was you will have a few people who will bring over a meal or two that will help out big time.  You will need to eat 3 good meals a day and a snack here and there to help keep up your energy.  Also, the pain medicine your doctor will prescribe will tell you to eat something with it.      

Be prepared to not be able to drive for a good month.  I was blessed that my husband was able to stay home from work with me for as long as I needed.  The company he works for rocks!  After that he would come home early from work so he could pick up the kids at the bus stop for me.  I couldn't drive.  You won't want to drive.  If you live on a bumpy road like I do you will most definitely want to take a pillow or two with you when you have to go to your surgeons' office for your follow up visits.  You will want to take a pillow with you to use on your trip home from the hospital.  I know I wished I had a pillow with me on my way home after my surgery. 

Angela