Author: Yajaira

It was my follow-up appointment today, 1 month after my first steroid injection, 4 months after my surgery.

I was nervous about what the doctor would say. Of course, the most dramatic thoughts: permanent nerve damage, we’ll have to have a follow-up surgery. Or the more logical one: I may need another steroid shot 😳 .

I told Michelle that I was going to pretend it didn’t hurt when assessed me and pressed on the nerves, but as soon as he did…I screamed and flinched. There was no way to hide it 🙁 .

So he walked out to get a syringe, then came back and prepped me. Since I knew what to expect I was even more nervous than the first time. He pressed into my skin near my under arm with his fingertips to find the “most painful” spot, but I was so jumpy and nervous that every spot seemed to hurt. I frantically grabbed around me until I reached the pillow to clutch. He pressed the needle in and I instantly wanted to scream. I was clutching onto the pillow so hard my hand was hurting when it was over. He massaged the area after 3 pricks (straight into the nerve, then the rib, then above the nerve). I still felt pain when he was assessing the area. So…he said I would need another shot, and I swear it took my breath away when the needle reached my rib. I almost thought he pierced my lung!

I’m shaking like a leaf due to the anesthesia and everything hurts. I feel terrible pain in my rib and just driving or turning when I’m driving gives me a shock of pain. He said this would hopefully be the last time it hurts this way. But we’ll see. It still feels numb on the right side of my right boob. Yet, I still feel the same pain in my nipple although when I was at the office it didn’t feel that way. I’m waiting to see if the pain subsides within 3 days, as he said it would the first time I ever got the shot.

[Edit June 12, 2016] – Well, I developed a large lump at the injection site on Friday. It’s painful to the touch and of course I bruised up. The seam of my very thin sports bras I’m still wearing were irritating the bruise and I felt soreness on my rib and my back! But, my nipple isn’t sore anymore and the pain on the right side of my boob has diminished a LOT, thank God! Now I just have to wait for the lump to flatten out. I hope it does 🙁 . I had *just* started running again, but decided to just go on a walk the evening of the steroid shot. Haven’t run or walked since, meh!

[edit Monday, June 20th @ 11:41pm]
Got home after work and picking up Jaylen and changed clothes. I took my sports bra off (still wearing them, the light ones with spaghetti straps) and realized I had lots of bites/red bumps right along my scar, closer to the cleavage. I figured it was a mosquito that got stuck in my shirt. Fast forward to 11pm, when I was getting ready for bed, and found that the original bites flattened and weren’t itchy and red, but now the other side of the vertical scar was! It itches like hell. Had to bust out the good old hydrocortisone and allergy pills!

So my little brother graduated from UTRGV yesterday with his Bachelor’s in Health Science. To say I’m proud is an understatement. I wish I could have made a bigger deal about it, but he didn’t even want Jorge and I to take him to dinner, much less have a small party or BBQ. Plus, it freakin’ rained, so that put a damper on the whole deal (pun intended).

Mom and I went to visit Gramma as John got ready. She sent him a congratulatory video with me :’).

But yes, he was nervous–you could tell. But he got up there and received his diploma and even though he made a crazy face at the camera as he passed, you could see the relief in his face. The 7 years it took him to work and put himself through college. Moving out if his beloved apartment–the apartment he took me into when I had nowhere else to go after my divorce in 2010–and moving in with Jorge and me in 2013 to finish his last 2 years of school. His stress, his emotions–it’s alm over and it was worth it for him. I was glad to see the day come!!

Didn’t like either photo we took together–my face looks weird–but I had to post one!

I won’t mention the sh*tstorm it was trying to find him afterwards, the annoying rain, or the rude campus cop that ruined the end of the event for mom and I (okay, so I did mention it–whatever 😡 ), but it was great.

We got home, dried off, Jorge ordered us pizza and then I made this “Dump-Cake” for John.

It was the best, but I’m pretty sure we’ve developed diabetes and high cholesterol 😳 !

I’ve spent many hours reading up on complications regarding breast reductions. MANY. I’m not even sure how some of those stories became so severe; you’d think they’d run to the hospital when they’d see, oh you know, PUS! So with that said, 3 months to the day of my surgery, I’m a bit paranoid about the pain I’m still feeling on my right breast, plus I got a small, blister-like spot near my areola scar, plus the redness on that same areola towards the bottom scar. AND, my T-intersection on my left boob still has a small scab. So I made an appointment for Thursday afternoon, just to be on the safe side.

I started experiencing these things about 2 weeks ago 😳 and Jorge scolded me for not going in sooner. At first I thought it was irritation from my sports bra since I took up running (occasionally!), or that the pain I was feeling was because my nerves were waking up (that was the boob that was really numb at first), or that maybe the pain was from my menstrual cycle, but nope. Still have it.

Other than that, I feel really good! I can run, drive, lift my arms, I’m doing yoga again and I’m still walking around without a bra at home most of the time, so I feel really grateful. I’m sure it’s probably nothing, but the hypochondriac in me NEEDS reassurance.

[edited on Thursday, May 12]
I went in for my appointment today. The reason for making this appointment is because of the blister-like spot and the pain under my areola, but those healed already. But I already had the appointment scheduled, so I went in since I was feeling the pain on the right side of my right breast and my nip is still very sensitive. Running water from the shower makes it hurt type of sensitive.

The girls were welcoming and asked how I was doing. Then I got my vitals taken and I changed into my gown. My doc asked how’d I’d been doing and I said fine, BUT…and told him about my problems. He said the blister-like spot was due to my body spitting out a suture (which is exactly what I’d assumed). Then I told him about the lingering pain; I mean, even water trickling on my nip in the shower would cause a shocking pain suddenly. So he asked, “Does this hurt?” and told me to lift my arm and pressed his finger into the side of my boob near my underarm. I got this terrible pain! I cringed and said, “YUP, right there!” He said it was my nerve sending the pain across my boob into my nipple and that it could affect my ribs, too! No wonder my rib felt like it had a constant bruise!

He said it’s nerve inflammation, and that I could take Advil or Ibuprofen when I’m at home, but he could give me a steroid shot with local anesthesia if I wanted relief. So, as much as I hated the thought, I went for it. He said I would totally feel the pain subside in 3 days, but I’d follow up in 1 month in case the pain came back.

He walked out and came back with a syringe and an alcohol wipe. He apologized in advance for how much it was going to hurt 😯 !

He walked me over to the chair, then he pressed his finger along the side of my boob near my armpit until “it hurt the most” and kept his finger there as a marker. I asked how much of the needle would pierce me and he said, “The whole thing. It’s going to touch your rib.” I instantly felt nauseous and insanely nervous, but I gripped onto the seat and he stuck me. I felt pressure, lots of it, then the shocking pain when the needlepoint touched my rip. I squealed and gasped at the same time. I could feel the liquid flowing in. He said, “I know it’s at your rib, but now I’m going to insert it above and below.” So he proceeded to slightly pull the needle out, and reinsert. Ugh. It was the part that hurt the most, I think. He massaged the area and I said, “Ok, now when will you do the steroid?” And he said, “Oh! That was it, it’s 2 in 1!” Thank GOD.

I felt immediate relief on my nip and boob, BUT I did feel pain at the site. Driving back to work I was surprised to find that my seatbelt wasn’t hurting me like it usually does. But, once I got to the office, just plugging in my phone charger caused me to feel pain at the site. And now that it’s about 4 hours later, I’m feeling pain at the site (or my muscle?) when I lift my arm or pull it back 😕 . I hope it’s not nerve damage 🙁 . I hope this one shot helps! Need to go back in 1 month.