Category: Breast Reduction

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!

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.

I had my 2 month follow up appointment with my PS on Monday, the 11th. I dropped all the kids off, texted my bosses that I’d miss our meeting due to the appointment and went to my doc’s office. There were 2 of us in the lobby and they took us both in within 3 minutes of signing in. I got my pressure checked and changed into my gown.

My doc comes in and checks me.

I say, “It looks a little better, right?”

He says, “A little?? This is great! I think you’re ready for your After photos!” So he gets the camera, turns me this way and that and snaps away.

He asks if I have questions and I say yes. I tell him my right nip had been progressively hurting more, but I let him know I was on my monthly. He said it was normal and showed me how to drum my fingers where it hurts. I asked about the odd discoloration around the border of my areolas and he said that’s normal too, and would get better in time. I asked about the dry, tight skin and he said it was new skin coming in, healing from the old allergic reaction. He said my scars looked good. And then I asked, “Can I run again??” And he chuckles and says, “Yes, of course!” We say our goodbyes and he tells me to call the office if I need anything at all.

I was giddy driving to work. I was glad to get a clean bill of boob health.  I even walked on the treadmill on Monday and walked/jogged on Tuesday at the park. It was glorious. I would have to hold my sports bra down when I’d run, or else I felt it creeping up and irritating me.

The girls and I went to Maddie’s birthday party at Pump It Up today. We didn’t get home till 8:30pm and by the time the girls showered and we finished playing with the Snapchat Lenses we were beat.

So no running today :(.

I did this while we watched Grey’s:

And then Jorge and I joined John in the living room and the 3 of us played with the Lenses. And then, as I’m sitting there, I feel a weird sting on the right side incision near my underarm. I feel the area with my fingers and feel a bump and an itch, like a huge mosquito bite. Jorge checks me and says I look irritated, but like something bit me. I checked, and it’s a pretty big, almost perfectly round bump right on the incision. It’s awful 🙁 . And makes me sad. I saw it and it reminded me of when my tubal ligation scar got infected, developed a round bump and then the fluid/pus filled sac ruptured. Ugh. I really hope it’s nothing more than a mosquito bite 😕 . I was so thrilled with my progress 🙁 . Crossing my fingers the hydrocortisone kicks in and I wake up better.

Still need to update about our busy week at work during the beginning of April! Goodnight!

[edit:] It WAS a mosquito bite!! I was back to normal by the morning! Yay!