Re: Pain relief for sentinel node injections?

[Guest guest]

r18252000 wrote:

> I just had the SNB done on 11/27. The shots are not fun but they are

> not that bad. They are over very very quickly (30 seconds total for

> all four shots) and the stinging is intense for just a few seconds.

You know, I know folks here have said that the Emla cream does not

work for this. I wonder about Lidoderm. Lidoderm is a gooey patch

impregnated with lidocaine. I wonder if using one of those for several

hours beforehand would work. I get my injections Monday, and am NOT

looking forward to it. In my case, the injections are given one day and

the surgery is the next.

-Frances

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[Guest guest]

Brown wrote:

> Not at all. The Dr was very surprised also because the Radioactive Isotopes

usual stings/burns very badly when being injected. I'm such a baby about pain

that I was willing to ask for what ever help he would give me and he was very

compassionate about it.

Does anyone here know how much stuff is injected with each stick?

5cc, 25cc, ???

-Frances

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http://www.qsl.net/ki0dz Central Ohio | ^ - ^

Watkins Products www.watkinsonline.com #092389 ------- (o o)

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[Guest guest]

OK, despite my long post I just did, I'm still not done! Lest my

prior post mislead you, it wasn't a completely Pollyanna experience

I had.

I didn't sleep as well, or rather as long, the night or two before

surgery as I had previously, partially because I stayed up late

preparing my own 'final' documents via a Suze Orman do it yourself

will/trust, etc kit. While I lost some sleep over it, I also felt

better in the hospital knowing that 'just in case' we had our bases

covered. I understand the doctors can give you a sleep aid if need

be, although they're not big on you taking stuff before surgery.

During radiation, with Mammosite (which isn't an option with a

mastecomy), I basically had a temporary mini-breast implant: the

catheter they put in has a saline filled balloon at the end to fill

up the cavity they created by extracting the tumor and surrounding

tissue. I'd always figured that if I had to have a bilateral

mastectomy sometime down the road due to recurrence, I'd have

reconstruction and look great like some of my other cancer friends

have....you may as well get something positive out of it all, I

figured! However, with the Mammosite experience, I'm leaning toward

no reconstruction if I ever that decision to make, because I just

did not like having this foreign material in my body and I wondered

how people with implants managed to adjust to it! I'd have to get

some advice/talk with people who'd been through it before I had it

done, because I just didn't care for the little saline filled

balloon I had. Now maybe the catheter leading up to it and sticking

out the side of my breast had something to do with it. If I did

reconstruction, I'd probably want to see if they could use fat from

other parts of my body.....while that's also hard on your body as

they pull up abdominal and other fat through your body, if that's

the way they do it, it is your own material inside you ultimately.

I have no personal experience with this other than via my friends,

and it is everyone own personal choice, and who's to say how I would

really feel once faced with the decision myself?

In general, I advocate picking what you think will work for YOU and

sticking with it and not being negatively swayed by others' negative

comments before, during and afterwards. You can always second guess

yourself and say what if, which I've done some also. But the

negative thoughts don't change the results of the choices we make;

it's best to just make as educated a decision as you can make in

advance, which it sounds like you're doing, and then be at PEACE

with it, insulating yourself emotionally if need be from people who

think they know what's best for you instead of you. Still be

flexible and open to new stuff, but feel confident that your

decision, doctors, and treatments are right if you've done enough

researching, decision making and thought about it all ahead of time.

I must confess, that with a short nite of sleep or two before

surgery, and then getting shuttled all over the hospital, I was

actually looking forward to 'going under' finally so I could

actually get rest! I watched the clock once in a while and

thought, " Yeah, only one more hour until I can take a forced nap! "

It was actually a relief. Sure I shed a tear or two when I was

wheeled away from my spouse and into the OR, and joked with the

doctor who was going to knock me out about still refusing treatment

and walking away, but I decided it was in my best interests to leave

the OR with a donation of breast tissue and cancer cells behind

rather than run from something designed to help me.

Overall, I tried to discover as much as possible beforehand, and

then positively embrace the results of the decisions I made.

I'll be thinking of you,

Suzanne

> This afternoon I talked with the surgeon's NP -- nurse

practitioner.

> I have talked with her several times in the last few weeks and

always

> found her very empathetic and supportive. Now I have mixed

feelings.

>

> I told her that I had discussed this with the doctor only once,

and

> that the doctor's response was that they are not set up to offer

> anesthesia for the injections. The NP said that this may have been

a

> misunderstanding, and maybe the doctor thought I was asking to

have

> the injections after I'm already in the OR, under general

> anesthesia. I was thinking more along the lines of the stuff they

> give you for a colonoscopy, where you're out of it but still able

to

> breathe on your own and be somewhat responsive.

>

> Anyway, the NP is going to talk with the doctor and clarify that

and

> call me back tomorrow, and maybe I'll get some encouraging news

out

> of that.

>

> There were a couple of things that bothered me, though. At one

> point, when I was talking about how scared I am of the pain, she

said

> that sometimes in life, things just have to hurt. I find that

rather

> patronizing. She also made a couple of statements suggesting that

> there are people much worse off than I am, who have to bear more

pain

> than this will cause. I know all of that is true, but it strikes

me

> as not playing fair on her part. Know what I mean? When I read the

> experiences here, women saying they would do everything they could

to

> avoid going through that again, I don't think I'm being

unreasonable

> to ask for substantial pain control.

>

> I know that medical professionals are kind and caring people, and

if

> they could prevent all pain, they would do so. I also realize that

> in order to do their jobs, they have to develop a certain sense of

> detachment from their patients' pain, or they couldn't do things

that

> they have to do. I think sometimes patients get caught in the

middle

> of those two extremes. Doctors see this all the time and they know

it

> will be over quickly. For the patient, it is a horrible nightmare

> she can't ever forget.

>

> Another thing ... mercifully, most women will go through this only

> once. Several of you have said that if you had to go through it

> again, you would be much more insistent about having something for

> the pain. I think it's going to take that kind of insistence

before

> they DO realize that stronger pain relief needs to be offered.

>

> I guess I'm just venting. Thanks for listening. Please offer any

> suggestions that you can. I'm not giving up yet.

>

>

>

> Jan Koelsch

>

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