Question For The Women

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denobobeno

I have a question for the women on the site.
When will my scar feel better? It still stings to wear my 'undergarments'. I wear alot of big sweatshirts because 'support' is still so uncomfortable.
It's been 6mos since my surgery in July. It only hurts at the bottom of the scar. It is still red and 'stingy'. I have even tried putting Neosporin ( the skin feels raw) and bandaids on the scar..
I'm sure it is all normal, but, when will it feel better?
Thanks!:D
Deana
 
That's quite a while for the scar to be bothering you. My scar is horizontal, right along the line where the underwire goes, and I was able to wear a bra within a few weeks. Prior to that I wore tight "wifebeaters" with no problem. It could be the cut nerves reacting to the stimulus, but not interpreting it correctly. I know that if I wear a shirt that has any kind of texture on the inside of the fabric, it really makes my chest itch, not where the scar is, so I assume it's "phantom pains". Perhaps it is the particular fabric of the bra that you are wearing. Have you tried different kinds of bras? There's always a possibility of an infection, so I would talk to the doctor to see what he thinks.
 
It takes a good year for the scar to heal, and even at that, the bottom of mine is still red and ropey. I feel uncomfortable in bras under the best circumstances, so it really took a while for me for the bottom of the bra (and we're talking about the most comfortable type of bra possible) not to irritate the scar. Thank goodness I am not well endowed, because I can get away without wearing a bra with certain clothes!

One thing I do when I put my HR monitor on (the strap goes under the bottom of the bra, and the plastic piece that sends the signal is right on the scar) is put a piece of Kleenex folded up right under it. You could try that with your bra.
 
Before I went into surgery, I found a thing called a surgical bra online. It has a front opening and it is designed so that it won't put pressure on the incision. I am about 2 1/2 months post surgery and it is pretty comfortable and supportive. I bought it one size larger then I normally wear and it has worked for me. I went to Google and looked under surgical bras and they had lots of links. The ones I bought were only $1.99 each! The nurse at the hospital who was supposed to help me get dressed to go home told me it was of the best quality that she had seen. Marcie
 
I thought wearing a bra might be uncomfortable so left them off for the first few weeks then decided to try, much to my amazement it was far more comfortable wearing a bra as there was less pulling on the scar, I am neither very small nor particularly large busted.

Sometimes the scar is slightly tender but it is well-healed.
 
Deana. I'm 9 months post op this week. My scar is still very, very sensitive. I hate to even touch it. Fortunately for me it does not go below my bra-line (I got a cute 5 incher right through the cleavage). I know that most of my problem is probably painful scar tissue(it went from a sweet little white line to a bright red puffy thing) and that I"m heavily endowed (beyond double D) which keeps pulling on it all the time.

I tried everyone's suggestion from lavender lotions to aloe etc. (we have another thread on this....I'll go find it)

I got a steroid shot 2 months ago. It hurt like the dickens to get that shot. She poked me in about 6 places. Not only did it decrease the swelling some, it also took away the sensitivity. Ahhhh,. relief! However, it has returned within about 6 weeks and I'm still haggling with insurance to pay for it, so I'm not going to do it again. Recently (and as a matter of fact, I was going to ask the dermatologist to prescribe me some), I think in that same thread, someone mentioned a steroid type tape/bandage. I'll go find it.....

Don't be too discouraged. I think everyone heals so differently. If you suspect there's an infection, I would strongly urge you to contact your GP or your dermatologist. You just never know....it might be beyond neosporin. And I think too much neosporin is inadvisable. Anyway...please call and get a professional opinion...even if it's just a nurse at the surgeon's office!

Marguerite
 
It was in Marcie's thread called itchy incision.... Here's a response from barttr1




treatment for itchy scar

The name of the "sticky strip" is 'Cordran Tape' -- active ingredient is flurandrenolide. Here's a link:

http://www.drugs.com/cdi/cordran_tape_tape.html

As I said, it's working well for me. Warning -- if you have a hairy chest, it hurts coming off. Another warning -- $40 for one roll of tape.

Hope this helps!

Bartt
 
I believe I referred to a "tight wifebeater" and with your generosity of spirit, I would never call you "tight"!:D :p :cool:
 
Wow, I feel much better knowing that all of you have experienced the same discomfort. What a great idea to search for a surgical bra. I didn't know that they existed!
I'm not worried that it's infected..I was worried that I perhaps had done this to myself by wearing a bra too soon. It didn't hurt at all to begin with and now it is soo tender.
I will search for the surgical bra since it doesn't sound like it will be going away anytime soon. Also will try the tape.
sometimes I wonder why I get tired after 6 months..and then I realized that if my scar still hurts maybe that is a good reminder for me that my insides are still healing too..I have to think it is really a miracle to feel as good as I do. I'm impatient I guess.
I have tried the wifebeater thing too. It seems to work best for me. Ross, I agree with Lisa:D
thanks again for all your help everyone,
Deana
 
I'm only a day post surgery so only moral support here. My incision is horizontal under the right breast, looks like I got augmentation surgery on only one side :rolleyes: I'm sticking to T-shirts for the forseeable future, though I'll need to find an option before returning to work. I don't really want to walk around bra-less all day, just doesn't feel modest enough, and it's not the 70's any more. :p

The surgical bra places sound like a good idea, I may look for one. My mom used to pad her mastectomy scar with a worn out old cloth baby diaper. I guess we all just figure out what works for us.

I saw an online child's clothing shop for the hip crowd and they sold as t-shirts, you guessed it, "child beaters". Sigh.

Ruth
 
I am 5 mos. post surgery and I have an 8" vertical scar directly between the breasts which ends beneath the bra line. I have not had any incision discomfort for at least two months. I didn't wear a bra for the first few weeks, and went to a non underwire for a couple of months after that, but I have been back to underwire for at least two months with no problem. I actually think you should have your incision looked at as 6 mos. is a long time to still be feeling pain. My incision is still red, but is not stingy at all.
 
My experience is almost identical to Cynaburst's except that I cannot wear an underwire now because they hurt an inflamed/dislocated rib (cartilage) area.

This seems like an especially long time, Denobobeno, for you to still be having so much discomfort so I'm wondering if you have an inflamed/dislocated rib (cartilage) or maybe one of your wires for your sternum is right beneath where your bra strap would go and is being irritated beneath your skin.
 
I just checked my receipt and the bras cost $9.75 each. My mistake, but they are still inexpensive. They don't have underwires and are similair to sports bras. Marcie
 
Alternate solution

Alternate solution

denobobeno said:
I have a question for the women on the site.
When will my scar feel better? It still stings to wear my 'undergarments'. I wear alot of big sweatshirts because 'support' is still so uncomfortable.
It's been 6mos since my surgery in July. It only hurts at the bottom of the scar. It is still red and 'stingy'. I have even tried putting Neosporin ( the skin feels raw) and bandaids on the scar..
I'm sure it is all normal, but, when will it feel better?
Thanks!:D
Deana
Click to expand...

My problem was not so much the scar and my wearing a bra but the bottom of the bra hitting the areas where the drains tubes were located. I tried everything to not irritate the area and even used my husbands Dr Scholl ,(sic) foot pads to cover the area. End result was that I wore the bra of my two piece bathing suit and that worked just fine. It has less seams than a normal bra so less effect on the surgical scar I found.
I had an aortic valve replacement, all in my profile, in Mar of 2005. After a month though my itching and redness had almost disappeared. Now where there are two bumps on the lower area of the surgical scar and they itch at times. I will have to talk to my cardiologist about that.
Hope that helps.
Lynn-D
 
Thanks for all the help ladies. I will take into account all the replies. I'm glad to know there are still some experiencing some discomfort.
xxooDeana
 
Men have feelings too you know. ;) No bra but after a year my scar still hurts.
 
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