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Post by revas83 on Sept 26, 2013 9:54:33 GMT -6
Hello,
I'm glad I found this place, it's been a tough time for me. Surgery to remove a large thoracic schwannoma August 23rd, 2013.
A few months back I went to the ER for chest discomfort. I'm 30 yrs old, so that was a red flag for me. They found a mass in my chest/spinal cord area and so my journey began. I ended up having thoracic surgery 5 weeks ago to remove a very large schwannoma. I was only the 3rd person in 36 years they said that they have seen schwannomas in. They were worried that it might be attached to the back of my lung, and might have to remove a rib. None of that was the case, it was just sitting there, though they did have to scrape it off some of my ribs. I'm 5 weeks now post surgery and the pain is still really bothering me. The incision on my back hurts bad mostly towards evening hours, they cut off my pain pills 2 weeks after the surgery, though I did not find the perc, nor the hydrocodone to even do anything for my pain. I've tried running warm water over it, that only seems to make it worse. Tylenol, advil, aleve...nothing works. I'm also having quite a bit of pain on my front side, it's heavy and feels like a bowling ball is sitting on me, my whole upper front right side is numb except pain. They said it's normal, but it's just so hard on me. I've also developed a bit of anxiety because of the pain and stress at home, I've never had anxiety before. Any advice from the community on dealing with the pain?
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Post by lw on Oct 7, 2013 16:03:12 GMT -6
Hi there,
I also have a tumour that is situated half into my spinal cord and half into my chest (left lung/aorta). I had surgery in 2008, aged 26, and still struggle with the dreaded chest pain (mine started when I was about 17). I find tramadol helps but I try not to take it too often. For me, the pain has lessened with time, and I'm sure yours will too. It's still early days for you and a lot of the pain you are experiencing maybe just post surgical and won't be long term. I was fortunate in that I had no pain whatsoever post op for the first two years but I did have to re-learn to walk. How I got through was by constantly thinking of the future and telling myself that things would not always be the way they were. Sometimes this was easier said than done and I can recall many occasions where I just went into meltdown. The one that really sticks in my mind was the first time I tried to wash my hair and couldn't. It hadn't been done for over 3 months and one day I thought I'd try using an alternative method. Only it couldn't be done as my body wouldn't let me. I remember screaming the place down and crying in the bathroom for about an hour. So I know how it can affect you mentally. I developed anxiety too and am still dealing with it 4-5 years down the line. It's a tough nut to crack but you just have to get through each day the best you can. Deal with one thing at a time. Are your family and friends supportive?
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Post by revas83 on Nov 23, 2013 10:27:27 GMT -6
Hi lw,
Thanks for the uplifting words. My family is indeed supportive. They found me a doctor and I got on Gabapentin, which helps very much with the pain. I can now lift light things with my right arm and I can lay on my sides again which is just amazing as I hated laying on my back. The scar is still very red but I was told recently it would be for years. My anxiety attacks went away, I'm back in church and living mostly normal again. I can't imagine having to re-learn to walk, I'm glad you were able to pull through that. I am lucky that there were no complications with my surgery, just some sore ribs and my side is still numb.
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Post by Leofwen on Nov 26, 2013 15:09:43 GMT -6
Hi revas83
Welcome to the forum and the select schwannoma club! Lol.
I hope you are starting to feel better and your pain is under control. LW is right, time is a great healer post surgery.
Good luck on your recovery journey.
S x
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