Feeling Numb after Your Mastectomy

Has anyone felt this? The lack of sensation after a mastectomy? The strange nerve pains right after surgery shooting across your chest wall? Was the body trying to figure out what to do with the cut nerves? It was beyond strange and I wasn’t sure of the shooting sensations would ever go away! ⁠

Over time they did and after much research I learned that this is called “phantom nerve pain.” Nobody told me this after surgery and I couldn’t understand why I was having such strange shooting sensations.⁠

According to @breastcancer.org ” Phantom breast pain is feeling pain in the breast that has been removed. Phantom breast pain can happen after mastectomy for the same reasons phantom pains happen after limb amputations. The brain continues to send signals to nerves in the breast area that were cut during surgery, even though the breast is no longer there. You’re more likely to have phantom breast pain if you had breast pain before you had a mastectomy.⁠

Almost 3 years later, I am still numb from my surgery and have no feeling at all. I felt this was an important emotional topic to address because it is not easy to deal with every day especially when you have an itch or hug someone and you truly can’t feel anything. Can you relate?⁠