I Am Tired of Having to Explain My Pain and Need of Pain Meds
So 3 years ago I had stage 3 breast cancer- I did the whole round of torture/treatment including 6 months of chemo, surgery and radiation. Thankfully it resolved and I have not had a relapse so far. Yeah! One complication i developed was lymphedema in my left arm (all of my lymph nodes in my left arm were removed because they were cancerous). This leaves me with mild swelling in my left arm- I did several months of physical therapy, got a custom arm wrap, lymph pump etc. I found that staying well hydrated was the best way to manage the swelling in my arm.
So now I have a new complication from cancer treatment. In December 2017 my portacatheter was removed - it sat below my right collarbone and made giving chemo pretty easy (no hunting for veins). At times it was uncomfortable having this device under your skin, but I tolerated it. No issues with the removal until this year. September 2019 I developed heartburn. I had an endo/colonoscopy (nothing significant was found) and I tried different heartburn meds. Now, Everyday I have horrible heartburn pains where my portacatheter was. It almost feels like a heart attack but I know it’s gas pain because I always burp afterwards and feel fine. I am becoming one of those patients that doctors are annoyed by because they don’t know what to do for me. I have to take it day by day I guess. I’m not looking for pain meds but just some answers and relief.
So now I have a new complication from cancer treatment. In December 2017 my portacatheter was removed - it sat below my right collarbone and made giving chemo pretty easy (no hunting for veins). At times it was uncomfortable having this device under your skin, but I tolerated it. No issues with the removal until this year. September 2019 I developed heartburn. I had an endo/colonoscopy (nothing significant was found) and I tried different heartburn meds. Now, Everyday I have horrible heartburn pains where my portacatheter was. It almost feels like a heart attack but I know it’s gas pain because I always burp afterwards and feel fine. I am becoming one of those patients that doctors are annoyed by because they don’t know what to do for me. I have to take it day by day I guess. I’m not looking for pain meds but just some answers and relief.