Struggling after breast surgery

[Confuzzleduzzled]

Has anyone had breast surgery and feel like their body isn’t their own?
I had a lumpectomy on one side and reduction on the other 2 weeks ago. Got my dressings off today and everything is so sensitive. I hate looking at my boobs even though they are a lot more perky than before and I can’t stand touching them.
I was really looking forward to getting the dressings off and it was such a disappointment. Even having a shower hurt. I’ve also not stopped eating since I first found out there might be something wrong so the rest of me has ballooned and now my
boobs have shrunk 5 cup sizes.
I’ve been holding it all together for my DDs. They have anxiety and phobias and one is doing GCSEs at the moment.
I’ve gone a bit off track with this post and started crying which I don’t want them to see.
Just wondered if anyone felt the same about their body.

2 weeks is such early days.
I had a lumpectomy and a mastectomy 18 months ago.
2 weeks in you’re still healing. It takes months rather than weeks for things to settle down.
you are a different person, physically and mentally, than you were pre surgery and cancer.
all that takes time to heal.
I remember mourning my breast because it had been with me most of my life.
your feelings are complex and not unusual.
Don’t be afraid to show your DDs your vulnerabilities because you are a survivor, you have battle scars to prove it.
Now I’ve grown used to the new me, though I still forget and catch myself in the mirror.
it’s a bit like temporary body dismorphia, what you see isn’t what everyone else sees.
Be kind to yourself and give yourself time and grace to heal from the journey that you’ve been on.

I’m so sorry I remember this stage, I had a mastectomy 10 years ago. It’s very early days for you, your body is still trying to heal, and your emotions will be all over the place. Do you have padded bras? That might help with the sensitivity, and how you perceive yourself. Use Vitamin E oil (usually called wheat germ), on scars to help healing, and talk to the breast care nurses. Do you have good support from anyone?

@Confuzzleduzzled like others have said, it is such early days at the moment. Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to adjust. Things will get better, pain and sensitivity will reduce and you will start to feel more positive and able to cope better. But it will take some time.

Two weeks is very early days. I’ve had surgery five times - cancer keeps returning - and I still find it hard. Be gentle with yourself.

Thanks for all the replies. It’s good to know that what I’m feeling isn’t unusual. I went bra shopping yesterday which was an unpleasant experience.
I’m usually a very positive person and haven’t really let things get to me. I’ll try to be kinder to myself.

As everyone has said it is still very early days. Everyday you will notice that your recovery from the surgery will get better. Are you taking painkillers to help. I had a mastectomy not a lumpectomy. Do you have exercises to to help with the mobility of arm movement. I don't wear bras I wear bralettes they make it so much more comfortable and they are padded too which helps so much with the form.

I didn’t have any lymph nodes removed and have full range of motion so they didn’t give me exercises. I’ve been completely mobile and active since about 3 days after surgery. Also had hardly any pain since then. I think it was just a shock to get the dressings removed and feel worse. The dressings were doing a lot of heavy lifting of my boobs. I’m now wearing 2 soft sports bras which helps.

Your boobs will still feel quite tender and will have swollen in size and this lasts a while. The scars go down and after a while you stop thinking about them. Wish they’d have offered reduction on the other one when I had this done 9 years ago. I am rather lopsided and when I asked about reduction they kind of talked me out of it.

Just joining my voice to the others - i had a lumpectomy and a reduction on the other side last year. I still get a surprise sometimes when I see myself. My nipples are different colours, and my shape is completely different. It does get better, please give yourself some time. I thought it'd all be smashing once the dressings came off but actually, I think some of the enormity of what had happened hadn't really hit me till then, when I had time to realise it. It wasn't just about my appearance but the whole thing.
Be gentle with yourself

I look in the mirror 8 months post-radiotherapy, and the reconstruction looks like an abnormal blob sat on my chest, with purple ridges and skin surrounding it. I'm hoping the symmetry surgery will help but I do wonder if I'm going to live with looking ugly and deformed from now on. I couldn't wait to have my cancer filled boob removed, but the photos showing post recovery were not what I see. Yet!