Thanks everyone for being so caring and supportive, I am so grateful. Got the results back

[soldierant]

62. I have never had breast surgery but

I did have an endometrioma (thankfully benign) and the worst of the pain was over for me by day 2.

The very worst was when I came out of the anesthesia and a nurse was holding a pillow over my incision and told me to cugh, and I did. That would have been unbearable if it had lasted more than a couple of seconds. After that, it wasn't that painful again until the latter parts of the first few periods the pain meds were supposed to last for. The surgeon had instructed them to give me the meds when I asked for them rather than waiting the full whatevr it was, and they didn't. But the second one lasted longer than the first, and by the third or fourth I was getting relief for the full time I was supposed to be getting relief.

Not saying it was a walk in the park, but I was a very good patient -
i wanted out of there, and was willing to work for it. I went around the ward seversl times every day, dragging my IV pole, and I requested and got a little gadget that one breathed into or out of - I forget which now - but it had a little ball in it that you were supposed to be able to lift to the top when you recovered full lung power, and I used it religiously also.

I still had to argue a bit to get out, because for the last few days I was running an allergic fever (and confusing the staff terribly because my blood tests were conclusive that there was no infection.) But I had had one before, shortly after I had gone through allergy testing and was quitting everything I was allergic to at once, so I knew what it was and was able to show that and to suggest it was fumes from their cleaning products to which I was reacting, and I got let out (and the fever went away.)

It sounds like you have a good attitude which will help you tremendously.