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Angela Wright said:On top of that lymphedema, she’s dealing with neuropathic pain too... honestly, just get her in to see Dr. Miller at the Mayo Clinic outpatient center. He’s seen this exact mess a thousand times. He can basically tailor a combo therapy to hit that whole spectrum of pain she's feeling—you just have to actually address it and know how to play the game.
Phone: 505-555-0199
Thanks for the heads up. 😉
Thanks for the reply.
We actually went to the pain management clinic—they gave her some flyers, though I'm not sure if they’re the same ones you mentioned—and some pills that absolutely wrecked her stomach.
After a month of zero progress, the doctor just gave up on those and switched her to something else.
I totally get why we didn't know—it's because the doctor flat-out refuses to answer the question. She just keeps looping back, saying it's "post-op complications," but won't say a damn thing about how to actually deal with it.
Honestly, the pain is doing more damage to my grandma than the melanoma itself.
She can't sleep or even function because of it.
Personally, I haven't met a single woman who dealt with this kind of thing.
And I'm talking about women who were right there in the hospital room with her going through the exact same stuff.
Oh, and she also complains that it feels like there's a literal thorn stuck in there??😕
And whenever she moves her arm, it's like that sensation shifts around inside too??😕
I really don't know how to explain it better—she can't even put her finger on the sensation herself.
Hey everyone,
Figured I’d jump in here—maybe this will help someone else feel less alone. 😢
So, about two years ago, my grandma was showering and noticed
this mole had started bleeding.
Since it was right by her left shoulder blade, she couldn't really get a good look at it herself, so my grandpa had to check it out for her.
To the naked eye, it looked pretty raised with clear edges, but honestly, it looked more like some weird fluid-filled blister than an actual mole.
Her primary doctor took one look, realized something was definitely off, and sent her straight to a dermatologist.
The specialist told her it was just a viral wart and suggested freezing it off.
After a few sessions, nothing changed—except the whole thing turned black and the edges got red. At that point, the derm realized they might have messed up big time, grabbed a tissue sample, and sent it off for testing. And that's when the nightmare truly began...😢
The biopsy came back positive for melanoma. The dermatologist basically panicked because she knew she’d botched the initial diagnosis, so she started calling every doctor she knew over at the Mayo Clinic.
Surgery was scheduled within three days because it was an absolute emergency.
They ended up cutting out the melanoma along with a chunk of surrounding tissue—we're talking a 30cm wound—and they removed the lymph nodes under her arm too.
They did a biopsy on those lymph nodes, and thankfully, there were no metastases found locally, but then they spotted something on her adrenal gland. They called my dad and dropped the bombshell that it *had* spread everywhere. Just a great way to start the day, right? -/\
We were all a total wreck, just crying... it was devastating.
My dad and aunt were called in for a talk with the doctor, who—to cut a long story short—claimed Grandma was "stable" enough to go home for now. Next checkup in three months.😕
Fast forward three months, Grandma goes in for her follow-up and everything seems fine on the surface. 😍
But there’s this one massive issue: the pain under her arm where they removed the lymph nodes won't go away. They told us she needs physical therapy. So, we go through a mountain of PT, massages, meds... and absolutely nothing works.
She’s in constant agony. We even wondered if it was psychosomatic for a second... mostly because Grandma has a really hard time just accepting that she’s sick.
We’ve paid for private PT, endless massages, and we even try doing exercises with her at home, but there's zero progress. We aren't giving her much besides some Tylenol with Codeine, and the pain is just getting harder for her to bear. It’s brutal for us too because we’ve tried everything under the sun and we're at a total loss.
If anyone has dealt with something similar, please, tell me how to stop this pain.
Because the only answer we get from the doctors is a polite, diplomatic "screw you" (sorry for the language, but it's true).
Six months pass like that, and at the next checkup, they discover two new spots right where the first one used to be.
She has to go through another surgery, and we’re stuck waiting on biopsy results.
The surgeon concluded he should have taken more tissue out originally (which left us all in shock), but since they saw some suspicious activity in a lymph node near her lung, they're sending her over to Johns Hopkins and delaying the third surgery.
More stress for everyone, but thank God the results have been okay so far. (I won't even get into the mess we dealt with at that hospital, or we'll be here all night.)
My dad keeps calling the doctor at the clinic trying to push for that third surgery, since the surgeon basically admitted he missed something... yeah.
But nope, they just want Grandma to go home and wait another three months for a checkup. (And I say three months, but in reality, these gaps always end up being four or five months.)
Finally, Grandma gets her follow-up, and sure enough, they find more spots—because, surprise, the surgeon didn't take enough the first time. Since the surgeon isn't available, the doctor is just going to cut it out right there in the office.😕
So, she’s being sliced open for the third time today. On top of that, they mentioned it might have spread to her neck nodes and handed her this thick booklet about starting radiation—something nobody had even bothered to mention until now. Instead of actually treating her properly, they just keep cutting her open.😕
Nobody’s even mentioning—or reacting to—this damn pain I've been dealing with for a year and a half right where they pulled my lymph nodes.
Every time we bring it up, the doctor just gets incredibly frustrated with us—like we're idiots who can't grasp the obvious fact that they cut out a chunk of tissue and, duh, it's gonna hurt. But why is it just me? We've met so many people battling this exact same thing, yet nobody else seems to be feeling this specific ache.
Honestly, we're all just hitting our breaking point here. 😢