Hypersensitivity

I've been mentioning that the "big" pains have been gone for a long time, but it's the little things that are annoying me.  Over the last few days, the little thing that's been driving me nuts is the bizarre feeling that I get every time I get a chill.  Essentially, when a chill runs down your spine, it RUNS DOWN YOUR SPINE!  But mine have been stopping at my breast area, circling, and focusing on the areas where the drains were removed, and then settling in my right upper arm, where my lymph nodes were removed.  Not only is there this bizarre chill-type feeling, but it remains afterwards as a bruised feeling--so much that at times it hurts to be gently hugged, or even to rest my arm on a pillow.  I talked to a few people I know who went through similar surgery and tried to google to see if "chills following mastectomy" were a thing, but couldn't find anything--until yesterday morning when I stumbled on this blog:  CoolGirlsGetCancer and the post entitled "tips for dealing with hypersensitive skin after a mastectomy."

The way she describes hypersensitivity is exactly what I've been feeling, so I started following her tips--essentially desensitizing myself by forced touching and pressure.  And it seems to be working!  Today I even went to the mall and as I felt a chill coming and that horrible pins and needles creepy feeling, I forced myself to rub my right arm against my torso.  Though it was uncomfortable, the feeling soon passed.  I hope this is the beginning of the end.

The other yucky, uncomfortable thing I've been dealing with is night sweats.  I can't find anything online about anyone experiencing them following a mastectomy.  Lots of women get them after chemo (essentially because chemo plows them into chemically-induced menopause), but I haven't seen any after surgery alone.  I don't know what's causing it, but it's strange.  And I don't have hot flashes during the day--it's just the sweating at night.

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Several nice little things over the last few days have happened.  
*I got out for lunch (Thai food--which I've been craving since my appetite returned) with my wonderful friends and former-classmates Chelsea and Katie.  
*I chatted with a local woman (kids went to same schools--different ages) who not only has the same breast cancer team as me, but the same diagnosis!  (This made me so happy for some strange reason.  Because ILC is so much more rare than IDC or the in situ types, I had not yet met anyone else with lobular.  It's nice to know that, while it's rare, it's not THAT rare!)  
*I wore jeans for the first time post-surgery today.  
*I got a text this morning from my dear friend Mary asking if I'd be around since she was going to be in town this afternoon.  What a lovely afternoon catching up with her!