Thursday, September 19, 2013
Compression
Physical therapist says Lymphedivas are a no-go due to insufficient compression (in her opinion). Uncle's recommendations are Sigvaris and Juzo.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Lymphedema
For the record, I just started treatment for this after finally 'fessing up to the reality that the tingling in the back of my arm just above my left elbow was not going away (or, in the words of my oncologist, was "persisent and escalating").
Lymphatic massage 2x/week for 6 weeks or so consists of 45 minutes of opening up various parts of the body into which the stray fluid can escape, and then opening up the affected arm. And then some grueling exercises, which need to be done daily.
After that, 6 months of wearing a compression sleeve (hurrah, winter months!). A friend has told me about the groovy designs at Lymphedivas (the name alone makes me want to buy), and my fellow-suffering uncle has told me about two good manufacturers, though I can't find them at the moment.
After THAT, praying it doesn't come back, and looking into the $9,000 massage machine that insurance may pay for but Medicare does not. You know... in case it comes back after I turn 65. Oh, and the sleeve-wearing forever on airplanes.
It's not visible to the naked eye, so I don't care much. And the oncologist says there is no correlation between lymphedema and recurrence, which is the only salient point in this post.
Lymphatic massage 2x/week for 6 weeks or so consists of 45 minutes of opening up various parts of the body into which the stray fluid can escape, and then opening up the affected arm. And then some grueling exercises, which need to be done daily.
After that, 6 months of wearing a compression sleeve (hurrah, winter months!). A friend has told me about the groovy designs at Lymphedivas (the name alone makes me want to buy), and my fellow-suffering uncle has told me about two good manufacturers, though I can't find them at the moment.
After THAT, praying it doesn't come back, and looking into the $9,000 massage machine that insurance may pay for but Medicare does not. You know... in case it comes back after I turn 65. Oh, and the sleeve-wearing forever on airplanes.
It's not visible to the naked eye, so I don't care much. And the oncologist says there is no correlation between lymphedema and recurrence, which is the only salient point in this post.
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