My left hand is swelling… I’m a bilateral mastectomy girl, but use a walking stick (with left hand) to get about after my bone surgery for bone mets… I’m just wondering if I’ve overdone it a bit, maybe my hand is telling me to slow down a bit?.. I’ve got an appt with my onc at the end of Nov, but will be seeing my nurse in a couple of weeks for the wonderful Zoladex injection, so I can see them about it and see if it is the start of lymphoedema.
Just wondering if anyone has got any ‘quick fix’ ideas to stop my hand from being so damn painful. It’s my mobility hand… I’ve got a ‘3 wheeler’ that my husband’s gran used to use for getting about, so am gonna use that instead of my stick for a while to see if it eases up…
I think you should speak to someone asap about your hand - they need to make sure that it is nothing more sinister (rare, but it can happen) and hopefully ‘just’ lymphoedema.
In fact, hopefully, not even that. It does rather sound as tho’ you might have been overdoing it with that hand, presumably putting weight on it to ease your leg?
The wheely zimmer frame thing sounds like a much better idea. I think you need to rest your arm as much as you can and support and elevate it on cushions, etc, to help lymph drainage. Drinking plenty of fluids will help your lymphatic system to work as efficiently as possible. Try not to sleep on that side at night.
Deep breathing (not too many at once or you’ll get dizzy and fall over…) and shoulder rolls also help to get lymph moving. If you are not already taking painkillers, these are a good idea, as pain is associated with swelling.
But do get an appt asap - don’t wait until the end of Nov.
Have also seen your other post about Arimidex. Some meds (for various conditions, eg BP) can aggravate lymphoedema. Am trying to get a link for you - will post again if I find it.