Hi, I’m new to this forum. I have had lymphoedema since chldhood on the opposite side to my mastectomy which was 4 years ago. Have just received the garment and have put it on. It is like a glove with the fingertips exposed and the sleeve goes just below the elbow. How on earth am I going to cope with cooking etc? Any thoughts?
Hi Tilly
Sorry to hear you’ve been diagnosed with lymphoedema (again).
I wear sleeves as well, but don’t need a handpiece/glove, so I can’t advise you on cooking etc, sorry. Hopefully someone else can.
But I was just wondering about your garment. It sounds a little strange…a sleeve going to just below the elbow. Have you in fact only got a glove?
When you mention your other side, have you had primary lymphoedema in your other arm since you were young?
Trying to be helpful in a general way, do you know the website
and are you a member of the Lymphoedema Support Network? (Who might also be able to give some practical advice in how to cope with the compression garment).
X
S
Hi S,
Thanks for your reply and concern.
It’s actually a gauntlet because the lymphoedema affects the hand and only goes upto the elbow. It’s secondary lymphoedema but came when I was a baby following radiotherapy to my armpit. I haven’t joined the lymphoedema support network as all this treatment is all a bit new to me. I will try the forum though.
Tilly2
I too would love to know how when wearing the gauntlet style sleeve which i have been told to wear you can cook, wash your hands after using toilet etc. When I told my physio that I fold glove back to wrist she said dont tell me. Apparently it does terrible things! But she had no suggestions as to how to wash hands otherwise. As a result I do not wear mine much and swelling has inevitably increased. Also I feel a sleeve is like advertising you have had bc. I may as well hang a sign around my neck!!
i have a sleeve and a separate glove… so i take my glove off when cooking, washing etc… i do find the glove gets very dirty though especially when out and about on public transport etc so needs washing every couple of days…
theresa
I have a glove which I just take off when I go to the toilet so I can wash my hands.
I use rubber gloves a lot in the kitchen - eg for peeling potatoes. My lymphoedema nurse said just get stuck in & don’t worry about the glove, wash it afterwards. She likes to see a well used glove as it means it is being worn a lot.
I use a rubber glove and also disposable latex glove at work sometimes as I work with kids so have messy stuff to do like clay (and wet knicker changing!). I wear my glove all day every day and it has made a huge difference to the swelling. Sometimes I use a sleeve too if I’ve been over doing it. If I don’t use the glove my hand begins to hurt and swell. My problem is that the glove takes such a bashing the 2 I’m issued with are frayed and splitting along the seams by the end of the 6 months before I can have new ones. It seems ridiculous that I can’t get a replacement earlier (I know they cost lots and NHS budget problems etc but …).
I don’t find that wearing a glove advertises my having had BC. The only people who recognise what it is are other women who have had BC. Even work colleagues have asked me (very politely) why I’m wearing a glove and don’t seem to associate it with the BC treatment. The kids I work with are more openly curious but happy with the “I’ve got a sore hand” explanation. One kid made me laugh as he asked what was under the glove. Of course I took it off to show him that I wasn’t a bionic terminator in disguise!
Hi all
Littlemrs - really pleased to hear that your glove works so well for your hand - and without a sleeve, too!
Isn’t it funny how different lymphoedema can be . My hands are still unaffected (touch wood!!!), despite having lymphoedema in one arm for about 13 years and about 5 now in the other.
But I’m getting really peeed off that chemotherapy seems to make my right shoulder and underarm puff up…
Btw, I bought 4 new off-the-shelf ‘beige’ Venex sleeves direct from Haddenhams Healthcare (a lymphoedema therapist did the ordering for me)a couple of months ago and they cost me £73.60 - well under £20 each. No doubt the NHS can negotiate for even cheaper prices for bulk purchases, so it really annoys me when they apply the 6 month replacement rule so rigidly.
X to all
S