I have had my sleeve and glove for about a month now and though very comfortable, I’m not sure if it the one for me… My swelling is wrist/hand area. The sleeve goes to my fingers. Inotice that the weave is differant on the part that covers my hand, it changes from the wrist. With the sleeve alone, I get puddy fingers so I wear a glove.The finger bits work in sending the pud away from my fingers back to the hand, but the weave changes on the hand piece to a diffrent weave and I think the this keep the puddy stuff in the back of the hand. By the end of the day my hand is almost completely round and tight. I have had 7 MLDs in 3 week by the hospital and nothing seems to be working! I am coming up 3 months since I was diagnosed and getting quite depressed. Do you think if I had a sleeve with stiffness/compression It would squash it up my arm more?
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Hi PT
Sorry to hear you’re still having problems. Doesn’t sound like the sleeve you have is quite right for you. I’d go back to the lymphodema nurse and get her to take a look and see what she can advise. When I was having problems I tried to get the latest appointment possible so she could actually see the swelling.
I have been finding that my arm is more swollen in this hot weather. Anyone else had the same?
Elinda x
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my bcn said i could have lymphodema but it still early days as i only had wle 3 weeks ago but swelling is going from shoulder to elbow and sometime wirst the last 2 days have been a nightmare the back of my shoulder is killing me anyone got any ideas on how to make it more comfortable
thank maz xx
Hi. I had surgery Jan 2010. Got lymphoedema within 3 weeks after a node clearance. It came up in hours, I was shocked and quite scared. It affected the whole arm and hand. I agree with all your comments as I had the same problem. A sleeve that does not cover the fingers pushes the fluid into the fingers and knuckles. I am told that the hand/fingers are tricky. I went to an independent MLD specialist as the NHS would only pay if the arm was 20% bigger, but since overall it was less, they would not treat me. Infact the hand was the worst and prevented me doing many things. I now have a made-to-measure sleeve and glove, all in one. It was full length but now it is only to the elbow. The hand compression is grade 2, the arm grade 1. You need a higher grade for the hand/fingers to push the fluid out, else it will just pool in the hand. It is still not the same size as my normal arm (although I had a line thrombosis in that arm in the middle of chemo, so for a while they were the same size!!) but very gradually things improve. The one thing I have learnt, is that all these side effects take time and we need to be kind to ourselves. The body is quite amazing. I still have MLD once a month and do the simple stuff myself every night. I’m back at work now but have to wear the sleeve. Hope that helps just a little, I know exactly how you feel. Sal xx
…Some interesting points ladies.The hand/fingers area is definately tricky. Last year I had a bit of swelling round my elbow area and with some gentle massage and going to bed ina tubigrip, it cleared. Perhaps it would have cleared itself anyway.(I hear you all gasp at my diy nursing,but it worked) However, the hand is a more complex area and shows the little bit of fluid that is there, because they are otherwise small and it is not shifting, but…today I have had a dead lazy day. Feet up,arms rested, minimal/zero work and decided to experiment wiothout the glove/ sleeve and the result is, I end the day with my hand as good as in the morning when I wake up. I will be interested in seeing if tomorrow it is even better. I think I have done more good than harm having a dayy without the sleeve/glove and my hand has had a rest from being squidged.
Sal65…very interesting comments, I read it a couple of times.You say “the body is amazing”, I too am always in awe of its talents and mechanics to self repair and irradicate foreign bodies and cope despite the abuse it gets from most people, but I look after myself and particulartly my lymph/immune system and help it by having a balanced, alcohol/salt/caffeine free diet and yet it cant seem to irradicate a couple of tablespoons of lymph!! This lymphedema pops up in hours and can take months and months to improve, and by all accounts I should be gettting used to the fact that it may not budge ever. I think I like the idea of a glove that goes to my elbow, might see if I can get one like yours.
Thanks ladies x
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