Can I wear a bra?

archer

I had a lymphectomy on my left side 3 weeks ago.  I don't have swelling in the arm yet, but I want to prevent it. No drains anymore.  I do have cording.  I was told by my camisole dealer not to wear a bra of any kind-just a comisole.  My surgeon and the hospital liason told me a sports bra would be fine.  I have loose fitting bras with no underwire on that side (because I pulled them out.) They are a lot less contricting than a sports bra.  Can I wear them and still prevent LE? 

Without a bra for my right breast, it hangs low and bounces around too much.  (It's a b cup, so it is small, but saggy)  I look ridiculous and I feel naked.  I really hate the camisoles.  Any suggestions?  Thanks.

carol57

Archer, I think some others with more LE knowledge will weigh in on this, but I can say that I find the logic a bit weak for prohibiting experimenting with bras after lumpectomy. There are two somewhat conflicting perspectives on this. 1) A well-fitting bra will provide some compression to the area and help to prevent lymph from pooling in the breast, if you have LE. 2) Many women with truncal LE find that camisoles work well for them, because absence of a band around the trunk allows lymph to flow more readily than in a bra.

There is a legitimate concern about LE after lumpectomy, and particularly if accompanied by sentinel node biopsy and/or radiation to the axilla.  But if you are unhappy with the cami (and a one-sided jigglybounce does not sound fun to me!), I should think you could experiment with bras.  I don't think a bra would trigger LE, but perhaps worsen symptoms if you already have it (on that no-trigger statement I'm out on a limb...hopefully Binney or Kira or LindaLou or someone else with truncal LE knowledge will comment). 

Seems to me that every woman who has truncal LE ends up in trial-end-error mode on what works best to keep that lymph flowing. Some of us wear UnderArmour compression shirts; some wear compression camis; some do well with bras.  I was in UA shirts constantly but now that it's hot out, I've been experimenting with bras, and I found a few sports bras that do not look like uniboob sports bras, have very supportive cups and nice, wide bands that hug my truncal area perfectly, providing the compression I want.  I had full recon so my issues are quite different from yours, of course.

So ladies in the LE forum, do we think that wearing a bra can trigger LE through constriction via the band and/or the cups?

Carol

lago

If you do decide to wear a bra be sure to find one with wide straps. Sports bras typically have wide straps

otter

I have what I think is mild, transient LE on my left chest wall (the side of my mast/SNB).  Most bras of any type -- even soft, stretchy sports bras -- make that condition worse.  Within an hour of putting on one of those bras, my left side starts to ache and I'm anxious to take it off.

I recently found one type of bra -- the "Genie" bra -- that I can wear all day long with no ill effects whatsoever. (The Genie has been mentioned on this forum before.)  I bought it as an experiment, choosing a "Large" because of the ... well, for no particular reason except I figured a "Medium" would be too tight and I couldn't imagine keeping an "X-Large" on my 36A/B chest. 

I think for me the key to the comfort of the Genie bra is the width and placement of the band -- it rides below the area where my drains came through the skin, whereas the bands of most bras sit right on top of that area.  The Genie also does not seem to cut into the soft tissue of my armpit like some bras do.  The straps are very wide and stretchy.

One drawback to the Genie bra (for me) is that I have to leave the foam pads in to provide more support for my droopy right side. (The Genie has pockets with removable foam inserts.)  I just slip my foob into the cup where my left breast would be, and, voila!  It works.  Oh... there's another drawback -- the Genie has no hooks, so you have to slip it on over your head or step into it.  Some days my achy joints barely allow me to slip it on; but once it's on, it can stay on all day.

The Genie isn't a hot-weather bra, because it does cover a lot of acreage. It sure solved a problem I've been having, though.  So, I'd say go ahead and do some experiments, especially if you've been cleared to wear a sports bra anyway.

otter

KS1

Initially, I could wear a bra, then only camisoles. Now I can't wear anything without my arm acting up, but I don't think that wearing bras caused my LE or caused my LE to progress. It's more that as my LE progressed, my LE has gotten more sensitive to minor trunk compression. A year or so ago, I posted my reviews of various bras and bra alternatives on the LE forum. KS1

ma111

I wear what ever bra I feel like wearing. I now have disease on the other side and a tight one helps stop the bouncing thus decreasing the pain. I always thought a tight one was the treatment for breast lymphedema.

I would not listen to a camisole dealer. Do you have a physical therapist to go to? Maybe your surgeon can write a script for you.

cookiegal

It's complicated because some bras make it worse and some bras make it better. I think an easy one to start with is the fruit of the loom basic sports bras, they sell them at wal-mart and other stores 3/8. They do not have a t-back. I did wear a lot of t-backs at the start but my neck started hurting.

I have tried post-surgical bras, compression bras, sports bras, and regular bras. 

I was in a varitety of sports bras and post surgical bras for months after my operation.

For some of us the compression helps, for others apparently bras make their LE worse.

I used to wear the shelf camis...they have a really good selection at kohl's, not just cotton ones, but some nylon ones that work better with clothes.

cookiegal

In answer to Carol.

I have one bra that does make my LE worse. I wear it only with my favorite cocktail dress. 

I switch in and out of underwires during the day, I probably wear a UW about 4 hours a day, somtimes more. I have a looser old UW that I can probably get 8 hours out of.

I wear my belisse when I can. I use fabric from a silverwave tummy band inside it.

I used to wear sears soft apostrophe bras, similar to the ahh bra, but to be honest, they seem to make the LE worse as well! Go figure! With the silverwave it's not as bad.

I occasionally spend a little time at home bra free..but I think I end up more swollen.

Go figure...it's confusing!

camillegal

The genie bra has become very popular lately, I bought the ahaa bra same idea but on sale from Rhonda shear.  I have no boobs, but u can insert some foamy things and step into it the same way. So these are comfortable, but I rarely wear it, only going out--I love no bra. So these sound like the most comforable sounding for u. 

carol57

Well, I think the conclusion we draw from our different experiences is that our LE experiences are different! Bra experimentation seems to be what we have in common.  Maybe we can coin a new word: braxperiment!

I don't know about everyone else, but I have a drawerful of bras, compression camis, compression shirts. Like a lot of clothing, I end up wearing the same ones over and over. Finding 'the one' is so hard!

Archer, I think most of us would say that it's pretty hard to know if a particular bra works, just while trying it on in the store.  Best of luck in your own discovery process.

Carol

theBCavenger

I wore the Ahh bra a lot before my last surgery and it worked great! I did what otter did and put a foob in the pocket on my flat side.

I never had bad issues with LE swelling until this last surgery... maybe I will give my Ahh bra a try again. 

archer

Whew!  I got a lot of useful information so thank you so much for your replies.  Some of the vocabulary is new to me and I will have to look up terms like silverwave tummy band, compression shirts, and shelf cami.  

My cami is cotton and thick and it feels like I'm wearing jammies.  I won't go out in public in it.  My bras are comfortable, but I'm still having some discomfort from the surgery, so around the house I just wear a comfortable T shirt.

Does that genie bra have cups? Or is it a smasher like sports bras without cups?  Because smashers just look bad, no matter what you do. (Unless your participating in a sport, of course.)  I'm not that vain about my looks, but I do work with the public and have to be presentable.  That's one reason I'm stressing about this.  

Fitz33

When my LE is bothering me I wear an Ahh bra to bed and that seems to help. During the day I wear a bra I had fitted with pockets, an Amoena. I was told to not wear underwries or any bra that left marks on my breast so for me it's the Amoena I reach for everyday. I still can have discomfort but I bought a Swellspot from Lymphadema Products and that helps a lot. I don't know how it works but having it under my arm and partially on my breast is comforting and takes down swelling. Someone mentioned using a round swell spot and maybe I'll look into that. I use the half-bra one but it's cumbersome so I can only wear it when you can't see the lumpiness, which rules out t-shirts.

Fitz33

Does anyone know the difference between the Ahh bra and the Genie bra? Sometimes the Ahh bra rolls up a bit. Does that happen with the Genie?

cookiegal

I'm just a little too large for the ahh/genie to work well. Sears makes a similar soft bra under the apostrophe lable. I find them very comfortable, but not really great for my LE.

It seems like many times the support and compression of a real grownup bra works the best.  

kcshreve

I am sensitive to bands of any kind since I have truncal LE.  I really wanted the Genie bra to work for me, and I bought it a full size too big (maybe 2 sizes).  Still, it was too tight.  Possibly the next size up will do better on me.  It does take a lot of experimenting to figure it all out.

archer

These suggestions are super helpful.  There's more to this issue than meets the eye, so I'll start trying on the different bras and find one that works for me.  The Genie sounds comfortable, as does the Aaah bra. 

This Lymphedema thing is complicated.  I wish I didn't have to think about it, but I lost 15 nodes and I already have cording, so it seems obvious that I will have to be very careful.  Thank you for all your help.  This is a great resource!

otter

The Genie bra has removable cups. They're a stiff foam shell that doesn't seem to compress, even in the stretchy pockets of the bra. So, there's no flattening at all, with the cups in there.  If you don't want to use them, you can curl them up and slip them out of the pockets through slits along the side. The bra itself is a very stretchy material that isn't thick or stiff.  If I take the foam cups out, the bra really doesn't support my droopy right side very well. 

I just thought of something:  there's no reason to have to use the foam cups that come with the bra.  Why not put a silicone foob in the pocket on the flat side, and put whatever support we want or need on the other side?  Sheesh.  I spent my whole life trying to avoid bras that had stiff, formed cups, and resisting wearing "enhancers" to make my 34B/36A boobs look bigger than they were.  Now, I'm wearing a totally fake boob on one side, and I'm "enhancing" the other side with a foam shell.  Funny, how circumstances can change how we think about things.

Oh, and I haven't had any trouble with the Genie bra rolling up on me.  I haven't been wearing it very long, though; so maybe as it gets older, the band will roll more.  I need to find more of these things.  I wish they sold them one to a pack, because I really don't need the black one that was paired with this beige one.

otter

carol57

I have a Genie bra and do not care for how the band rolls up on me.  A while back I bought some spandex fabric with the intent to sew a long cami-type band to the bra, i.e. make it a 'super long-line' Genie bra.  That project is still on my to-do list, so I don't know if it would work or not. My thought is that I might be able to tuck the added fabric into my jeans, adding just enough tension to keep the bra band from rolling or hugging me too tight.  My issue with most camis is that the straps are thin and/or the armhole is too low, not giving me pressure where I need it for my truncal spot.  Hence my DIY idea..and I already own the Genie bra in my discard pile, so no big loss if I don't care for the outcome.  Only I don't think I'll get to this anytime soon!

Carol 

BeckySharp

I have bought all kinds of bras--Genie and some others recommended.  None worked.  I always hurt too  much from the fibrosis under my breast.  The only ones that work are the ones that I get at the masectomy bra place with the pocket to hold my half prosthesis.  My insurance pays for 6 a year but are not too expensive if I want more.  I also get sports bras there.  I have no pain with them.  Plus no side seams which I cannot stand. 

cider8

The regular bra I wear is the wireless vanishing back bra by Soma Intimates. It's quite comfortable and doesn't seem to cause me any swelling. The soft cups even me out (I'm a bit lopsided until next surgery) without any lumpiness. I only have mild swelling in one breast.



I might have to try the genie bra for my 11 year old daughter. She's got some tactile issues. I finally got her wearing some champion sport bras, but she needs a better strap option.