Lymphedema from blood pressure cuff?

Edwmel

I had a dbl mastectomy nine months ago with 4 lymph nodes removed. Today I accidentally let my PCP take my blood pressure on my affected arm and now I am a nervous wreck! What are the chances of this causing lymphedema from one time? I feel like my hand is tingling but I could be imagining things!!! Is there something I can do now, after the fact, to lower my risk?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

LisaAlissa

It's hard to say what the chances are that this would be the "final trigger" for lymphedema for you. My strong impression (but I am not an expert) is that lymphedema is the result of cumulative injuries to the lymphatic system. What it takes for any one person depends on your anatomy before you start and on what additional insults/injuries you've had.

There is a manual massage/drainage video "here" that might be helpful. But NAYY, YMMV. I haven't been trained in lymphatic drainage techniques.

HTH,

LisaAlissa

BarredOwl

Hi Edwmel:

It couldn't hurt to do some deep breathing, make sure you are well-hydrated, avoid sodium, and get a good rest tonight. Hopefully, you will be okay.

I do not have a perfect record either. I have had arm blood pressure readings while in recovery after bilateral mastectomy (SNB (1 node (left), 4 nodes (right)), and during the overnight hospital stay after the surgery. (That kind kind of surprised me.)

I also had a left hand-IV (due to a hospital policy that foot IVs are only used after axillary dissection, not sentinel node biopsy), and continuous blood pressure readings on the left arm (1 node) during a colonoscopy. Luckily, nothing bad happened.

At routine examinations, I now request that they take blood pressure readings on my thigh using a "thigh cuff" (used for people whose arms are too large for the standard arm cuff). They place the stethoscope behind the knee and obtain an accurate read from the popliteal artery. They seemed quite happy to hunt down the cuff and accommodate me on this.

BarredOwl

Artista928

Try not to worry about it. I did the same thing with an onc nurse when she forgot to ask me and I let her do bp on my left arm. I'm left handed so my automatic is to give my left arm/hand. I was stressed to after it and it didn't do harm.

What might help you remember to tell providers don't touch the arm(s) that have had nodes removed is to get a medical bracelet and have it engraved on there or they have lymphedema bracelets you can get too. I got mine online. I just forgot to wear it that day. This way too if God forbid you are unconscious people will see the bracelet read it and not bother the arm(s).

I have engraved:

Breast Cancer, No blood draws, IV or bp cuffs on left arm. Something like that. I listed the 3 and got it to be in the limited characters you have when engraving on a medical alert bracelet.

TB90

Edwml: I just read a study recently on these boards that suggested that blood pressure cuffs and blood draws are not as risky for LE as initially thought. I would still take precautions, but I just bet you will get away with this one reading. Breathe deeply and the tingling will probably go away

Artista928

Best to be safe than sorry no matter what reports may now say. Don't allow people to use the affected arm. Once you get LE there is no undoing it, and from what I've read, it's no fun at all. Wear a bracelet if you have to remember. I went to an LE class before sx and you also don't want to wear tight fitted sleeves. It's hard to say who gets it and who doesn't. Some folks with 1 node out get it and others with 10 don't. Just like bc, who knows.

ChiSandy

Lauren’s Hope makes an ID bracelet plate that has the pink symbol (my LE doc said the red one I had before wouldn’t alert them to LE--EMTs and nurses are trained to look for pink; he also gave me a pink plastic wristband to wear when going in for any medical procedure). It is big enough to engrave 5 lines. Top to bottom: my name; Lymphedema R arm no ndls/bp; algy pcn cipro sulfa; then my two ICE (in case of emergency) phone numbers. It doesn’t have my MedicAlert member ID #, but my wallet card and the app on my iPhone do.

SpecialK

I would advise not to use the word lymphedema if you engrave a bracelet, but rather no IV/BP/needles - not all first responders, or ER personnel, know what lymphedema is. My son is a firefighter/paramedic and I had him take a poll around the firehouse before I decided what to put on my bracelet. I had bi-lat nodes removed at BMX, but had a later ALND on the cancer side due to a positive SNB not seen until later in the lab. I have bi-lat arm lymphedema, worse on the ALND side, and breast LE on the non-cancer SNB-only side. I have also made the BP error once in pre-op when I was distracted - didn't cause any additional harm.

ksusan

When you have had a BMX, you have no unaffected arm. I have repeatedly been told that I should use the less-bad-cancer arm, identify the issue to the person taking my BP, require a manual cuff, and not permit them to inflate it more than 10 points above my highest normal pressure unless a re-do is needed because it's that high.

I find that many medical personnel do a lousy job with the thigh pressure and I wind up with bizarre numbers that trigger incorrect diagnoses and shifts in the emphasis of that medical intervention, based on operator error.

SpecialK

I have also had a BP cuff on the ankle - particularly during surgery when BP is checked regularly throughout the procedure. I also find the manual cuff arrangement to be far less constricting. I participated in a clinical trial for a Her2+ recurrence prevention vaccine and had to have vitals taken every fifteen minutes for an hour following the injections - they used a manual cuff because all of us were BC patients.

ksusan

I've found that around here, the private offices have manual cuffs available but the hospital-based ones don't, and many of the med techs have no training with a manual cuff. I've considered just getting my own cuff (I have a wrist cuff for home, but they don't seem to like that in hospitals) and stethoscope and doing it myself, since I took vitals a lot as a hospital mental heath milieu therapist, but I think this would be seen as humiliating rather than helping.

Binney4

I agree with SpecialK about not putting the word "lymphedema" on your alert jewelry, but for a different reason. There are a lot of medical personnel who think they DO know what lymphedema is, and they pooh-pooh the idea that we should be careful of our at-risk arms. If they see the word, they won't think twice about doing IVs or BPs on our arms. Better just to say no BP, IV or needles and leave it at that.

The recent studies that seem to indicate blood pressure is not a factor in lymphedema risk don't actually say it never happens. What they say is that the percentage of people who develop it within a certain time frame after blood pressure is taken is very low. That's good news, unless you're one of the people in that very low percentage. In that case, lymphedema is 100% real, and it's for life. So I also agree that safe beats sorry.

That said, in a real emergency, where your life might be at risk, either arm will do, and you can deal with the lymphedema risk later.

Be well!
Binney

Artista928

Also I'll add that in that class I took, your chances for lymphedema increase the further out you get/older you get. Just like varicose veins where as you get older the veins loosen up. They quoted approximately 5% chance the first year out from having nodes removed and it goes up each year.

SummerAngel

Artista, I'd like to know where that information came from. I've been told exactly the opposite: That you can get LE anytime, but the risk is greatly reduced after the first year - unless you gain weight. I was specifically told (by my LANA-certified PT) to maintain my normal weight if I want to avoid LE.

Artista928

I went to a lymphedema class taught by a lymphedema therapist at the hospital I go to for tx.

SummerAngel

I'd like to see the actual statistics.

SummerAngel

Here's an article I found: http://www.cancernetwork.com/cancer-complications/...

"Overall, 80% to 90% of women who will develop lymphedema do so within 3 years of treatment, but the risk persists years later as the remaining 10% to 20% will develop lymphedema at a rate of 1% per year."