Swelling but not LE?

Anonymous

Swelling but not LE?

Jojobird

I had 21 nodes removed last year along with my mx, and have been very careful to avoid LE triggers.

I do get occasional swelling, such as after eating high salt meals or sitting in the car for awhile. It goes away after running, or a shower, or elevating my arm.

My PT took a look and said I don't have LE. Anyone else get swelling without developing LE?

ChiSandy

Could be plain old edema, or poor circulation. Cut out the salt, but get checked out just the same, since circulatory problems can be signs of something dicey.

ksusan

I get a little occasional edema, as I did long before BC surgery. Worth asking your PT if there are techniques you can use to reduce it, as well as ChiSandy's suggestions.

hugz4u

Make sure your PT is well educated in le field. Ask how many hours she trained for. Some of them do a overnighter type course and hang out their shingle! I really don't know why you have swelling but if you cut out salt and that works then great! Yes swelling comes in many forms such as my dads swollen leg due to plugged arteries.

It would be interesting to see if your not swollen first thing in morn upon waking and if your swell progresses in the day even though you have had no salt.

You had a lot of nodes out and so hopefully your PT took measurements so you can refer back to baseline size down the road. If she didn't this would worry me as to qualifications. It's the first thing they should do. They all learn that in their course first thing.

Btw my doc laughed in my face and said I would never get le. Hummmm

Keep us posted

purple32

"My PT took a look and said I don't have LE..."

What KIND of a PT? Lana certified ? That type of PT should know, but not a 'regular' PT. I have the same story as hugz and many others---- laughed off. It isn't funny!

Just be cautious and go to a real Lana certified LE therapist for an eval., and I hope you are fine. There sure is such a thing as plain ole edema! Hope that is the case with you.

Jojobird

Thank you, purple, hugz, ksusan and Chi! I appreciate the responses. My PT is LE certified and is our area's major hospital LE specialist, but I also read these boards and keep up on news because...well, you know. The part that is hard for me to distinguish is if my under arm/breast/trunk area is just *stiff* vs. if there is swelling. I had axillary node dissection and mx, plus chemo and rads, and even after my arm exercises I can stiffen pretty quickly. This makes movement hard, and can at times be painful. And I tend to wake up with a sense of stiffness/swelling that goes down during the day, especially after movement. My PT did take measurements, and touched my arm/breast area, and determined that I do not have LE. I'm trying not to pester her - after my surgery I probably called her weekly with questions. My HMO was good about informing me but I have some anxiety about getting LE and in the past have been the patient who cries wolf when it's just a dog. So, it's a balancing act between vigilance and worry. Thank you all for listening!

MinusTwo

My PT is LE trained. While I do have truncal & breast LE, she said a portion of the problem is radiation fibrosis. Ideally I should be stretching every 2 hours so that the tissue & muscles damaged by radiation don't start to pull back - like a rubber band. But at least twice a day. And for the rest of my life.

ksusan

I use a resistance band for a set of daily exercises to keep the radiated area stretched and to support the rotator cuff that was injured in surgery.