improvement after active treatment?

Lisa, there are times when our lymphatic system is more stressed--like right after surgery, while on chemo, during rads--and right after pregancy, there is a general relaxation of connective tissues--seriously, your body creates something called relaxin, to help the pelvis stretch for delivery--so you kind of hit the trifecta of risks, and then lifted your little girl up and triggered the swelling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relaxin :

In animals, relaxin widens the pubic bone and facilitates labor; it also softens the cervix (cervical ripening), and relaxes the uterine musculature. Thus, for a long time, relaxin was looked at as a pregnancy hormone. However, its significance may reach much further. Relaxin affects collagen metabolism, inhibiting collagen synthesis and enhancing its breakdown by increasing matrix metalloproteinases.[6] It also enhances angiogenesis and is a potent renal vasodilator.
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Now you're stable, and there's no need to over treat. 

One of the researchers we work with, Mei Fu PhD from NYU, feels like compression if used when not needed, can cause the lymphatics to become "lazy", and my LE therapist is always worried about compression trapping fluid.

So, I would vote that you should only wear compression when needed,  and I'm so glad things got better, and you were so proactive about treating it early.

(There was a study done on post op women, and if their arms swelled a bit, they were put in compression, and most came to a point where they no longer needed it. It's not clear if the early use of compression prevented progression, or they were at a vulnerable point, but whatever the mechanism, it worked. Study done by Nicole Stout about three years ago.)

Here's the abstract:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.23494/abstractThe incidence of breast cancer (BC)-related lymphedema (LE) ranges from 7% to 47%. Successful management of LE relies on early diagnosis using sensitive measurement techniques. In the current study, the authors demonstrated the effectiveness of a surveillance program that included preoperative limb volume measurement and interval postoperative follow-up to detect and treat subclinical LE.
METHODS

LE was identified in 43 of 196 women who participated in a prospective BC morbidity trial. Limb volume was measured preoperatively and at 3-month intervals after surgery. If an increase >3% in upper limb (UL) volume developed compared with the preoperative volume, then a diagnosis of LE was made, and a compression garment intervention was prescribed for 4 weeks. Upon reduction of LE, garment wear was continued only during strenuous activity, with symptoms of heaviness, or with visible swelling. Women returned to the 3-month interval surveillance pathway. Statistical analysis was a repeated-measures analysis of variance by time and limb (P ≤ .001) comparing the LE cohort with an age-matched control group.
RESULTS

The time to onset of LE averaged 6.9 months postoperatively. The mean (±standard deviation) affected limb volume increase was 83 mL (±119 mL; 6.5% ± 9.9%) at LE onset (P = .005) compared with baseline. After the intervention, a statistically significant mean 48 mL (±103 mL; 4.1% ± 8.8%) volume decrease was realized (P < .0001). The mean duration of the intervention was 4.4 weeks (±2.9 weeks). Volume reduction was maintained at an average follow-up of 4.8 months (±4.1 months) after the intervention.
CONCLUSIONS

A short trial of compression garments effectively treated subclinical LE. Cancer 2008. Published 2008 by the American Cancer Society.

Kira

Anyone who wants a copy of my dh's spreadsheet, please PM me with your email address and I'll be glad to send it.  You put in the measurements of your unaffected arm as a base measurement.  Then you put in your affected arm measurements each week or however often you measure.  The spreadsheet will not only measure the actual and percentage difference between your unaffected arm and your affected arm, it also tallies the difference in your affected arm since the last measurement.  That way you can see the difference in your arms, but also see the difference in the affected arm from week to week.  

My dh is an Excel wizard (and a wonderful guy as well) and he developed this sheet so I could track my measurements. 

Lisa, measuring truncal swelling doesn't actually work because...well, because we breathe. (Which is why when my fitter measures me for truncal garments I take a deep breath and hold it, so the garment doesn't get made too tight.) You might be able to judge swelling by the fit of your bra or cami, or any long-lasting indentations in your skin when you remove your bra/cami. It helps to check yourself in the mirror daily, arms down and arms raised, so you get used to how it looks and comparisons become easier. Comparing the affected side to the other side is also helpful.

The whole thing is irritating, yes?

Hugs,
Binney