Lymphedema in my arm and now I found little lumps in that arm.

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missangel99
missangel99 Member Posts: 4
edited June 2014 in Lymphedema

Anyone have anything like this?  It's midnight and I'm freeking out! Everyone is asleep and I'm worried it may be something new that is serious?  Little bumps and one is a little larger than the other lumps.  Lumps are movable.  Has anyone had this and been seen by a Dr?  What was it?

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  • Binney4
    Binney4 Member Posts: 8,609
    edited May 2012

    MissAngel, being alone in the silence and dark at night is incredibly scary! Please don't freak -- there's bound to be a simple explanation, but you can't get to it tonight. It's possible (depending on where these bumps are) that it's nodes, busy doing what they do best, which is to fight an infection somewhere in your body. Unless you're seeing redness, new pain or swelling, itchiness, warmth to the touch, or fever and flu-like symptoms, it's most likely the nodes are on top of this and taking care of it for you. (If you have any of those symptoms, though, best to go straight to the ER for help, since infection can spread rapidly).

    Lymphedema itself can be lumpy--been doing anything lately that could cause a new flare? (Like unusual activity, travel, extreme heat, a really salty meal, stormy weather?)

    Sleep is an important healer, so please do what you need to to unwind and rest tonight.  Call your favorite doctor tomorrow and have them take a look. And please do let us know what you discover.

    Gentle hugs,
    Binney

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  • mom2twins34
    mom2twins34 Member Posts: 185
    edited May 2012

    hi missangel,

    binney has great advice...  but i know it can be difficult to get through the night when you are worried and waiting to call your doctor, so i just wanted to let you know that i may have experienced something similar.  where are your lumps located?  my lumps are in my forearm on my lymphedema side.  i first noticed them last year and was very alarmed.  i feared that since i had extensive cancer in my axillary nodes before my dissection, that it had spread to the lymph nodes lower down in the arm.  i thought i'd be sent right in for a scan of some sort, but when i showed them to my oncologist, physical therapist and my surgeon, none were as concerned as i was.  No scans were ordered, they were more concerned about infection (which I showed no signs of) than cancer.  I think everyone attributed them to the lymphedema.

    this was last september and, while they are still present, they aren't as large.  and i do notice that when i have a lymphedema flare-up, the lumps become more noticeable and the area around them can be painful.  So (aside from the dark moments every once in a while when i'm worried they might be a recurrence!) I'm fairly convinced mine are related to LE.

    I'm glad you are calling your doctor because it's always a good idea to get these things checked out, but I hope my story gives you a little bit of piece of mind until the morning...

    I hope they turn out to be something benign...  Let us know how things go.  I hope you can get some rest...  I know this is a scary place to be--especially in the middle of the night!  

    Hugs to you... 

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