lump in hand...related to LE?

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MaxineO
MaxineO Member Posts: 555
edited June 2014 in Lymphedema

Hey all, I was diagnosed with minor LE about four months ago. I have faithfully worn the sleeve and gauntlet (mostly) and have been able to keep it under control.  About a month ago, I was having pain in my thumb, and there was a small, movable bump under the skin that seemed to cause the pain.  That has since subsided, but now there is a small lump under the skin at the base of my index finger, on the side. It is incredibly painful, and the squeezing from the sleeve doesn't help.

For all I know, this is just one of those lumps and bumps that people get, but I was wondering if it could possible be related to LE?  I am concerned about getting it checked out, because I certainly don't want them to lance it or do anything that would make my hand swell up again.  Thank you for any input!

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  • kira66715
    kira66715 Member Posts: 4,681
    edited March 2013

    Maxine, when I first wore compression, I assume from the chafing, I developed a couple of little lumps in my fingers and ultimately they went away.

    How does the sleeve squeeze the side of your index finger?

    Kira

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  • MaxineO
    MaxineO Member Posts: 555
    edited March 2013

    Thanks, Kira. I wondered about chafing, since this is the second one I have had. It's just quite painful.

    Hard to describe: it's on the side of my index finger that my thumb is on...it's way down at the base near the knuckle, almost not on the finger but rather my hand between my index finger and thumb. So it is being compressed by the uppermost part of the gauntlet.

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  • KS1
    KS1 Member Posts: 632
    edited March 2013

    I had something in almost exactly the place you describe.  It started out looking like a blister or wart (clear) and was uncomfortable, but not terrible.  It would get bigger and smaller depending on how much I used my hand, but it never went away.  Over time it got hard.  At the same time, on the other side of my index finger (side next to middle finger), I developed a harder & more painful nodule. The LE therapist I was seeing at the time poo-pooed them both as just being related to arimidex and arthritis.

    Two years passed, and my index finger became increasingly swollen.  About a year ago, a different LE therapist worked for about an hour massaging the two spots, and got them considerably softer and smaller.  Her therory is that it was a collection of lymphatic fluid that had hardened.  My index finger is still my most problematic finger and I have fluid collections at the spots  every evening when I take off my glove.  But the finger swells less, and the spots are softer, and it doesn't hurt there when I wear a glove. By massaging several times a day and bandaging at night,  I have kept the spots soft.

    KS1

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  • Victoria38
    Victoria38 Member Posts: 203
    edited March 2013

    I had one too.  It went away within a couple of weeks.

    Not really sure what might be the cause.

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  • MaxineO
    MaxineO Member Posts: 555
    edited March 2013

    Thanks for your replies.  As I said, this is the second one I have had, and it seems that either LE-related swelling causes it OR the lump causes LE-swelling...meaning, when I had this on my thumb, my thumb was swollen. Now that I have it on my index finger, my index finger is swollen.

    I will work on massaging it (even though that hurts) and hope it disappears...or at least softens.

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