tightness and pulling feeling under and down arm past elbow

I had the nerve damage and still suffer from pain from it over two years later.The nerve damage pain I have been reading about and have had has not included the tightness and pulling on the arm.Usually it is zaps, skin hypersenstivity,burning,numbness, prickling or tingling to name a few. I have heard of cording sounding like that. Then again, just because I haven't heard of it, doesn't mean it never happens like that.

Try posting in the Lymphedema forum as well. There are some women there that really know their stuff. I don't think that is something a surgeon should ignore. Please don't start freaking out. Get some feedback on here and decide what you want to do next. Some surgeons ignore our complaints of side effects after surgery. Some are more on the ball. Hopefully some of the ladies that know more than I do about LE and cording will come along and help you out.

Is it a pulling feeling or perhaps swelling?

That is exactly what I've had. Apparently the pain & tightness in the armpit is typical after lymph nodes are removed (something NO ONE warned me about ahead of time!). But I had pretty bad cording, which really didn't improve much over time. Finally saw a lymphedema specialist and she said it was lymphangitis, would never go away on its own, put me on antibiotics for 2 weeks and it helped a lot! The cording almost disappeared. Now unfortunately after 7 weeks of rads the pain & tightness seem to be getting worse instead of better, and I have pain around the scar too which I never had before. I don't know if rads can cause some irritation to the area or what, anyone heard of that? Showing up after it was over? Seems unlikely to me. I'm just so discouraged right now, it seems like just when I thought I might some day be pain free, back it comes, reminding me of my surgery every time I reach for something. Sigh.

Insurance usually also pays for a therapist to crush the cooked lymphatic cords.  You just have to get a prescription from your doctor.

Lymphatic cording is more common than most doctors would have us believe.  When our surgical pain calms down we tend to just accept that we will have this pain.  I waited 2 years to insist on treatment.

Do you have numbness in the back of your upper arm or into your back at that same level? Do you find that the muscles on the affected side have less bulk and strength? nerve damage can cause those. Do narcotics help your pain? If not, Nerva damage might be playing a role. I'm not saying that lymphedema and cording are not part of the equation, just that nerves can be cut during sentinel lymph node biopsies-- one of mine was. Nerves can and very often regenerate, I'm saying that because I found very few reassuring stories. If nerve damage is involved you might have trouble with aggressive physical therapy, some of your muscles are simply unable to respond appropriately. If that is the case, then I suggest you slow down the physical therappy process to your personal comfort level. Listen to your body and good luck.