Could this be Lymphedema starting?

Jacquelyn's post is excellent, in my opinion. I think a call is prudent too. I had a slow recovery from a lymph node dissection. My under arm to my elbow was numb, my arm hurt and if anyone grabbed my arm, the pain was intense. I couldn't turn a steering wheel easily for quite some time and couldn't lift much of anything.

Down the road as I healed, sometimes I experienced an achy, somewhat numb sensation in the arm that I described as "I blew out my arm". I rested it on an elevated pillow until it felt normal and then took it easy with the arm. I felt like it was my body's warning signal and encourage you to take it easy too and follow the advice from your doctor.

Now years later, I feel great, work out with weights, run, row etc but still don't get blood draws, shots or blood pressure taken on that arm. Not all, but quite a bit of feeling has returned to the underarm too. It looks like you are not even 2 weeks out from surgery. I "babied" my arm for months and only gently did the arm exercises, as I remember, just because it felt like that was what I needed to do. I sincerely hope you don't have lymphedema but encourage you take the precautions as you heal.

Laura, you just had advise from the best person here...Binney, listen to her and get into see someone on Mon to review you.

I did, I have some LEin my left side but it is manageable and I work with a trainer who gets it, he keeps me out of trouble!!

bers

Laura, I'll chime in to add my support for a lymphedema evaluation/education session with a certified LE therapist. The more you learn, the more likely you'll be tuned in to subtle signs and signals that LE might be brewing later.  

I have LE after losing just a few nodes in SNB, but what I want to share with you is the odd sensations I had for a few months after my bmx/diep recon.  My recon and yours are quite different, but in both our cases, there sure was a lot of tissue rearrangement, to say the least!  And I remember in the first few months following surgery that I had the strangest feeling of being swollen by inches and inches--as you said, a 'stuffed' feeling--but visually, there was nothing.  In the end, I did get LE, and fortunately it's pretty mild and limited to my upper arm and some little spots on my side and on my back.  But the areas where I had the stuffed feeling--my foobs and just around them--no LE.  So I think the surgery, including the recon work, triggers sensations that are simply alien to us, and it's incredibly hard to NOT imagine that something like LE is brewing.  It's so smart to get educated about LE signs and symptoms, because with your surgical history you've got a real risk of getting it.  But so soon after surgery, I'm thinking you can hang onto some pretty good optimism that what you're feeling is annoying, maybe alarming...but likely temporary.

Best wishes for a continued recovery of the no-drama variety, and especially that LE leaves you alone!

Carol

Hello all, I have beenlucky not to have had to deal with LE since mid 2011 however it is bacccckkkk. It started 4 days ago, I felt elbow pain and then fluid on my elbow. My arm is slightly swollen and sore. I can relate to the "rubbing against something sore" pain, that is what it feels like under my arm near the pit. I feel like my breast has also started to swell. Went to see my doctors nurse yesterday and she said no cause for alarm, wrote me a script for a compression sleeve as I have misplaced my first one. I also feel like I am getting a flu or something? Not sure if that is related, but I just feel blah. I may get an ultrasound just to put my mind at ease. I am hoping that this is a fluke thing and not cause for alarm since I am trying to make it to my 5 year mark or the beginning of it. LE stinks!!