Question. Confused!

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amcarter
amcarter Member Posts: 21
edited September 2015 in Lymphedema

Okay so evidently I have beginning stage, or very mild lymphedema. my hand and lower arm only swells occasionally usually because I'm outside working hard in the heat, or traveling to a higher elevation or there's a big drop in barometric pressure. Not much swelling either - just enough to be annoying. So onc sent me to a lymphedema specialist, was taught lymphatic drainage, and compression glove and sleeve are ordered, all to keep it from getting worse. The catch is, after being on Tamoxifen a short while, I also developed joint pain. Lymphedema specialist asked me to get tested for OA, RA and other autoimmune disorders as well to make sure they're treating appropriately. All tests came back good except I had a high sedimentation rate. My GP said that was what she would expect with lymphedema and wasn't concerned BUT the lymphedema specialist said the opposite. She said a high sed rate was not typical of lymphedema. I can't seem to find any info either way. Does anyone know if a high sed rate can simply indicate lymphedema or should my GP be looking at other causes?

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  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited September 2015

    A high sed rate is associated with some type of inflammation in the body. Usually it is a sign of RA or lupus or another auto-immune problem. Have not heard of it being high with LE, but I'm no expert. Hoping someone else will chime in here on this.

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  • hugz4u
    hugz4u Member Posts: 2,781
    edited September 2015

    Sorry I don't know what sedimentation is. I do know that tamoxifen did bring on my joint pain and it never did get better even after finishing treatment years ago. Hopefully our smart LE girls will be on the threads to help you, Great question though. Make sure you rest frequentlywhen doing yard word. Also stick arm up into the air and pump fists every so often to drive fluid down towards shoulder. Drink lots of water to

    Edited to say, thanks for posting glennie before I posted

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