Starting Chemo March 2015

Katy, watch out for that Tutti! One of my cats brought a live pocket gopher into our house and turned it loose. We were all running around with brooms, screaming. That thing was mean. But we had to get it out of the house before we went to bed, no way was I sleeping with that thing in the house! And I can't tell you how many presents over the years of a rodent carcass eaten out with just head, legs, arms, tail and backbone were given to us as presents. My daughter has always had cats, so that was the price we paid for having them lol

lol, Katy. Wow, my cats never did that. Glad I don't have a cat.

I want to come!

We've had these:

• Mouse
• Snake
• Chipmunk
• Opossum
• Bat
• Giant scary beetle
• Dragonfly
• Huge moth
• Night crawler
• Giant scary spider
• Barred owl
• Hummingbird
• Other bird

Much of it with no outside access except an enclosed porch.

Those Boyiez!

Here's Jack: escorting me off the ledge for the afternoon.

#Suchagoodboy

Eileen, I wish. Friday traffic would kill me, what are you planning for New Years?

Teresa! We might do NY eve at the lake! You and yours are so invited. We often go NYE - this year we are still waiting to hear the girls' schedules but I think we will be there - come come come come come!

Sharon, so sorry. I know you are trying everything, but one thing that worked for me post surgery with swelling was wearing a bike compression shirt. I didn't think it helped, but it did because if I didn't ride for a few days, I felt some mild swelling. The beauty of a bike compression shirt, for me, is that it not only compresses the arm, but also the torso. And it does it gently and doesn't create any hot spots. Yeah, I know, I'm all about the bike lol, but the shirts did help me a ton with surgical swelling. Something like below, but super form fitting. This one is definitely way too loose, but this model is probably a child size. The one I have has a built in bra, and it doesn't pinch or bind anywhere. It doesn't have to be a bike one, can also be a running style compression shirt. I haven't ever figured out how a sleeve that has elastic at the shoulder area works, seems like it would create an uncomfortable hot spot.

Do they have you doing any light weights? Sometimes weights can help, not always.

Again, I don't think I have lymphedema, but I wear compression shirts a lot, they support well without pinching or binding and feel good. I so wish you could get some relief, so sorry, sister

Hi, Sharon,


I have mild lymphedema as well. In addition to wearing my sleeve and glove, my therapist has recommended truncal compression, so most of the time I wear either an Underarmor sleeveless compression tank, or a "shaping" camisole. I like the camisole because it comes up high under my armpit, and I have some swelling there. Since I started to wear compression basicall all the time, I have noticed that I feel less swollen. My next lymphedema follow up is on the 18th, so we will see. I don't bike outside, although I do have a recumbent bike machine, so I don't know about bike attire, but Theresa's info looks interesting.

There are folks in the city up here who bike most of the year, but where I live I am surrounded by gravel roads, which are not very rideable. Also, I'm a wimp in the cold weather, and it gets cold here! So far, we've had reasonable temperatures during the day (it was about 5 degrees C yesterday afternoon - maybe low 40s F) but it was minus 24 C at dawn about a week ago. In midwinter, we usually get at least a couple of periods with at least a week where the daytime temperatures are minus 30 C - brrrr! At that temperature, it's hard to get me out of the house. On the other hand, we do get "Chinook" winds that come through the mountain passes, and the temperature can rise more than 20 degrees C in an afternoon, so although we do get some snow, it usually melts away on the roads regularly, causing messy road conditions several times each winter. 40C is HOT! Is it humid where you are? I know that when I was living in Papua New Guinea, it could be 40C with 100% humidity, and that was pretty tough to take.

Certain exercises that stretch my chest make me dizzy. Dizziness and breaking out in a sweat at PT. Afraid I was having an MI and had to stop. PT looked so worried as BP was low. Sometimes staff/MDs scare me more than I do myself. Now afraid to go back to PT until I get a cardiogram. Didn't help that relative told me it could be reflex bradycardia, could even cause cardiac arrest... At least they have an AED at PT. Am I crazy for being scared or scared because I'm crazy? Is this because of chemo and still run down and not getting enough sleep? Not enough hours in the day for sleep.

In my humble opinion, it is all about the fabric. Some running and cycling compression tops have special fabric that compresses, but breathes and moves. I posted below two pictures of my absolute favorite compression top, but it doesn't have sleeves, and they quit making it. But there are similar shirts out there. The reason it works so well is all the black lined areas with the fabric that looks like it has little white dots on it stretches in every direction, so when I am riding, the material moves the way I do. The second picture is the top inside out showing the built in bra. So I think a key point is to look for a breathable, movable fabric in a shirt. My husband has some under armor tops, but the fabric just doesn't breathe and move very well, they feel like an uncomfortable girdle to me. I have it in white and black and sometimes, depending on the clothing style I am wearing, I even wear it to work underneath a top, especially now when I can wear a sweater over a top because it is cooler. It's a combination of nylon, polyester and spandex.

Honestly, you just have to go and try a bunch of shirts on, but I would go to running or bike specialty stores. They do make similar tops without the built in bra, my husband has the same shirt in the men's style, which I can also wear. I also have a black one that is extremely thin, but it works pretty well too. The third picture is that top, covered with white fuzz because I accidentally washed it with a towel.

As a (now) completely "boobless" person, I bought. Men's size small Underarmor sleeveless shirt, which does ok, but I agree, you just have to try things on. I have been looking online, and I think that the Genie shaper camisoles might do as well. It has a built in bra, but I think that iif I got a size that provided enough compression, the cups knitted in would lie flat, but the have pockets so I can put my knitted fobs in if I want some shape up top. The thing I look for is a high armhole because my truncal LE goes right into my armpit.

here are the ones my husband has, they are super comfortable too. I am providing the pictures so you can see examples of what I mean when I say the fabric stretches and moves with you. The subtle striping on the sides show additional compression areas, but without being crazy. There isn't one millimeter of give on these shirts, no gapping, they completely conform to your body. A good compression shirt has built in areas that move with you and conform and don't bind. This company doesn't make these shirts anymore, but I am sure there are comparable ones. I bought 8 of them for me when I knew they had been discontinued.