Maybe I'm imagining it. You know when you focus on something, you can actually start to make it a reality.
I actually took today off from working out. The kids and I worked a little bit on picking up the house today. I'll fess up...I did do a little bit of spot vacuuming and mopping downstairs. I made the kids do it all upstairs, though! The post-operative instructions I got 8+ weeks ago said not to vacuum for 6 months. But it seems like such a small and simple task to do. After all, I'm able to do so much physically. Plus, I used my right arm most of the time. But maybe I did overdo it. I don't know.
I have a physical therapy appointment on Monday to begin to learn lymphatic massage. That will help me be able to move the fluid around. I am grateful to be going so I can have the therapist check me out, take measurements, and see if my wrist arm and hand have gotten any larger since my first appointment a few weeks ago. I also have the exercises the physical therapist gave me that I can do twice a day. I haven't been 100% faithful at doing them, although I did do them last night and this morning. You can bet I'll be doing them from now on.
My prayer requests:
- That this tingling feeling go away, that any and all lymph fluid that needs to drain from my left arm do so immediately.
Definitely get measurements taken asap to compare your two arms. The good news is that if you catch the onset of lymphedema within the first 3 months of any swelling you can reverse it with proper treatment. The bad news is that there are a lot of improperly trained therapists out there. So please be sure your therapist is CERTIFIED in lymphedema therapy/treatment by a reputable training source. I have lymphedema and I missed the 3 month window because mine was mild and barely noticeable at all. It's tricky so get measured often - I would measure once/month so that if you have any swelling at all, even a small amount, you'll know it within the reversible timeframe. There's a great website: www.lymphnet.org where you can look up certified therapists in your area. Since you are in SoCal like me I can ask my therapist for some recommendations for someone down by you.
ReplyDelete