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20 Apr 12 - 11:19 PM (#3341138) Subject: BS: Lymphedema advice please From: Neil D It seems that an infection in an IV site that I got when I was hospitalized with a heart attack last month, has left me with Lymphedema in my arm. It is my understanding that there is no cure, just control of the symptoms. I am currently having massage to manually stimulate the lymphatic system, and using pressure bandages up to 20 hrs. a day. In a few weeks they are going to give me a pressure sleeve to wear during the day. Has anyone here had any experience with this? If so, what worked for you? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am feeling a little discouraged right now. Thanks in advance! Christina |
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20 Apr 12 - 11:27 PM (#3341140) Subject: RE: BS: Lymphedema advice please From: katlaughing Christina, I would find a good doctor of osteopathy who does soft tissue manipulation. I go to one here and when I had edema in my lower legs she did fantastic manual manipulation moving the fluid back up. I finally was able to get over it due to her work and really watching my sodium intake. I still go to her for "tune-ups" for tendinitis and other related "soreness." A good DO will know exactly where to work and it is always gentle. There's some info on manual lymph drainage in regards to on this WIKI PAGE Good luck and keep yer chin up! kat |
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21 Apr 12 - 01:48 AM (#3341156) Subject: RE: BS: Lymphedema advice please From: JohnInKansas Lymphedema is a difficult subject for which to find much clinical information on the web, since the most common cause is the removal or damage to lymph glands and vessels attendant to surgical/radiological attacks on cancer - especially of female breasts. Since most search engines, even on academic sites, present results based on "popularity" the reports on post-cancer-treatment treatment drive everything else into oblivion. There are a number of websites dealing with edema from other causes, but a lot of what's there is imagination rather than information, so caution about what you believe is recomended. Massage therapies do seem to have some usefulness. Pressure bandages work fairly well in some cases. In some cases a diuretic may be prescribed simply to reduce the amount of fluid retained. Excess lymphatic fluid that's the result of an infection may exceed the capacity of the lymphatic circulation system, and excess cellular fluid of any kind can obstruct the lymphatic circulation. Since even the least aggressive diuretics can cause potassium (and probably magnesium) deficiencies you probably should pay attention to both, and a doctor who prescribes a diuretic may want fairly frequent testing to assure that they're not a problem. Many doctors are reluctant to prescribe any diuretics due to a fairly small but common possibility of degraded kidney function with prolonged or excessive use. Since circulatory problems can cause edema, and edema is a common "symptom" of a heart attack (think "congestive heart failure") if you're being treated for any form of edema your cardiologist (assuming you have one) should be informed of that condition, since otherwise some forms of actual or apparent "heart attacks" may be misdiagnosed and improperly treated (been there, I think). John |
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21 Apr 12 - 02:09 AM (#3341158) Subject: RE: BS: Lymphedema advice please From: Joe Offer My wife the chiropractor says the above is very good advice. She usually refers clients to massage therapists who have special training in lymphatic massage - it's massage done with very very light pressure. Eventually you may learn to do it yourself or have a friend do it. Good luck. Joe |
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21 Apr 12 - 07:18 AM (#3341223) Subject: RE: BS: Lymphedema advice please From: catspaw49 Heart attack? How did I miss this little tidbit? How's the post attack world treating you outside of this obvious problem? Compressionis good but will eventually lessen in effectiveness and massage works reasonably well. Have another friend with the same thing. The number of things that are reaching high incidence in hospitals is kinda' frightening. Just drop by your local hospital for a good dose of staph, especially mrsa, or C-Dif.......... Spaw |
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21 Apr 12 - 07:38 AM (#3341229) Subject: RE: BS: Lymphedema advice please From: billybob In the UK there is a treatment called Aromazone, available in Beauty salons and hospitals, Big leg length boot which inflate sequencially through ten chambers and thirty minutes treatment is equal to hours of hand massage. We have found it very effective in my salon. It was invented in the USA by a Dr and an engineer for a grandchild with severe Lymphedema, there are small versions suitable for arm treatments also. The machines can be purchased for home use but may be rather expensive.Hope that helps, Wendy. |
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21 Apr 12 - 09:29 AM (#3341262) Subject: RE: BS: Lymphedema advice please From: JohnInKansas In some hospitals in the US, any time you're expected to be "bedridden" for more than a day they like to strap the blimp boots on you, and on top of being confied to the bunk you're additionally annoyed by the constant cycling of the pressure in places you'd really rather be able to scratch - on the pretense that you "might get bed sores from laying on your ass" for too long. They probably are more appropriately used - and more likely to be helpful - for localized edema (as long as it's not in your neck). I would doubt that the rig would be more expensive than the oxygen concentrator that I have or the CPAP that Lin supposedly needed, neither of which gets much use since we found out what the real problems were that caused the symptoms for which the "specialists" prescribed them for us. The O2 concentrator was, in fact, prescribed for me as a "cure" for peripheral edema - for which it didn't help much at all. John |
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21 Apr 12 - 11:14 AM (#3341312) Subject: RE: BS: Lymphedema advice please From: Stilly River Sage I went into the medical journals at my university library and took a look around. Lots of reports of animal studies. I was initially using the Medline database, one that is a fee site and is intentionally difficult to use. I will give you instead of citations or abstracts of articles that you couldn't reach, a link that will at least let you read and you can form a set of questions for your doctor. Create a list of keywords where you need answers or want more exploration. You doctor is also free to look at this site. National Institutes of Health = Search = Lymphedema If that search result link isn't durable, then go to http://www.nih.gov/ and enter your search term in the upper right hand search box. The NIH now INSISTS that any research it funds be available for free via this site. The commercial publishers are making too much money publishing work funded by others because the authors sign away all rights to get published. There is a seachange slowly occurring in the scholarly journal publishing world, and this action by the NIH is one of the reasons why. A note of caution; though lymphedema is not a life-threatening condition, when you go into medical databases and a layman and start reading, you can scare yourself silly. So make notes and be sure to ask your doctor or another health care professional who can explain why your condition does or doesn't fit what you're finding. You're not practicing medicine, you're doing research and are partnering with your doctor in forming a workable treatment for yourself, so don't let anyone pat you on the head and dismiss your interest or research, if you wish to start reading and learning about it. I hope this helps. SRS |
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21 Apr 12 - 12:15 PM (#3341343) Subject: RE: BS: Lymphedema advice please From: Neil D Thank you everyone, I believe this is a good base to start from. Sorry Spaw, we never posted that I had a heart attack, I was out of it for awhile, and it through Neil off his game for a bit, as I am usually not the one to have issues like this. It caught everyone off guard, I went to school all day while having the heart attack! My recovery is expected to be complete, I am still working with the cardiologist to find the exact cause. I should know by the end of May when all tests are done. I will keep you all updated. Thanks again :) |