Thursday, April 8, 2010

Swollen Lymph Nodes

So, y'all know that I have swollen lymph nodes in my left armpit. It's hard for me to tell if they have grown or have shrunk or not. My doctor, yesterday, (yep I had an appointment with Dr. K) said that he can't really tell, either, so he measured the swollen area with a caliper. I think he measured it to be 7cm.

I've been using my right hand. It seems that a few weeks ago, I could cup the whole area with my hand - from finger tip to the heel of my wrist. Then after physical therapy and acupuncture, it seemed to shrink so that the whole swollen area is only from the tip to the base of my fingers. I haven't had as much tingling lately either or any numbness in the palm of my hand.

So, what have I been doing for it? Stretching exercises, physical therapy, acupuncture, and ibuprofen. I also practice qigong a few times a week.

Today, I had physical therapy. I think that it's made a difference in terms of loosening up scar tissue and giving me more range of motion in my right arm. L, my PT, also worked more on the area around the swelling. She stretched the tissue around there - almost like encouraging the lymph to flow around better.

I swear that makes a difference. It seems smaller this afternoon. It feels less firm and more fluid.

Yay! (But note "seems" - it's hard to really tell.)

1 comment:

Liz Kreger said...

It sounds awful, Dee, but it you seem to jumping on it ... no pun intended. I've never had problems with lymph nodes, so I cannot relate. Hope PT, accupuncture, etc. helps.