I met with the two Lymphedema nurses at the Highland Oncology Center today. I'm always a little embarrassed when I have to bare my legs to new people, but they were both incredible women and made me feel completely at ease. I can't even describe how it feels to know that I will finally be taken care of.
First thing first, the redness around my old wound and my new wound is troublesome. They won't even begin to massage or wrap my lower leg until I've had a few doses of antibiotics for what looks like a new case of cellulitis.
Moving on to measurements. They measure mid thigh, mid calf, and ankle. I'll eventually get my measurements uploaded on here.
Finally to the massage. This massage is amazing. You can actually feel the fluid moving up through your body.
The major parts of your body that you want to massage are the: neck, armpits, sides, hips, and behind your knees. When massaging you want to use a scooping motion, always directing up towards your head. The reason being is your trying to make new channels and pathways up to the main lymphatic clusters.
The nurses stressed using a "deep breathing" technique along with the massage.
The technique:
You take both hands and firmly press down on your stomach with each inhale.
With each exhale, remove your hands. Kind of like how a jack-in-the-box springs out.
I have really high hopes for this treatment and I can't wait to see the results.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment