Hi
I just wondered how many sessions you had before you saw a difference with MLD, I have had two so far for pubic swelling, but haven't seen any difference at all. A lady I spoke to online had 4 before her swelling had gone right down, I know its different for everyone, but I don't have the money to go indefinitely, do some people find no amount of MLD will get theirs to reduce in size?
I had 10 sessions of mld on the nhs. Yes it was about the 4th session before i noticed a difference. Hate to think how much it would have cost to go private.
Thanks Chris
It costs £60 a session, not sure I can stretch to 10......but I will give it a few more and see if anything starts to happen...
Goodness, are you sure there is no way you can get help under the NHS? Ask your GP and if applicable your oncologist. Persevere with all the help you can get, Good Luck.
thanks for all your responses, I will give it a few more goes for sure, clown I will ask my Dr about funding, but I haven't officially been diagnosed yet, as when I saw the lymphedema nurse, I was only 2 months post op, (with swelling from almost the day after surgery), and you apparently have to be three before they will diagnose you...?! But I am back there next week, and its 3 months today since surgery, so I guess we shall see 
I only now discovered that one can fix an appointment, without the need of referral to the Lymphoedema Clinic which in my town is adjacent to a hospice. If there is anything similar where you live, I would look for their email address and ask. I have Lymphoedema both in an arm and a breast and my private specialist used to charge me £80 per session! I was told by an NHS nurse that I will be referred to this clinic but discovered too late that I could have done it myself. Good luck with the treatment!
I am waiting for my daughter to be referred to a Lymphoedema clinic. I will try emailing as you suggest. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Hopefully, your lymphoedema nurse will be able to do it for you and also show you how to do it yourself if needed. Although I haven't needed MLD, my lymphoedema nurse told me never to pay for it as she would do it if needed. Hope it improves soon
I have had Lymph in both my legs for the past 7 years, as a result of cancer treatment. I attend an NHS Lymphodema Clinic and have been taught SLD which I perform on myself for free. I have had a full MLD treatment at the clinic when I have had bandaging treatment. I have also paid for a private MLD treatment over six months and had one treatment per month. It seemed to help improve my skin and swelling. I think that it depends on each individual and other factors such as the weather, exercise and how bad the swelling is in the first place.
thanks everyone,
I was taught SLD by a specialist on the NHS, but when I saw the MLD specialist she freaked me out a bit by being a bit horrified that I am doing massage myself, her reasons for this (and they do make sense) is that she has been taught a very specific way of moving lymph, and spent hours and hours under supervision being shown correct ways, and being corrected as she was learning, and to her the thought of me doing it myself, (after 10 minutes of teaching) I could be making it worse by pushing the lymph in the wrong direction, which does kind of make sense, so I stopped for a few days, but last night decided to restart it, even if just to feel like I am doing something to help myself...
I think I've probably done the same sort of training as your MLD therapist, but am very concerned that she has not gone over SLD with you a few times, so that you can manage your own condition on a daily basis. Yes, you may have pushed lymph the wrong way, but that is why we therapists should make sure you know how to maintain your own condition! I had breast cancer in 2001, and I rarely skip a day of applying SLD to myself (unless I'm late to bed or the worse for drink!!!!) Ask her to go through SLD with you, so that you know what to do, rather than do nothing!
Hi Lynora
I think I might ask her to go over it again, I am seeing her on 6th to take delivery of compression tights, and learn how to put them on...
How long do you massage for? and how many time a day? I was doing a long one in the evening, a short one in the morning, and if I had time a short one at lunchtime...
After a few weeks post-op I don't think there is any need to do SLD more than once a day. I do it at bedtime, so that I can do skin care at the same time. I apply 3 decent blobs of E45 (or cream from whatever pot I can vaguely see without my specs!) to the top, elbow and wrist on my arm. Starting at the top, I gently stroke up and over the shoulder. When that starts to get 'tacky' I move down to the elbow blob and stroke up and over the shoulder - when that gets tacky, I move to the wrist blob and stroke that all the way up and over the shoulder. I brush my teeth, wash my hands, and finish with massaging in some hand cream to both hands. I'm 58 in a few days time, and think I have the skin of a young maiden - well, my left arm anyway - the rest has got to pot!!!
I try not to make SLD a 'chore' - once it becomes that, my ladies (and a few chaps) lose interest, and they are not doing any skin care or SLD to manage their condition. I suppose it takes me a maximum of 3 or 4 minutes.
I find your post most useful Lynora I tend to wash my legs when I take off the farrows then pat dry and then I put one blob of some size on and massage it in finishing with motions that work up the leg. No one has shown me it is just what I do . I have a couple of bad bites at moment and I am trying to keep them at bay so they dont develop xgins
Lynora thanks for that tip I will try the tea tree oil xgins
Despite all my efforts my arm continues to get bigger - any advice please!
ARE compression garments a con?
