Bandaging not having much effect

[YouToo]

I have lymphoedema in my left arm which has gotten worse recently as I had a BC recurrence and needed 33 radiotherapy to axilla as well as chemo in the last year.

I've been using full sleeves with incorporated glove and having MLD every few weeks but the back of the hand stays swollen regardless so she suggested bandaging last week and I've reapplied it daily.

Initially I noticed that the fluid in the back of the hand moved to the fore arm but will not go much further. Yesterday I had to leave the bandage off for a few hours while I went to physio and wore the sleeve. By the time I came home the back of the back of the hand started to look puffy again but the fore arm looked better.

Has anyone had arm bandaging and how long did the results last. Did you go back to wearing sleeves after and it maintain the reduction.

Alternatively, could I just wear the sleeve and bandage over the hand part? Would that work?

Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks

[kHP22]

I’m sorry you’re having problems . Sometimes after bandaging with me , the rebound of fluid can restart quickly which is why it’s important to wear garments straight away and not let it creep back in but it sounds as though you’ve been doing that , Have you got a hand garment as well as as an arm one ? Sorry it didn’t seem clear as you were talking about bandaging as well as using the garment If not I think you might need one Personally I think Lymphoedema seems to have a mind of its own and there’s often no reasoning for things to happen or not . Sometimes it lasts longer than others but for me it usually reduces for a time and isa better shape but eventually builds back up again . I’d love it if it stayed as it was but for me that never happens . I’ve not had any treatment or been seen my NHS oractiitioner since 2019 due to the pandemic and I feel I’m ready for bandaging but there’s little sign of the service reopening again which is really bad . If it wasn’t for my private MLD practitioner re starting again , what a sorry state I’d be in by now but it needs the two processes and at the moment people are slowly getting worse . It’s sad really as I’ve had Lymphoedema for twenty six years and I’ve worked really hard to keep it under control but now I feel abandoned by the NHS .

[YouToo in reply to kHP22]

Thanks for the answer. I wear a sleeve with glove incorporated. I've never tried a separate glove and sleeve as I'd worry that there would be too much pressure on my wrists.

I'm in Ireland and our health service is as bad. My local hospital was too busy to see me so sent some bandages to the MLD therapist who showed me what to do so I'm doing it myself daily. It's trial and error I guess as sometimes the swelling goes down a bit and other times the fingers are very swollen when I take it off. I'm never sure if I'm doing it correctly though.

Have you tried bandaging yourself?