I had my first PT appointment this morning. I didn’t mention this previously, because I wanted clarification and to not spread misinformation, but the therapist I’m seeing is a lymphedema specialist. No doctor had said lymphedema to me, but the sweet lady who scheduled my appointments told me they only have 1 lymphedema therapist and that’s how my order was coded from Dr. K’s office (why it took a few weeks to get me in). I’ve learned through everything not to freak out, I didn’t have symptoms other than my shoulder/back being a mess. So, to clarify, I DO NOT have lymphedema. Am I at risk? Yes, but I knew that with surgery a year ago. The nice thing is getting ahead of it before it becomes an issue.
That all being said, I love my physical therapist. Her name is Jennifer. This is preventative seeing her, and obviously I’m having an issue with my arm/shoulder… which became more abundant during radiation and the positioning of that arm during it. By the final week my arm was shaking over my head, I could barely hold the peg above my head for a few minutes and I needed more help getting it into position, and it would just hurt, ache and freeze on me. The back of my shoulder is VERY tight, the side of my shoulder and my elbow ache from compensating. I’ve had a hard time sleeping from the discomfort (though made some tweaks so the past 2 nights I’ve managed some good solid sleep). Arms low I’m good, but raising it is very hard and sometimes impossible, and she said there is an orthopedic aspect to my PT too. She took measurements today, got a baseline range of motion, felt my muscles, checked the tightness of my skin around the whole area including my mastectomy skin etc. She said there’s a lot of massage involved in lymphedema PT “you’ll like it” haha. She also told me I rock the no hair look (thanks Jennifer, ha). Very personable, sweet, and also a great sense of humor. It’ll be good.