I guess any loss is a good thing, but I weighed 247.6 this morning. That's a loss of only 1.4 pounds for the week. If I didn't obsessively get on the scale every day, I would probably have been happier; however, I know that I had gone down to 246 earlier in the week, then shot up to 249 yesterday. I'm sure this is why Weight Watchers tells you NOT to weigh yourself more than once a week.
When I started trying to lose weight quickly for the hernia surgery, I made Mark hide my scale. That way I could only weigh on Tuesday mornings when he brought the scale out. It just might be time to start that up again.
I wore my compression sleeve yesterday, but halfway through the day I had to take the gauntlet off. It was making my knuckles and fingers swell up terribly. I took the whole thing off around 5:30 p.m. when we finally got to the pool. At least I did not have the big indentation around the wrist or a sore on the inside of the elbow. I think having the gauntlet over the sleeve causes that wrist indentation. I'm seeing the lymphedema therapist today at 4 p.m., and I will be getting wrapped in tight bandages from my fingers to my shoulder. These bandages must remain in place for 48 straight hours, until my next appointment with her on Thursday. At least I won't need to wrestle with this compression sleeve.
I find it incredibly difficult to get this sleeve on. I have had to ask Mark to help me the last two days. This morning I had to start over three times before we got it on. It's a pain in the you-know-what to wrestle with it for 10 minutes and get hot and sweaty while doing it. Maybe I'll get better at it.
On the positive side, I really do like the new bras and breast form. Although the silicone form is heavy, I'm not finding it oppressive or too hot. When I look in the mirror, I really do like the symmetry it gives me. This bra is more comfortable than any I ever bought for myself in the store. I think it also provides the support to the chest that the therapist said I needed since she saw some evidence of breast/chest lymphedema as well. I brought only 2 bras home last week, but on Friday I get to pick up four more. That will be so nice!
I have been doing so much reading online about lymphedema, from just about every website I can find. When half your lymph nodes are surgically removed and then radiation is applied to that area and the whole breast, it would be a miracle to avoid getting it. I need to chill out and learn to co-exist with it. I did read that getting in a hot tub up to the waist or at least keeping the arm out of the tub might be OK. I will ask my therapist that question today. After we swim in the evenings, I get chilled when I get out of the pool, especially lately when the wind has been blowing pretty stiffly. We used to love a quick dip in the hot tub to warm up. I miss that.
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