I'm sorry to hear you have lymphedema. I was diagnosed in 2010, also stage 3, and had slight lymphedema in my upper arm. This was shortly after the surgery. At that time, I went for manual lymph drainage, but the lymphedema specialist, the PT, and I all decided I didn't need to do anything further unless it got worse. A couple years ago, I woke up with dried blood on my arm, and it as evident I had been scratching in my sleep from an insect bite of some type. (Yuck!) Anyway, I waited 2-4 weeks and went to see a lymphedema specialist again. She did manual drainage, showed me how to do it (different from what she does), showed me the exercises, and ordered a sleeve, which I wore every day for 6 months. Then when it was summer, I decided to bandage at night in place of wearing the sleeve. The reason why I mention this is because I'm wondering if you were to bandage at night (this has to be done in a particular way with 5 bandages), whether you might see a more significant reduction. Just a thought. I have been bandaging now for a couple years, and it's not as bad as it might seem (but then I live alone), and it does keep the lymphedema under control. Also, a lot of things can keep your arm swollen, such as humidity. Also, I work on a college campus and the chiropractic dept. is down the hall from me, and I recall that the chair of the chiropractic dept. once mentioned some machine that might help reduce the swelling. I never bothered to try it, so I don't know if it helps or not, but it's probably mentioned in the research. Aldo, it sometimes takes awhile for the swelling to go down. I wouldn't be discouraged. Hope that helps.
Hugs & prayers,
Mary
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