Right am
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Left arm
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Just over two weeks ago, I began my fitness challenge and started the Focus T25 daily workout program. While I am feeling stronger and have lost a small amount in inches, I have not lost any weight but I know that is because my fitness program does not include any significant change in my eating habits. You can follow my posts and see my progress here, but that isn't the purpose for this post. This post is about the concern for my right arm, the one that is missing the lymph nodes because they were taken during the mastectomy surgery.
It's been 11 months since my mastectomy. All my active treatments for breast cancer are complete and I am on the road to recovery. What better time than now to start a fitness regimen and get back in shape? Well, of everything I have learned and read, exercise is supposed to be the best therapy for the affected limb that lacks all the lymph nodes we were born with. So, why is my arm in so much pain and my range of motion decreasing with every workout? The pain starts in the top of my arm by my shoulder and shoots straight down into the palm of my hand and it feels tight. If I reach for something, the pain is immediate and hurts like hell.
The last thing I want to do is go to a doctor appointment. I have had enough of them to last a lifetime. So, of course, I google and play doctor. Sadly, I found information about cording, which can happen to breast cancer patients, especially with lymph node removal and sentinel node biopsies that have been performed. And although exercise is recommended, they say a doctor visit is required before physical activity or more damage could be done and that leaves the arm more susceptible to lymphedema.
And what's even more confusing than my arm pain is the fact that I would have to figure out which doctor I am supposed to call for this ailment. Honestly, I have no idea. It's not my oncologist or radiation doctor. Can't be the reconstruction doctor. Possibly the doctor that performed my mastectomy? Possibly the therapist I saw that measured me for my compression sleeve, but I believe I need a doctor to prescribe a visit for that type of appointment. This shit is way confusing! I have to say that it was so much easier when my team of doctors just told me what to do and where to go.
For now, I will continue my extremely modified version of Focus T25 and wait a while before calling a doctor to figure this out. My freedom from doctor appointments hasn't lasted long enough.
It's been 11 months since my mastectomy. All my active treatments for breast cancer are complete and I am on the road to recovery. What better time than now to start a fitness regimen and get back in shape? Well, of everything I have learned and read, exercise is supposed to be the best therapy for the affected limb that lacks all the lymph nodes we were born with. So, why is my arm in so much pain and my range of motion decreasing with every workout? The pain starts in the top of my arm by my shoulder and shoots straight down into the palm of my hand and it feels tight. If I reach for something, the pain is immediate and hurts like hell.
The last thing I want to do is go to a doctor appointment. I have had enough of them to last a lifetime. So, of course, I google and play doctor. Sadly, I found information about cording, which can happen to breast cancer patients, especially with lymph node removal and sentinel node biopsies that have been performed. And although exercise is recommended, they say a doctor visit is required before physical activity or more damage could be done and that leaves the arm more susceptible to lymphedema.
And what's even more confusing than my arm pain is the fact that I would have to figure out which doctor I am supposed to call for this ailment. Honestly, I have no idea. It's not my oncologist or radiation doctor. Can't be the reconstruction doctor. Possibly the doctor that performed my mastectomy? Possibly the therapist I saw that measured me for my compression sleeve, but I believe I need a doctor to prescribe a visit for that type of appointment. This shit is way confusing! I have to say that it was so much easier when my team of doctors just told me what to do and where to go.
For now, I will continue my extremely modified version of Focus T25 and wait a while before calling a doctor to figure this out. My freedom from doctor appointments hasn't lasted long enough.
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