The Hollywood Sleeve

Lymphedema Part II: Treatment

There are two steps to reversing lymphedma in its early stages: compression and massage.

As for compression, the theory is simple enough: apply firm resistance to the affected area--in my case at first, an entire limb--and as your muscles expand and contract, they squeeze the lymph against the resistance and push it back up the lymphatic vessels.

So I got this sleeve on, you see, and a really tight glove, and every move I make against these garments is squeezing the lymph out of my arm.

I don't find the garments uncomfortable. I can get them on easily. They're not stylish, of course, but that's because I haven't gotten my hands on the catalog to order myself some leopard print versions. The only annoyance of them is that a day full of ordinary motion really tires my arm. The first few days I wore these garments, I had severe muscle cramping in my arm and hand just from cooking dinner. Stands to reason: there is resistance to every move I make now.

This also means my handwriting has gone to pot. Not that it had far to go. . .

As for massage: The lymphatic vessels are punctuated by one-way valves, which create a kind of suction. A few times a day, I press on the lymph nodes in my neck, right at my collar bone, to clear them out. Once they're empty, they create a suction in the vessels they're connected to. I help my body by gently rubbing my arm from the elbow up to the shoulder several times. This empties those vessels. Then I rub from the wrist up to the shoulder. Then from the fingers on up.

I was doubtful this actually accomplished anything. But I did it often because I'm pretty interested in reversing the condition. Then I took a plane ride down to Florida and felt my arm fill up as the plane descended to sea level. I started emptying and massaging like crazy and after a few minutes of it, felt a decided relief. So now I do it often because I know it works.

And the results? My right arm is now noticeably smaller than my left! I'm not sure what we're squeezing out anymore, but I think it's more than just lymph. More details about results are coming in Part III. But as I've said, the condition is mostly reversed and my arm is looking great.

So great, in fact, that I'm surprised Hollywood has not discovered compression sleeves. These actresses could be squeezing a good 100 - 200 mL of fluid out of their arms right before going onto the red carpet.