Clear reports!!! Another Rx...boo. Lymphedema and Life in general

My 'mhow time flies when I'm feeling good!!! I am staying so busy having fun that I forgot to update the blog to tell you I was feeling good and staying busy!!!

Let's get the medical updates out of the way first. I'm with a different physical therapist for the lymphedema and using entirely different techniques which are working ever so well. Wrapping the arm from fingers to arm pit is uncomfortable as the bandages [think Ace bandages] tend to wad up in the elbow pit and wrist. However it does keep the swelling down much better that the compression sleeve. So I'm back to doing that drill. PT is doing considerable cranial work to clear the chemo toxins. I have NO IDEA how or why this works but it does. Finally my ears are draining, sinuses draining, headaches almost gone..,..it is quite a trip!!! Since all this was working well I was interested and listening when she suggested [strongly] that I start using compression garments from bust to crotch. I'm old so I immediately thought "girdle" and tried to ignore her. However all of her other suggestions worked so I made a trip to Nordstrom's Rack to check out Spanx and anything else that wasn't a girdle. Pricey stuff!!! But I got some and darned if I didn't feel better. Apparently all the belly surgeries have compromised my trunk lymph system so the fluid that was going away from the arm was getting stuck in my belly. So I decided to be compressed daily and feel better. Off to Target and found a whole wall of "new and improved" compression wear, some even on SALE. And after 2 weeks I can really tell a difference in the belly. And fluids are definitely moving out. 

After much deliberation I decided to add Effexor XR to my drug diet. The melt downs were just getting to be too much. I hate being hot and I hate being sweaty and I hate feeling "almost" sick. Darned if the Effexor isn't helping by cutting down on the frequency and intensity of the melt downs. I probably will continue to have a love/hate relationship with Effexor. I didn't want to add another drug to my life.

OK>>>>>>>>>now for the good stuff. Geneva is doing great at taking over the household. She is tail up and smiling most of the time. I told you I got Domino a fire hydrant and we had it installed by the landscapers for a small fortune. He has yet to use it!!!! We even had Beau come over for an afternoon and together they ignored it!!! The problem seems to be the landscaping. We have stones around the old flower bed and I think he doesn't want to walk on the rocks!!! So we will move the stones to another bed and give the hydrant a mulch surrounding. He never misses an opportunity to water a hydrant on our walks............what's the deal!!!!!!!!

Thank you kind friends for caring to read this blog. And caring enough to remind me when I've neglected to update. I'll try to do better!!!