After a mixed response to last week’s slightly unorthodox blog entry (that took the guise of some fascinating discussions but also one or two yawns!), this week I return to more commonplace topics of Lymphoedema and exercise, or rather lack of exercise and too much oedema. This is the eighth week since the injury to my knee forced me off my bike and into the pool. Since then I've covered almost 45 miles of swimming, spent hours in the weights room and have stubbornly endured almost 13 hours on the hand cycle. What should have taken 3 to 6 weeks at the most to heal has shifted expectations of normality and brought home how much things have changed since the lymphatic system in my right leg gave up the ghost.
To give my malfunctioning healing-system a much-needed boost, I had an injection in my knee around 10 days ago. The standard theory post an intervention of this type is 3 days of rest; I had 5 days off as a sort of ‘belt and braces’ approach and because we just don’t know what is ‘normal’ for me yet. Extremely tentatively, I have since started back training. Alternating between the cross-trainer and low wattage cycling, supplemented with yet more swimming, I have managed 20 minutes, then 30 minutes and am now progressing to 45 minutes back on the bike. Nervously I am monitoring every second, and there is still some soreness, but it is a different type of discomfort. A few years back after a heart-breaking Achilles injury that ruined my pretensions of being a competitive runner, I experienced a similar pain when I returned to the treadmill. Then it was just a case of the muscle memory hanging on to the pain sensation, and this time round I’m fervently hoping it is the same. So softly, softly I am following yet another rehab plan, and if I can survive this week unscathed, there will finally be a light at the end of the tunnel.
This will be just as well as during this injury period my ability to manage the lymphoedema has been woefully inadequate. Without the tool of exercise, lymph clearance has been pretty much nonexistent and my leg has swollen substantially, dealing another blow to my wretched mental state that has been under siege for a number of weeks now. Here too though, I see the light breaking through. My diagnosis of lymphoedema was delivered on December 14th, and now almost four months later, next Wednesday 6th April, I have finally arranged an appointment to see a Lymphoedema specialist in Brighton. This is the culmination of a good deal of effort in finding the right person to deal with and waiting while referrals are made, but it is quite a relief to have identified someone who has a wealth of experience in dealing with Lymphoedema. This means I can get properly measured and fitted with medical-grade compression hosiery, perhaps not the most aesthetically pleasing garments but significantly preferable to a distended and swollen limb which is the alternative! I should also be able to get a course of Manual Lymphatic Drainage, as and when needed, and be tutored in the skills of self-massage rather than replicating what I have read in a pamphlet. Moreover, it will be a comfort and encouragement to have someone to talk to on a semi-regular basis, who understands lymphoedema, and can guide me from a practical perspective on the management of the condition.
Don’t say it too loudly, but ‘softly softly’ could bring a fresh glow into my life next week, with a return to training and access to much-needed professional help on the Lymphoedema front too. Fingers crossed that it’s an easier roller to ride.
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