Find a Therapist & Get Wrapped
Getting wrapped in compression garments for lymphedema management at the hospital.
Going to the hospital or a medical clinic to get body parts measured and wrapped in compression garments can be daunting.
Finding a good certified lymphedema therapist (typically an outpatient occupational therapist) can be difficult. Many have long waitlists and it may take a couple of months to get an appointment.
If you don’t get a good lymphema therapist it can be just as frustrating.
Before booking an appointment ask a few questions.
Ask the therapist if they are a certified lymphedema therapist and get some details about where they were certified.
Here are a few reputable organizations to find a certified lymphedema therapist:
Klose Training (which was started by German-born Guenter Klose who is now in Colorado)
Another good question to ask: Do you perform Manual Lymphatic Drainage (commonly called MLD)?
If the therapist doesn’t know anything about MLD or calls it “lymphatic massage” they likely don’t know what they are doing compared to others with more training and experience.
Ask how the appointment will be structured. Find out how much time will be measuring your swollen body part(s) during the first appointment to get a baseline measurement, how much time will be spent on MLD and how much time will be spent wrapping your body into compression garments.
It’s important to get MLD AND have compression garments, otherwise it’s like letting all the air out of a balloon that will quickly be blown up again.
Most certified lymphedema therapists will want to start you on an intensive program for at least 4-6 weeks where you will see a therapist three times a week for MLD and compression wrapping. The idea is to have an intense process to help shrink your swollen body parts back into shape. Think of it like a full body hammer to pound as much as possible back into shape.
The process isn’t super painful. But it is uncomfortable. Like putting a wet suit (or a pair of Spanx on) it takes some time to get used to and work up a tolerance. During the summer, it can be really hot and miserable, but the side effect is it makes your body feel infinitely better once you’ve completed the treatment.
(And the dreadful pulsating migraine feeling that can happen when lymphatic fluid backs up is gone, making your body feel lighter and more energetic.)
That can be completely magical after weeks or months of heaviness and pain.