Grumble, grumble, grumble (post-op)

I've not had as much done as you, but 2 neck dissections later (as well as other bits being removed) I would say yes it will get better. I am almost 20 months post first neck dissection and 2.5 months past tongue surgery.  Massaging the neck does help as does any physio exercises.  I suspect you will always feel what you have had done, but it will get more of a distant memory as time goes on.

BTW I found using a massage shower head on as hot a setting as you can stand onto the neck and any parts of shoulder/chest affected helped significantly during my daily shower.

Thank you for the shower advice. I will try that.

Hi CathyLovesFlowers

Just wanted to say my Hubby had lymphodema following his head & neck treatment.  It persisted for some months but he had a referral to the local lymphodema service.  They devised a massage plan for him and it appeared at first that it wasn't working but then suddenly we could see a reduction in it and eventually it has gone. We added some neck & shoulder exercises that we found on youtube specifically for this purpose so maybe they helped as well.  A tip given to us by the lymphodema nurse was that it was important to start the massage further down the lymphatic chain ie chest and armpit region - clearing these areas of lymph first allows room for the oedema from the neck area to move to.

It is early days yet time wise from Op.  One thing to bear in mind is that although the 'outside' are healing the 'inside' will take longer. 

Hubby lost quite a lot of weight but luckily he had extra padding he didnt need.  The dietician changed his fortisip drinks to the 2kcal versions and these had a big impact in terms of energy and calories so perhaps check which version you are having and contact your dietician to discuss.

Wishing you well on your journey.

Margaret

The tip about starting massage further down makes sense. I’ll try that.

My Fortisip is the compact protein one and one bottle is 300 calories. I don’t love them, but they are OK with breakfast.

I’ll ask about the higher calorie version - thanks.

Hi Margaret how’s everything going I literally 5 mins ago messaged Dani and said I was going to get in touch 

hugs H xx