Lymph nodes problem

Hello I had lymphnodes removed but didn’t have this problem. It  all sounds very unpleasant for your Mum. No wonder she’s feeling a bit down. I’m surprised the nurse didn’t (couldn’t?) offer any interim advice on how to manage this until she speaks to the surgeon next week. I’m going to suggest you phone your Mums GP to see if they can help in the short term, perhaps they can suggest a dressing to use temporarily to help absorb some of the fluid. I’d also suggest that you try ringing the Macmillan helpline on 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week, 8-8) and speak to one of the nurses there. They can’t diagnose but they may have some helpful suggestions and they can advise you if there’s anything specific you should ask your Mums team in relation to this. I hope the problem is sorted out very quickly and that your Mum will soon be able to enjoy going out again. Please let us know how things go. 

Hi RobeH,

We had a similar problem with my husband 13 years ago on his neck. He had his larynx removed, and the neck just refused to heal up. (I think it was the effects of the radiotherapy he'd had previously).In his case he had leaks onto his shirt, so we just made sure we went everywhere with tissues and a spare shirt!

I agree that she shouldn't be left with no advice, and perhaps her GP could help. In my husbands case it took a long time to heal up, and I was beginning to think it never would!  xxxx 

Hi Robe,

My hysterectomy wound got infected and quite a lot of watery fluid would leak from it, on two occasions a large amount of fluid leaked out, once in hospital and again when I was home, it gave me a fright, I didn't have my lymph nodes removed. My practice nurse regularly changed my dressings and gave me spares so that I could change it on my own if it opened / leaked between appointments. To feel secure when I went out I had a giant absorbant pad against the area of my dressing under my clothes and took a towel, change of clothes and dressings with me.

 I hope it clears up soon

xxx

Thank you for the responses, everyone. Very helpful, as always.