The Consultation Process

At your initial appointment, you will be given an information pack. This will be personal to you.

What will happen at your first appointment?

Your first appointment will take 60 – 120 mins, during which time you be asked about your medical history. Your weight and limb measurements will be taken to help determine which treatment category you will come under. Treatment categories determine what your treatment will consist of; for example; someone in category A will be self-managing. These patients will have compression hosiery prescribed and home care advice given; i.e. exercises, skin care, and self-massage advice. You will be seen once to twice yearly at either 6 or 12 month follow up appointments where your measurements will be checked and any new compression will be organised. If there is any increase in measurements, a treatment plan will be put in place. If there is no change, or a decrease, you will be monitored annually until your lymphoedema is stable, then you can be discharged into GP care.

Any patients who fit into any of the other treatment categories; B, C, D will have a personalised treatment plan devised. This will include: Manual lymphatic drainage (MLD), Decongestive lymphoedema therapy (DLT), prescriptive exercises, nutrition advice and skin care advice. Patients who are in a category C or D will be strongly encouraged to have one-to-one consultations with my exercise and nutrition specialists. These specialists can tailor exercise and nutrition plans to suit you. Being overweight may exacerbate your lymphoedema. So, with some support to help you maintain a healthy weight and increase your fitness, in conjunction with your MLD and DLT, you should achieve the best outcome from treatment. Throughout the whole process you will be encouraged to do as much as possible at home in the form of self-massage, self-bandaging, exercising and keeping up with your skin care regime and managing your weight. My goal, is for you to become self-sufficient in the management of your condition. But, I will always be available as a back-up when you need us.

During your first appointment, you will be given a lot of information. I appreciate that there is a lot to take on board. So, you will be given an information pack covering everything we will discuss. You don’t need to worry about forgetting anything. Everything you need to know will be in the pack. If there’s something that we have left out, you can contact us anytime via email or on the phone.