Lymphedema will my leg look better

Hello,

My left leg was diagnosed with Lymphedema and I wanted to know if anyone had any experience with this problem.

Does losing a ton of weight help? How does the leg appear since a significant weight loss.


Thanks,

Are you getting any compression therapy for your lymphedema? My legs are significantly better after losing weight however it was in combination with manual lymph drainage massage and compression wrapping. I believe losing weight has helped me maintain the progress I made, but I have to wear compression garments everyday in order to control the swelling.

Wow ! You've done an AMAZING job Sarah ! Beautiful legs (if U don't mind a compliment)

have U been working out a lot / swimming and so forth to get such great result ?

YEARS of compression therapy...dx in Dec 2001 and started with a pump in March 2002 and some not so correct massage and wrapping...better than nothing. Then in Sept 2002 got a therapist who knew more about LE and the proper techique and bandages...so I'd go 3x a week and stayed wrapped the entire time in between. Sponge bath on the off day, then wake up unwrap shower, re roll the bandages and go get rewrapped. Surgery in April 2003. Moved to Miami in July 2004, started more wrapping that October for about 3 months...then figured all the fluid we could get out was out...the rest was tissue from lipedema....so on to compression garments.

WATER is the BEST...but I have not consistently been in the water...started there...even before my DX of lymphedema...I went to pool to just walk to get in some type of exercise. Then after surgery I went to water aerobics regularly in Ohio...like unwrap Thurs, go to pool, shower, rewrapped Friday morning for the weekend...it was quite a scheduling challenge. =( When BOTH were good for me. Then moved to Miami and found it hard to locate a good class...however recently found one and have been going 2x a week since November.

Hello,

ive only been told to use the compression stocking and elevate over my heart. (impossible)

If I were to rate my swelling from 1 -10; ten being extremely swollen, I would have to say 1. I suppose its not nearly that far along. Sorry I am thinking of ways to say its not as bad without saying something wrong.


Thanks for your share.

I was never dx'd with lymphedema, but pre-op both my legs were swollen. I didn't really realize how much until after surgery. Now my legs and feet are boney.

Losing weight will help with decreasing lymphedema. You may want to look into getting therapy though to have someone perform manual massage to help with moving the fluid and to wrap you. Compression will help keep skin in tact and keep fluid moving.

I usually lurk and don't post, but this is something I actually know quite a bit about.  My first husband went through many years of lymphedema and ongoing lymphatic massage, manual drainage, Jobst pumps, Jobst stockings, the whole nine yards.  Like you, his problem was in his left leg.  He was one of the first beneficiaries of what was then a controversial treatment for a little-understood problem.

I'm not saying this to alarm you, but because I wish I'd known THEN what I know now.  He eventually suffered complications from lymphedema resulting from Fem-Pop bypass graft.  These complications were so severe the leg eventually had to be amputated.  He'd developed a false aneurysm at the origin of the bypass graft, it became infected, and he quite suddenly (within hours) developed the worst case of septicemia his specialists had ever seen (where the patient survived).  They replaced the graft, but within a couple years the new graft failed anyway.  There was simply too much scar tissue left from the infection for it to function properly.

So, please talk to your doctor about getting some studies of the blood flow on that side of your lower body.  If there is a problem, there might still be time to fix it.  If anyone had taken my DH's problems more seriously, they probably could have saved his leg.

Anytime I hear of someone having lymphedema in in ONE leg, it rings alarm bells.  There is something causing it, and I seriously doubt if it's 'just' obesity.  If it were, common sense tells me BOTH legs should be affected. 

I have a vast wealth of experience of doctors discounting symptoms in obese persons.  There is a frightening tendency to blame EVERYTHING on excess weight.  I had several doctors tell me my fatigue was caused by morbid obesity and losing weight was the cure.  I found out eventually that it is not the obesity, I have Multiple Sclerosis.  They all misdiagnosed me, because they couldn't see past the fat.I  know now that I'm obese BECAUSE I have MS and moderately severe degenerative disk disease.

Anytime I hear of someone having lymphedema in in ONE leg, it rings alarm bells. There is something causing it, and I seriously doubt if it's 'just' obesity. If it were, common sense tells me BOTH legs should be affected.

You are right on point. Mine is secondary to my lipedema, just an overall compressed lymph system. It is VERY important to know the cause of the lymphedema, if it's removed lymph nodes or a severed flow from surgery or accident/insect bite, etc. It's really never "just obesity"...losing weight might help a bit, but other therapies are best in the overall treatment.

Hello  eldinv:  I think Sara's advice was excellent -I , too suffer with lymphedema  (both lower legs)(although it was much worse prior to my WLS (RNY) I still have it and if I start swelling at all I wear my stockings.  I SHOULD wear them at all times, however, they are warm and cumbersome (poor excuses) so I wear them when I find my legs swelling which is more frequently in the summer months due to the heat, I think.   I also recommend having the stockings fitted to your body measurements.  The purchased ones are OK but I feel those that are fitted to your measurements work much better. They can be expensive but are well worth it.
Check with your physical therapy dept /or doctors office to see if there are any lymphedema specialists.  I know it's not a well known area so you might have to search a bit but they truly can help.  My legs were so problematic for so long.  They still pain me from time to time but thankfully between weight loss/stockings and therapy they are much better, however I am told that the lymphedema is a permanent condition? I never knew that and thought that it might someday be resolved. :(
Sara's story is remarkable and she has been thru alot.   I thank her for her photos and I have read her story also.  I believe I still suffer with lymphedema in my upper thighs/groin area as my apron is still very large but mostly excess skin now but still puts pressure on both of my legs.
Also try some water therapy if you can.  The exercise  in the water (easier on us all around) along with the massage therapy really moved my lymph along its merry way.  I lost 6 lbs in one day!
   Mostly try and stay informed on your condition.  I wish you the best of luck.  It is not easy but with compression stockings, therapy, and exercise it is a manageable condition.  Hang in there.
Take care, blessings, Mary