Living with Lymphedema: Tips and Support

I’m running into an issue and was hoping someone could offer some advice. It’s about swelling in my legs—specifically my lower legs. My doctors say my lymphatic drainage is severely compromised, so the fluid just pools there. The swelling is pretty significant, especially now with this intense summer heat. By the time I get home from work, I usually don't feel like going anywhere; I just want to lie down or sit with my legs elevated. That helps a little bit, but by the next day, it's right back to square one. I’ve tried every tea, soak, and compress imaginable, but nothing works. I'm 30 years old, and this isn't something I was born with; it just started appearing on its own a few years ago. No one in my family has ever dealt with anything like this. Interestingly, there were two times when it cleared up completely for about 10 or 15 days. I actually thought I had finally beaten it, but then it returned. I'm convinced this isn't incurable... it's just a matter of finding a way to jumpstart the circulation again. If anyone here has dealt with something similar and found a solution, please let me know. 🙂

There’s actually some pretty useful info on this page if you bother to read it...

So, we’re dealing with a patient who's one year out from surgery for cancer—they had some abdominal lymph nodes removed back then—and now this lymphedema is kicking in, hitting both legs and even spreading to the abdomen.
Is there anything at all we can do to help ease the discomfort besides just pushing diuretics? Physical therapy isn't an option right now since they're bedridden following a recent procedure, and the swelling is just getting worse by the day—which honestly feels like it's eating away at their chances of recovering and getting back on their feet.
Does anyone here know what might work? Like, where do we even start? Is there some kind of device for home use, or maybe a specific cream or something else entirely?!
I would be beyond grateful for any info you guys could share

redgardener5 said:So, we’re dealing with a patient who's one year out from surgery for cancer—they had some abdominal lymph nodes removed back then—and now this lymphedema is kicking in, hitting both legs and even spreading to the abdomen.
Is there anything at all we can do to help ease the discomfort besides just pushing diuretics? Physical therapy isn't an option right now since they're bedridden following a recent procedure, and the swelling is just getting worse by the day—which honestly feels like it's eating away at their chances of recovering and getting back on their feet.
Does anyone here know what might work? Like, where do we even start? Is there some kind of device for home use, or maybe a specific cream or something else entirely?!
I would be beyond grateful for any info you guys could share

Given the abdominal swelling and that history of malignancy, you really need to rule out whether this is actually ascites first... An abdominal ultrasound should give you the real story.

I've got the same diagnosis. You really need to wear compression socks—at least a level 2 or 3—regularly, and hit up lymphatic drainage therapy at least twice a year.

Lymphedema is absolutely wrecking me... my lower legs are constantly swollen, and honestly, it feels like nothing actually works. When I head down to Florida for the summer, the salt water helps pull some of the fluid out—it cuts the swelling about in half—but even then, it’s still a massive issue.
Last spring, I ended up stuck in a hospital for two weeks just trying to flush all the excess fluid out, but now I’ve basically become immune to diuretics. I’ve run every test under the sun, and none of the doctors could give me a straight answer. I've heard there's a surgical option to get rid of it... anyone here actually gone through that?

If you're dealing with the same thing and actually know how to fix it, hit me up.

http://zdravoislasno.net/2017/08/upo...em-i-limfedem/

Starting a new thread here... I don't personally deal with lymphedema, but I’m sure those of you who do have someone in your corner—a specialist who really knows their stuff when it comes to manual lymphatic drainage. If you have a recommendation for a great practitioner, please shoot me a private message! Thanks! 🙂