old painting done by me sometime in mid 90s
Yesterday I laid down in bed many hours. Sometimes I will do this. Why? This doesn't mean I never get up, taking pills, making meals, cleaning stuff, answering the phone still has to be done but when I lay in bed, I will sometimes pee hour on the hour. It takes the fluids down, and with that the pain. For years, laying down for hours a day was mandatory to control swelling and water. Yes I worry about my activity levels too.
Hopefully the Flexitouch System folks will show up at my door very soon, here is me laying down, with my less severe leg encased in a demonstration model. I am praying it is approved. When I got measured, and had it on my worse leg, it took three inches off my calf in just 20 minutes. That is on a leg that had been reduced down by quite a lot already.
I look forward to having more fluids taken off. There are days I am lighter, and ones where I am heavier now. Things will happen to me where sitting in scooters, my stomach won't touch the front of it and will be 4-5 inches away, and on a swollen day, that space just does not exist. Even my hands will go from plump mittens to being thinner and with loose skin on less swollen up days. On "lighter" days walking is far easier.
My legs did shrink from all the compression therapy. Both legs were swollen up, even the "thinnest" one. My worse leg is far smaller then it used to be. During this time when the picture was taken, infections were constant.
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But over the months since my lipedema diagnosis, I have been pondering what about other severely fat people? How many people are like me, where they are a lipedema or lipo-lymphedema case? How many women have died even, being told as it was ALL THEIR FAULT while being handed diets that don't work?
When I look at videos of other super fat women. I wonder how many could fall into my category? How many are swollen with fluids? How many are untreated lipedemics? This is not something doctors are looking for. If anything even if doctors admit you have lymphedema, and they did with me as early as 1999 with my worse leg--actually my lymphedema was all over, it is one of those most undertreated conditions if you are overweight. They don't have you get compression therapy. They tell you things like you will swell up less if you "lose weight". And in this they do people a great disservice.
I see super-obese people all over where it looks like they may have a condition like mine. Yes some do not fit and have "thin" legs and their fat distribution is far different but people like me are out there.
How many of the super over the edge fat people actually have lymphatic disorders that have caused their bodies to swell beyond the pale? It's far more then what is admitted.
More research needs to be done on obesity. Too many are being hurt even by other conditions where the diet industry formulas hold sway.
Can I say something?
ReplyDeleteI have just undergone a huge amount of weight loss. I used to be 26st. I am now 15st.
The reason you won't lose any weight on any diet, ever, is because you don't like the diets. I have been there.
I still have a lot of health problems, and I still look awful. I am not going to be smug to you, and I won't tell you that it's like winning the lottery. But it will make you feel better.
I was you. I'm still you. I can't be you, but I hope you understand.
WTH are you even talking about? lymph edema is an accumulation of fluids in the tissues. You IDIOT! it is not "fat" it is your body rebelling against you.
DeleteLet me explain.
You actually have 2 circulatory systems. Not one. The lymphatic one and the circulatory.
Everyone knows about the circulatory system. It releases nutrients into the body.
The lymphatic one draws liquid and waste products away from the cells and back to the heart, where it will then be cleaned by the liver.
The lymphatic system has no pump, so it rely on things like breathing, muscle movements etc to move through the body.
Sometimes a lymph node can become blocked by mucus or damaged, or even removed. This means the fluid cannot be drawn from the cells anymore.
The fluid backs up into the system and creates problems. such as "obesity" which is really just edema. (or fluid)
Here is a medical paper here that states and I quote.
That the lymphatic system damage can create a feed back loop.
The lymphatic system suffers a damage, leading to fluid build up, leading to fat accumulation, leading to more lymphatic damage.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393748/
no amount of diet will fix this. The fluid must be massaged out of the tissues. (see the sleeve that the woman put around her leg to get rid of the fluid?? Notice how within MINUTES her leg got smaller. Think any diet could have done that)
Ignorance is stupid.
Also your tone is just.... bleh. Good on you for losing weight, but this is not obesity this woman suffers from. It is Edema! a cursory google search would have stopped you from making a fool of yourself.
DeleteThank you Hep, the willful stupidity about lymph disorders is beyond the pale.
DeleteYou know what lipedema does right?
ReplyDeleteWhat is 26 stones, 420lbs? or less.
I think failing to lose weight goes beyond any "dislike" of diets. Why do you think you still look awful at half the weight.
Please read the rest of the blog about the failures of diets.
I have to ignore hunger pain during the day NOT to gain even. Seriously.
But I do not have a normal body, trust me this one is a 1 in 5 million type.
Did you see this post?
ReplyDeletehttp://fivehundredpoundpeeps.blogspot.com/2014/07/food-diaries-and-nutritionist.html