How Vein Treatment Helped My Lipedema and Lymphedema

[@kzp5249]

I don’t want to dampen the vein excitement options but please stay safe and yes do your research . Whilst doing my research I stumbled across lipedema, self diagnosed then had the vascular surgeon confirm this. I’ve had vein surgery on both legs from top to bottom and Im still in recovery. Surgeon also broke off the catheter in my thigh and I had 3 courses of antibiotics for infection. They also left sutures on the outer wound and that was not healing nor closing. I’m glad I did not have to have the wound reattended to. I have diabetes as well. Movement was limited v uncomfortable, painful as well. It was a traumatic experience. And now my ankles swell , calves r v sore when I walk, climbing steps are worse on ankles. I cannot do much exercise, love the water movements but I have to wait for stitches area to heal completely before going into water. …it is 3 months now. I cannot wait to see overall results as you have, thank you for sharing.

[@patfilippelli2191]

Thank you Sturdy Woman! Your amazing honesty & openness in sharing your personal lipoedema journey is helping me to reflect on all the troublesome health issues I have experienced practically all my life. Only now am I putting two and two together regarding my own health & that of my mothers health throughout her life. I'm past the OMG phase & have made an appointment to investigate. Bless you

[@sturdywoman]

Hi Pat. We all have to navigate the rough waters of the OMG phase, but I'm glad to hear you are coming out of it. It takes a lot of courage to make that appointment! Sending so many good thoughts your way and hoping it goes well. But if it doesn't... next! Keep trying until you find someone willing to be a partner on your health journey. You deserve to feel better! ♥

[@JanetMacCallum]

I had endovenous RF ablation surgery on both legs a few weeks ago and will follow up with ultrasound guided sclerotherapy in 4 weeks for the smaller veins and spider veins. I’m 43 and apparently my veins were pretty bad but I think I’ve had bad veins ever since I was a skinny teen. The operation was fine and I was walking straight away and it took about 2 weeks for the bruises to fade and the pain to subside. 3 weeks later i feel much better. One of my veins was so bad it had an aneurism bubble on it! I’m interested to see if my lipedema (stage 3) and secondary lymphodema reduces once I heal more. I’m sure my legs don’t feel as achy as they did pre surgery but I’ll see how I go after the smaller veins are treated.

[@debbabbit9283]

Wow! I'm glad it's possible to get the treatments and prevent DVTs as well as reduce the lipedema. Are there more websites I can use to learn more about why/how lipidema is helped by endovenous treatment? Thank you!!😊

[@azsunburns]

I'm thrilled to hear you found what helped you and had the coverage or finances to fix it. The truth is, many people don't have the privilege to slowly financially sift through costly & time consuming terrible doctors. Most govt covered plans are terrible at providing quality care... Which means, the system is overloaded with horrible so called health professionals.

[@kaitteachout3633]

Thank you for sharing. I just was diagnosed in August by a vascular surgeon but she didn’t know if surgery would negatively impact the lipedema. I appreciated her honesty. For the past 2 months I’ve had the pain you describe in my knee. Because of your video, I headed back to the vascular surgeon.

[@sturdywoman]

Good luck, Kait! I hope they are able to give you some relief and that it is as helpful for you as it was for me. I was so fortunate my vascular specialist *has* lipedema so she understood what we were getting into. That said, she has also been astonished to see my progress and thought the most we could hope for was to slow the progression. Keep us posted

[@marthastettinius1780]

this is me--but pain both legs. Good to know there might be solutions after my upcoming vein ultrasounds

[@universaltruth2025]

I had the same treatment on my legs, but after having children. I had my first baby at 34 and before that had the odd broken capillary but nothing that made me seek treatment. Although I actually had some broken capillaries in one thigh since the age of about 8 (?) due to a pair of trousers I had that had a rough seam on the inside. I still remember the pain that seam caused but being a child and probably not having many clothes to choose from kept wearing them. My veins got worse with each pregnancy. During my 3rd pregnancy I looked enormous as though I was carrying triplets. He was quite big at 10lbs but I think the real reason was that my abdominal muscles weren’t staying together like they should have been. After that my veins were terrible. I knew my body wouldn’t cope with any more pregnancies after that. Eventually I got the same vein treatment that you did which helped the pain and appearance a lot. We didn’t have health insurance and it cost $10k. I still have new veins appearing but I am hoping I don’t need more treatments. No one ever mentioned that I could have lipedema or veinous insufficiency. I don’t know why they never offer any diagnosis. I wish they did.

[@teeswaran]

This is my story. Thank you!

[@sturdywoman]

There are so many of us @teeswaran! Glad you found the channel ❤

[@lfuentes4098]

I have done the same thing. It’s been years that my pcp said my leg pain was due to venous insufficiency. They told me the usual, elevate, change positions, wear compression. If that doesn’t help see a vascular surgeon. After self diagnosing myself with Lipedema I am on the hunt for both a new pcp and vascular surgeon to see if anyone can diagnose me in my hometown. I really don’t want to travel 3 hours south to LA. Not to mention Dr. Schrwatz, Dr. Herbst, and Dr.Amano are like celebrities in the Lipedema world and probably charge accordingly. 😢

[@susanpinkston3355]

Thanks!

[@sturdywoman]

Thank you for your support @susanpinkston3355! I'm so glad the channel has been helpful 🥰❤

[@1969strangelove]

I am in the same position you were. I have a dull pain on the inside of my left knee. Some days are worse than others. Sleeping has become a challenge because the left knee touches the right leg. I know I have several veins problem. I am scheduled to treat Nutcracker syndrome along with some other pelvic veins. I feel that my saphenous vein needs to be dealt with too because it is incompetent. Thanks so much for your video. It really helped putting the pieces of this puzzle together.

[@sturdywoman]

Hi Cherry! I'm sorry to hear you are having so much discomfort - I can completely sympathize (as you heard). I hope you are able to find a vein specialist who can help. Are you using any compression garments during the day? That might provide some relief in the meantime. 💕

[@sweetsunnydaygirl]

Thank you so much for sharing this part of your journey! I'm thinking I need to see a vein therapist.....🤔🧐🙏😺 Added your video to my "Lipidema and Lymphedema Help :)" playlist :) Enjoying your videos from Nashville! :)

[@sturdywoman]

You are so welcome! I'm glad you continue to find Sturdy Woman's content useful. Thanks so much for the add to your playlist

[@amalsafrioui2067]

That is very, very good thank you thank you so much That’s so much

[@bonniebarlow4939]

You are a dead ringer for Kristen Bell. Way cool. Oh, and your content is great. I recently was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, lymphedema AND lipedema. The vein problem was diagnosed first, but weirdly as soon as I started getting the sclerotherapy, my legs started to swell more and more each day - by inches overnight. It went all the way up both legs, thighs, hips, and my abdomen. I thought the treatment was supposed to make my legs better! I did some research and said I believed I had lymphedema based on my symptoms. The vein doc said, "oh yes, you do." Thanks for telling me, doc. So I started the journey of finding specialists. I got delays in responses from clinics. Or they would say in a voicemail I needed to go to radiation oncology rehab which made no sense to me at the time. I persisted and finally did get into the rehab group and they're helping me tremendously. As are you. Thanks!

[@sturdywoman]

Thanks @bonniebarlow4939! I'm sorry it took me a few days to get back to you - I'm in the middle of a medical journey right now too 😵‍💫 I've never heard myself compared to Kristen Bell - thank you! 😆 I'm so sorry (but not surprised) that doctors have been giving you a bit of a run around. It's crazy how long it takes most of us to get any answers... especially those of us with what I call the "triple crown" diagnosis of lipedema, lymphedema, and venous insufficiency. I'm glad to hear you are starting to get some traction. Have you gotten into compression yet? That can be very helpful for all three. I talk about my favorite brand here in case you are still on the hunt kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2mZqnqboMmHhac 💕💕

[@kathleenthomas1971]

i have knee pain also! it is scary climbing up and down stairs . my knee is very swollen all of the time

[@alisonellis5363]

When I first started watching you vids I was interested but thought this is just another thing to add to the list. Now I am wondering if it's more of a priority than my hypermobility! And yes I was cycling around most of my forties caring for other with a mocking hip and a huge right leg compared to the left!! Had obisity, depression and cervical spongilitus since 25. Now at 53 I walk with a rollator ( very bad shoulders /wrists) with ankle supports and weak knees. I use my right leg swelling and pain as a barometer for life!! Some days are worse than other and diet deck effects it ( on yes syrogrenes as well)! Thanks for giving me lots to think about. Am with you on the supplements, also I feel worsening of I don't have buckwheat regularly....

[@sturdywoman]

Hi @alisonellis5365! I'm sorry it has taken me a few weeks to get back to you. Yes, this could definitely be related to your hypermobility! There's a good bit of overlap between EDS patients and lipedema patients... and even without an EDS diagnosis many of us (including me) are bendier than most people. It sounds like you are zeroing in on some of your dietary triggers. Anything you can do to reduce inflammation and swelling will help your symptoms. Sending big hugs and hope you are feeling good ❤❤

[@alisonellis5363]

@@sturdywoman Thankyou and keep up the good work 💖

[@JediBunny]

Really appreciate you sharing your journey with us! What are your thoughts on liposuction for lipedema? I’m curious about your position as you seem like someone who’s been on your journey in such a holistic sense. Would really appreciate hearing from you on that!

[@sturdywoman]

Hi @JediBunny! This is a great question. You're right that I've never really looked into surgery. Even at my heaviest, my lipedema wasn't yet limiting my mobility or causing me extreme pain so I wanted to see what I could do on my own. With my student loans, surgery also wasn't very feasible financially. That said, the choice whether or not to have it is very personal and I have friends who have done it and are thrilled that they did. I think the people who do best both before and after surgery are the ones who do conservative treatments alongside the surgical interventions. Even at the FDRS conference in April (www.fatdisorders.org/) many of the doctors said the outcome of surgery depended somewhat on nutrition and other inventions patients do afterwards. Liposuction doesn't "fix" our lymphatic system, right? So the lipedema tissue can (and probably will) come back if you don't take measures to mitigate what caused it in the first place. ♥♥

[@BlueBlossomsBlues]

What does vein ablation surgery involve? I have had my smaller and surface spider veins improve with just IPL treatments for hair removal. Later I read similar vein treatment is used for nonsurgical option.

[@sturdywoman]

Hi @mariakaravivanova6690! There are different ways they can do it, but generally it is very non-invasive and done is less than an hour right in the doctor's office. They numb the area then use a needle to "kill" the veins that have malfunctioned. It sounds scary, but we have so many veins that the other healthier ones take over and pick up the slack. I walked out of the office right after my procedures and even went for a (slow) walk later that night. You are right that there are different treatments they will do depending on the size and location of the veins. I also had injections in some of my smaller veins after the ablations. If you see a vascular surgeon they can scan your legs and recommend what treatment (if any) you might benefit from.💕

[@BlueBlossomsBlues]

@@sturdywoman thank you, that was very informative, I thought it was an incision type surgery and was somewhat scared to look it up. 🍀

[@eileenjewell-yv4oo]

I have a right knee ache .. they ruled out dvt. X-ray shows nothing muscular … the report says varicose vein. But they referred me to an ortho.. I just don’t understand how the veins make the knee aches .. annoyed! I’m going to ask today about a vein specialist.. thank you for your video!

[@sturdywoman]

Hi Eileen! I know, right? Do a little Google searching on the popliteal and greater saphenous veins. They are large and run through parts of the knee. I can't say what's happening for you, but my veins were getting stretched out from trying to pick up the slack from my lymphatic system. According to my vein doctor "it would require a tremendous amount of fluid to have done this to such young veins!" Mine got so stretched out the valves could no longer touch and my doctor graphically - and hilariously - described it like when you drop water in a plastic bag. Some of the chains like Vein Clinics of America will do a free consult and quick scan on you so that might be an option if no one will give you a referral. Good luck and keep us posted. 💕

[@eileenjewell-yv4oo]

@@sturdywoman the orthopedic was really a waste of time. He met me for 5 seconds and prescribed PT, No mri. I asked can I have mri now and he said no.. insurance wouldn’t pay for it. I asked if my varicose veins could be causing this knee pain and he screwed up his face as if I just suggested the dumbest thing he ever heard. Lol.. sweet. I’m seeing a vein specialist Monday.. (my ins doesn’t require referrals) the saga continues..

[@eileenjewell-yv4oo]

@@sturdywoman went to vein dr.. he said I have “very leaky pipes” and is ordering a lymph pump for my legs. The knee pain must be fluid or ligaments or something .. interesting journey so far!

[@sturdywoman]

@@eileenjewell-yv4oo that's great news! I have "leaky pipes" too and found my pump really helpful in moving stuff out, especially the first six months or so when I was still really... full 😆 Do you know which pump you are getting? I have a Flexitouch from Tachile (my video about it is here kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoPUg6mepJV9n8k) but many women love the Lympha Press because it's easier to get in and out of. Really excited you are getting some answers and hoping you can start feeling better soon. I'm actually about to have my veins touched up later this month. The journey continues! 💗

[@angelicaordonez1403]

Believe it or not but this treatment made mine way worse. So please talk to your Dr first and do your research.

[@jaybee8132]

Same with me. It helped my lower limbs but made my thighs worse. I need to have the major vein that start with a S.

[@sturdywoman]

You are probably thinking of the greater saphenous vein, Jay Bee! I had two procedures on that one in my left leg and three years later am about to get it touched up in one more place. It's definitely important to get it all and, if possible, work with someone who also understands lymphatic disorders, as highlighted by Angelica above! Not all vein doctors are also lymphatic specialists.

[@jaybee8132]

Yes, that's the name of the vein. I went to a specialist at UCLA hospital.

[@jaybee8132]

@@sturdywoman Did you notice any difference after getting the Saphenous treated?

[@sturdywoman]

@@jaybee8132 yes I noticed a big different almost immediately! Yes, I had a lot of swelling and bruising in the days after the procedure, but the pain/weakness in my knee resolved almost immediately. Venous disease doesn't go away, though, and I recently went for a scan to see if three years later I need more. They recommend a few more minor "touch ups" but the majority of the ablation has held up really well. Have you gotten any more answers from the specialist at UCLA? If you haven't found compression garments, I'd recommend trying to get into those. It's a game changer for managing my condition ♥♥

[@bellavida3505]

❤

[@niamhbyrne4036]

I have lymphedema and n left leg & have weakness in left knee but also pain when doing certain exercises which makes me have to stop.... could this be a vein problem.? Thanks

[@sturdywoman]

@niamhbyrne4036 it wouldn't hurt to get it checked out! I was shocked to learn the symptoms of vein problems. Like I said in the video, I started having weakness in my knee and strange unexplained pain after exercising. Some vein clinics will do a free or low cost "quick scan" to see if you have anything worth exploring further. They almost dismissed me when I went the first time, literally saying "we don't know why you are here... but we might as well" Surprise :D Check out my newer video on my experience: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJXUgnx-qJKFrdE

[@charlotia]

I had something similar I believe with my left ankle. it was so bad about 5 years ago, and I started going to the chiropractor and he did cold laser therapy on it and within about a month and a half it resolved itself and hasnt returned since. I tried PT before that but that didnt do anything. Im wondering now if there are vein issues with me as well. Did the procedure that you had done on your veins hurt? Thanks so much!

[@sturdywoman]

Hi @charlotia! Sorry it took me a few weeks to get back to you - I've been back at the vein doctor recently 🙄 It's interesting to hear the cold laser helped. My physical therapist never used it on me, but I knew she was using it on other people for pain and they were having great success. If you suspect vein problems, I'd suggest finding a vascular doctor and having a scan. Most insurance companies will cover it and some office will do a preliminary scan on you for free before charging you for the full thing. You stand on a platform for about and hour and they run an ultrasound up and down your legs while they squeeze them. The procedures I had done on my legs were performed right in the office some with local anesthetic and the simpler ones without. I was able to walk out on my own afterwards and go for a walk later that evening. YES I had swelling, bruising up and down my leg, and everything you could expect but it started resolving within about a week and I had immediate relief from the pain/weakness in my knee. Let me know how things go for you! Big hugs ♥♥