My Life with Lymphedema

March 6th is World Lymphedema Day. Many of the Three Million plus throughout the world do celebrate the day, grateful that they are alive and more grateful that they have compression that keeps the disease at bay. Many of us have what is hyped as “body dysmorphia”. I think that’s the term. This is when your legs are so full of water they are pockets and they bunch up to your torso on uneven section until they weigh roughly maybe 30 liters or more into themselves.

Our disease is a water-borne one. Our Lymph nodes are unable to work due to us having a snafu in breast cancer or other surgeries or other disorders. Once the lymph nodes, our bodies “cleaner upper” stop working, we begin to retain vast amounts of water our bodies would otherwise flush. No, sorry, Lasix is not going to work here. The fact is it would hurt us! Without the help of special wrapping and pumps to drain the fluid, and further wrapping or compression garments to keep the growing water at bay, we with Lymphedema have the potential to weigh up to one thousand pounds or more (my top weight was 410. I could not figure out why until my diagnosis.)

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My profile: I am Jewish. All Ashkenazi Jews were inbreds until 1902. This is why we have the scoliosis gene. I have it. And my son has it. More suffering.

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Abbe Buck Hann

My profile: I am Jewish. All Ashkenazi Jews were inbreds until 1902. This is why we have the scoliosis gene. I have it. And my son has it. More suffering.