How Vein Treatment Helped My Lipedema and Lymphedema

Unexplained knee pain started Rebekah, founder of Sturdy Woman, on the path to a diagnosis of #lipedema and #lymphedema. She describes how the knee pain and weakness she experienced were actually caused by venous insufficiency, which her lymphatic conditions were exacerbating. A chance referral to a vascular surgeon unraveled years of mystery and set her on a path to recovery. After two ablations and multiple rounds of sclerotherapy, her swelling reduced, her mobility returned, and she found new energy to undertake other conservative treatments. Today she is down nearly 140 pounds and feels more alive than ever before. If you are wondering, "Should I have vein surgery?" Only you and your doctors can answer that, but Rebekah has no regrets about hers.

#veindisease #venousinsufficiency #lipoedema

[kzp]

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.

[patfilippelli]

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

[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.

[universaltruth]

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.

[LightforWellnessWithMartha]

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

[kaitteachout]

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.

[debbabbit]

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!!😊

[strangelove]

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.

[lfuentes]

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. 😢

[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.

[kathleenthomas]

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

[sweetsunnydaygirl]

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

[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.

[alisonellis]

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....

[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!

[amalsafrioui]

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

[bonniebarlow]

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!

[eileenjewell-yvoo]

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!

[niamhbyrne]

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

[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!