Hi all,
I wanted to share an update now that I've had surgery for anybody else that might be interested.

I have lymphedema in my abdomen and genital area. I went under the 29th of December and was in surgery for about 6-7 hours. I was expecting it to be a quick surgery with 2-3 incision sites where they did they lymphatic vein bypass.

When I woke up I had incisions all down my right leg, under my stomach, and more on my inner thighs. I was quite shocked at the aftermath. The surgeon told me she did 3 different vein bypasses in my leg and liposuction where my edema had been pooling. The edema had hardened and needed to be removed.

I spent a week in Phoenix after the surgery and it was rough. I have and am still having pain attacks that trigger panic attacks. I had 2 drains put in and I think that's probably what shocked my body the most as I was not prepared for that. The drains were by far the most difficult and painful part.

They removed one drain during my post op appointment but left the one on my left pelvis in. I went home and they approved it to be removed Monday. That was so painful to remove but I got through it.

It's almost 2 weeks since surgery and I'm still having issues sleeping (may be to having my legs elevated all night), a lot of pain on my incision sites, and limited mobility. I will say each day it gets a little easier, I'm happy I can take a shower without the drains (makes a huge difference), but it's hard not to get depressed with my recovery.

My surgeon has already proposed a secondary surgery which I'm mentally not ready to start thinking about yet.

I'm trying to stay positive with the pain but now that I'm out of pain killers and my doctors are having a hard time prescribing me more, makes it that much more difficult.

If anybody has questions or has encouraging words feel free to reply. I hope this update was helpful for someone.