Lymphedema in legs

Posted by mariwy59 @mariwy59, Aug 2, 2017

I was diagnosed with lympedema in 2007. Due to unforseen circumstances I am now on disability so i cant stand for long periods of time without excruciating pain. I have to change so many things in my daily life but one thing that is bothering me is the pain I feel all the time .Try to do things to put in the back of my mind. My condition seems to be getting worse with the stiffness . I watch sit and fit on TV when can which helps some but the thought of not being able to walk at all has me terrified.

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@carnes

What do you mean by pitting? I have edema in my ankles, feet, and legs feel very hard. And can’t feel toes very well. Any answers please?

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do u have healty lenfnodes or lymp system?

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@abid

Radiotherapy perhaps damaged your lymphatics which caused lymphedema, lymphedema is non pitting edema, if it is pitting it is not lymphedema.

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thats right, my lenf nodes gone and radioterapy stick all area.%50 operation, %10 radioterapy. so lymphedema comes.

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What do you mean by pitting? I have edema in my ankles, feet, and legs feel very hard. And can’t feel toes very well. Any answers please?

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Radiotherapy perhaps damaged your lymphatics which caused lymphedema, lymphedema is non pitting edema, if it is pitting it is not lymphedema.

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endometrium ca + liposarkom. lymphedema came after surgery and radioterapy. after 6 months, lymphedema come

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@emine

hello everybody; i am very new lymphedama, its all about my cancer and radiotherapy. my left leh and genital place.what can u say me, if u were me... doctors give me a sock and i cant bandage my self. while bandaging, my leg pains much

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Hi @emine, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect.

Dealing with painful lymphedema on top of your cancer and radiotherapy is a lot to handle. I also did a search for Lymphedema on Mayo Clinic Connect, here are the results: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/?search=lymphedema.

There are a few lymphedema discussions around various cancer diagnoses that you may find insightful as well.

@emine, if you are comfortable sharing, which type of cancer are you receiving treatment for? Is the lymphedema worse after treatments, or has it been a steady issue since you started receiving radiotherapy treatment?

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hello everybody; i am very new lymphedama, its all about my cancer and radiotherapy. my left leh and genital place.what can u say me, if u were me... doctors give me a sock and i cant bandage my self. while bandaging, my leg pains much

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@gigi1961

Hi, I will try to sum this up quickly so as not to bore you with my story.In 2020 I had the 4 quadrants of my neuropathy stricken legs treated by venous ablation. They managed to cauterize less than what I thought. I still had some swelling and heaviness in my left leg especially. So when I moved to Little Rock, AR and I began Lymphedema therapy. I had specially measured Velcro wraps for my legs. I had been doing great at watching out for anything that may come up on my trunk section or my limbs. Months went by and once again I could see my legs as they truly are. After that I had to have surgery and while I was recovering from Rotator cuff surgery I was in the shower and fell. I got up the best that I could (one armed). No broken bones. I had a Lymphedema Exacerbation and it began all over again. I was in the hospital almost 3 weeks! I was only expected to have day surgery. I happen to have a hiatal hernia that affected my diaphragm. So when I was under anesthesia and woke up in recovery… I panicked and had to be restrained. My breathing was affected by the diaphragm malfunction. I could not exhale so the old oxygen couldn’t be expelled. Causing me to go in to a panic and then restrained. It was a very traumatic experience. I still have not been able to clearly remember that but of time.

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Hi @gigi1961, some time has passed since you first posted about your lymphedema diagnosis. How are you doing now? Have you been able to find any relief or any answers on how to proceed forward?

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Hi, I will try to sum this up quickly so as not to bore you with my story.In 2020 I had the 4 quadrants of my neuropathy stricken legs treated by venous ablation. They managed to cauterize less than what I thought. I still had some swelling and heaviness in my left leg especially. So when I moved to Little Rock, AR and I began Lymphedema therapy. I had specially measured Velcro wraps for my legs. I had been doing great at watching out for anything that may come up on my trunk section or my limbs. Months went by and once again I could see my legs as they truly are. After that I had to have surgery and while I was recovering from Rotator cuff surgery I was in the shower and fell. I got up the best that I could (one armed). No broken bones. I had a Lymphedema Exacerbation and it began all over again. I was in the hospital almost 3 weeks! I was only expected to have day surgery. I happen to have a hiatal hernia that affected my diaphragm. So when I was under anesthesia and woke up in recovery… I panicked and had to be restrained. My breathing was affected by the diaphragm malfunction. I could not exhale so the old oxygen couldn’t be expelled. Causing me to go in to a panic and then restrained. It was a very traumatic experience. I still have not been able to clearly remember that but of time.

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All good comment's.
There are a variety of donning aids for he compression stockings, use the one that works for you.
The one you use depends upon weather you have open toe or closed toe.
( switched to open toe recently, they go on more easily (Sigvaris come with a donning aid. The open toe take a bit of getting used to.)
I used the pneumatic machine for a couple of years, and no longer need it.
I find that the "self massage" is helpful for the management of lymphedema. My second therapist taught me how, and gave me the print out to back up the lesson.
I sleep with my legs elevated, and find that they appear normal in the morning; this give me a great start, although the do swell to a degree daring the day.

Good luck.

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