My surgen thinks I have 1st stage Limphedema in my lower legs and wants me to see a vasular surgen for a review and also to see him a week before my surgery to have a filter placed in my leg for blood clots. I will be 62 at the time of my surgery and weigh 290#. Are the chances more for us having a blood clot with Limphedema????? Will WLS make the Limphedema worse???? What is the difference between Lymphedema and Limphedema my mother and sister both have this hard swelling on lower legs and ankles, none of us has had ankles since early twenties. Need advice. Thanks Bobbie

Hi Donna, It is inexcusable that your surgeon did not tell you about the risk of lymphedema as a result of surgery. But the die has been cast, and you have to seek the best treatment for your problem from this point on. From what you describe, I'm not sure that you are getting proper care. Please consider the following suggestions. Before you allow the physical therapist to touch you find out about her training and experience: In which school did she receive her lymphedema training? There are about 8-10 reputable schools of lymphedema therapy in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia; How many hours of coursework did she have? The minimum accepted for certification by the Lymphology Association of North America is 135 hours. If she has taken significantly less she may not be adequately trained; Has she had at least a year's experience in treating patients under the supervision of a credentialled lymphedema therapist? Do not get fitted for a compression garment before you have had a course of treatment by the lymphedema therapist, including manual lymph drainage, compression bandaging, exercise while bandaged. These are the primary techniques for reducing the size of your thigh before being fitted for a garment which will maintain that reduced size. Do not accept a pneumatic pump before you finish the course of lymphedema therapy. The course should have been effective in reducing your thigh, and the pump might be unnecessary. There are dangers in the use of a pump, and the pump should not be used unless you are also practicing self manual lymph drainage, which should be taught to you or an aide or family member. Were you told the purpose of the CT scan? My guess is that they are looking for a lymphocele. I don't know whether this will be of any assistance in diagnosing your lymphedema. Are they doing a dynamic lymphoscintigraphic analysis to determine what the lymphatic flow patterns are and where the blockages are? This scan can better define the lymphatic drainage patterns to assist your lymphedema therapist in her treatment. Have they performed a Doppler scan to determine whether your veins are involved in the swelling? Don't apologize for your condition. Let's just see if we can get you fixed up. Bob Weiss Lymphedema Treatment Advocate

Without the proper therapy it can get worse. I replied to you on the main board on what you should probably do from here. You need a good therapist. Amy

I'm so glad that you got your custom fitted stockings, those make a world of difference. Keep a close eye on your pain, just make sure it's not an infection coming on or anything. Did you lose any weight from the therapy? Amy

HOWDY!!! I haven't been on much these past couple of weeks, I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and had a safe and fun filled 4th holiday! I had a double celebration that week, friends over on the 4th, then again okn the 6th for my big 40 b-day party.. it was ALOT of fun!! I finally got my custom fitted stocking, what a difference the right stocking makes! The swelling has been down for weeks now, but the past few days the pain has increased, I am not sure exactly why, it isn't bad, on a scale of 1-10 it is only about a 2.. but it had gone away for the most part... I will talk to my therapist about it when I see her again. Take care all!!!