Hello, all.
I've been "lurking" the forums for several weeks.
Back when my left foot started to swell in July of this year, I stumbled across this site and I thought
"What a terrible condition to have- I'm glad I have something different."
Now, a few days from Christmas, I have to face reality.
My feet and hands are all getting bigger.
I can't seem to keep my limbs warm- they tingle and go numb all the time,
and my legs turn bright red if I sit with them down for a while.
I still have reason to believe my problems are more circulatory in nature,
but their worsening,
and recent development of pain/possible swelling in my...ahem...lady parts have me extremely frightened.
I have terrible anxiety, actually.
This is all I think of every moment of every day.
I cry myself to sleep imagining that I'm going to swell up like a big red water balloon,
my body ravaged with cancer, horrific infections, etc.
I've been to one internist already who simply told me I'm fat (like I didn't already know).
A very nice therapist I spoke to at my city's lymphedema clinic said the swelling not going away was the only bit typical of lymphedema-
particularly this round bulge near both ankle bones that won't go away.
But it appearing in all four limbs after no surgery or trauma is even more odd.
I do have lipedema (I didn't have a name for it til I started researching).
I'm scheduled to see an internist in January, and will soon make an appointment to see a vascular specialist to have a lymposcintigraph. (sp?)
I'm rambling.
I suppose I just want to know:
How many pounds of fluid have you gained since the start?
Do you get infections often?
How swollen are your limbs?
Thank you all so very much.