Happy New Year's Day! An Update on My Quest for Lipedema Surgery
Showing you step-by-step in my journey to liposuction for my Lipedema
Hello Everyone,
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I skipped last week because of Christmas, but I’m back with my weekly update. I want to show you the process for getting lipedema surgery and all the hoops to jump through for this type of medical treatment. It’s been a busy past couple of weeks, but there’s been so much progress with my medical goals!
Lipedema surgery isn’t like having surgery for a knee replacement, or even removing a tumor. Lipedema is much more obscure, and doesn’t get as much support from the medical community or insurance companies. There are a lot of obstacles in the way, and if you don’t follow the right path, you can get denied payment from your insurance for treatment, ie. surgery.
You don’t want that, trust me. Surgical treatment is expensive, and most all of us can’t afford the surgeries.
However, as a Certified RN Case Manager who’s worked in the medical field for over thirty years, with fifteen of those years in medical insurance, I know how to maneuver around the system to get what is needed for treatment.
My goal is to be an advocate for you. If you have Lipedema, or believe you may have this disease, I can show you the path towards healing, and the best way to get it covered through insurance.
My weekly updates will show my ongoing progress or setbacks to treatment.
If you are having a difficult time with getting what you need for your Lipedema, please reach out to me. I am here to advocate for women who have Lipedema and Lipolymphedema.
Here’s an update on my medical progress!
Compression device
A big win is getting my pneumatic compression device. I call it my Michelin man suit—you know, that mascot for the tires. I have to put on a garment for each leg and one around my waist (for my pelvic stagnation).
The biggest win? My insurance is paying for it!
This very boring but brief YouTube video gives you an idea of what the contraption looks like:
Mine is exactly like this, except it’s grey instead of brown. And those tubes! Haha.
A nice rep from the company came and showed me how to get in and out of the device easily, and he braided the hoses together! Brilliant!
I’ve been using this for a little over a week, and I love, love, love, LOVE it!
My leg and knee girth has decreased, my legs feel lighter, and I have more energy. Yesterday I went to work, and for the first time in months, I didn’t have excruciating pain and heaviness. I didn’t come home and crawl into bed.
If you want to know more about how to get one of these, ask me!
Pelvic Congestion
As a recap: when I was diagnosed by Dr. Herbst, she recommended I see a vascular doc for possible varicose veins in my pelvis. She assessed me for pelvic congestion syndrome. Here’s a little video on it (it’s a promotional video, but it otherwise gives a good explanation):
Anyway, getting in to see a doc about this has not been an easy task! It’s taken months to get anywhere. I finally got an appointment to have a MRV, which is a MRI of the veins in my pelvis. That appointment is in a week! I’ll let you know how it goes.
Knees!
I have an appointment with a knee surgeon towards the end of the month. Although this problem isn’t directly related to my Lipedema, my increased weight has put more pressure on these joints. My poor knees hurt all the time. I plan on using this consult towards my surgical preauthorization request if it’s helpful.
Compression Techniques
Physical therapy is going well. PT is showing me all the different ways to work on compression for my lymphedema. There are so many ways to keep lymphedema under some control, and now I have many techniques in my toolbox. I'll write an article specifically on compression soon.
If you like this update and/or you know someone who may benefit from my journey, please share this newsletter!
Take care,
Michelle