Learning More About Lipedema and Making New Friends at FDRS
The conference is truly a place to connect and be inspired about lipedema treatment. And a reminder for the Q&A on April 24th at 4 pm PDT!
Whew! It’s Tuesday, and I’m still recovering from the whirlwind weekend at the FDRS conference. It was my first time there, and it was pretty cool to see all of the people I know on social media in person. I also made connections and new friends.
My new besties, Stephanie and Susan, took this introvert under their wings and let me pal around with them for the weekend. They happened to be staying across the hall from me. We came out of our rooms at the same time, heading to the elevator to start off the event. The three of us struck up a conversation, and I admitted to them that not only was I by myself, but I also had a hard time talking to others in a crowd.
“No problem!” they said. “Stick with us!” they said.
And that was the beginning of a wonderful weekend with my new friends.
I once read somewhere, “You still haven't met all the people who will love you.” You never know when those people will come into your life, but it’s a beautiful thing when it happens.
Stephanie and Susan, thanks for welcoming me into your framily!
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Another person I met is Sarah Whitehead, who is a nurse practitioner specializing in vascular health. And she diagnoses lipedema!
She is located in Seattle and is licensed in Washington State. She worked for 14 years at the UofW Vascular Clinic until it shut down. Now she has her own clinic, Lumina Vascular Health and Laser Clinic. She does virtual visits for those who live in Washington, and is looking at expanding her license to another state that desperately needs a lipedema practitioner. I kinda wish I could clone her, because we need more diagnostic providers.
There was a lot of learning and inspiration at FDRS, but the biggest thing I took away from it was that you can manage your lipedema. Even if you are doing conservative care, one major key is controlling the inflammation.
Surgery is an option, but even if you don’t or can’t go that route, you have so much you can do for yourself to feel better. Diet can have a huge impact. Exercise is helpful to keep yourself moving and staying healthy. And of course, compression and MLD is important. I’m still learning about the many different ways to manage my lipedema and still live life.
Everyone is a little different, and there is no concrete method; what may work for someone else might not work for you. Find what works for you! Educate yourself on your disease. Experiment. Take your self-care to a new level. And of course, find joy in your life, beyond lipedema.
Q&A Zoom Meet on April 24th at 4-5pm PDT
It’s another week and I’m again holding a Q&A Zoom Meet tomorrow, April 24th at 4pm Pacific Time. This is a time to connect and ask me questions about insurance.
This Q&A is for everyone!
Last week we talked about Tricare, ChampVA and how primary and secondary insurance work together (Coordination of Benefits). One member was also planning her surgery trip, so we discussed logistics of that too.
We even discussed non-surgery, on the topic of estrogen replacement therapy and how ERT has/had affected our lipedema.
Anything is up for grabs, so…Please join me! I love connecting with other lipedema women.
Here’s the Zoom Link:
Michelle Jaqua is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Lipedema weekly Q&A for Lipedema and Me
Time: Apr 24, 2024 04:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89518307740?pwd=WUZxMFZvNjhMR3ZtTFhxdkNMY1ExUT09
Meeting ID: 895 1830 7740
Passcode: 606177
I hope to see you there!
Take care,
Michelle