Stem cell therapy for Lymphedema

A while ago I got a tip about an online diary of a woman who is undergoing a new kind of treatment for Lymphodema in South Korea. It is a combination of Liposuction and Lymphosuction, to clear the site where the lymphatic system has been damaged, followed by intravenous stem cell therapy.

This lady has Lymphedema an Lipedema in both her legs due to surgery that went wrong. On her blog she shares her experiences from before her surgery and up till now where she is today, which is a very good place, it seems.

You can read her very first post shortly before the surgery here, where she explains a little about the procedure. On the mainsite you can find the posts that followed.

This lady links to another online surgery diary. I am not sure whether they are having the exact same operation but do check it out.

I am sorry it has been so long since my last post. I am well and things are good. Still no sign of a job, but things seems to be picking up a little and there have been more openings lately so I am hopeful. The wonderful man is still here and still wonderful. His name is Glenn. He really doesn't care about my leg. He sometimes helps me roll up bandages, how sweet is that! I think we are good together. While being in the middle of it I am also observing this wonderful thing that has happened to me. It is kind of unreal and very different - good different - than other attemps into relationsships I have had. I can be me.

I recently recieved the maxi dress on the pictures below, it is really not too bad. I will see if I can take a picture wearing it so you can see what it really looks like. I need to stop buying clothes from China on eBay as the quality is often not very good and the pictures can be very different from what you actually get but I was lucky with this one. The quality is not too bad. The dress is quite long too and not Asian sized. I am 168 cm high and is long enough for me. It comes in many different colours. I bought it here. The colour is a little bit different from the pictures but not dramatically.

Tip for arm lymphers

To my page about Shopping for Lymphedema wear there is a comment from a reader with arm Lymphedema, asking for advice about clothing. I thought about a loosefitting, baggy top under a stylish corsage in order to provide room for her arm and maintaining shape on her upper body not to mention looking stylish. I really think a long sleeved baggy top takes the non-decency right out if the corsage and makes it look rather elegant. One could have a number of tops to combine with the same corsage. What do you guys think? Please throw a comment!

Something like this. This one has a lace-up back. I found it here.

With a top a little like this under, perhaps without the thing in the middle.
I found it on eBay but lost the link (I searched for chiffon top).

 

Or this one, that I got for myself a little while ago.

It would probably look a little like this, only more
baggy over the bust, which I think would look nice.

I also found some funky bustiers/corsages here.

I wonder if one could use a strappy top over a baggy top instead of a corsage, or if it would look too bulky. I might give it a try and see how it goes, will let you know. 

Funky, stylish outfits for lymphers

A little while ago I was going through some of the links that I share on Shopping for Lymphedema wear and to my delight I found quite a few funky, stylish, widelegged outfits from the french label Coline. Go directly to the pants/trousers section here and see for yourself, it is incredible, especially for those with really big legs! The styles below are both around 25€ (34$) and come in five colours.

Still here...

Hi everyone,

I am so sorry for not updating for so long. It sounds crazy but since I lost my job I have been more busy than in many, many years! I have joined a network for active jobseekers and I attend their activities two days every week. Then there is all the other things - refining my LinkedIn profile, creating on-line CV's, writing jobapplications, researching on new ways to go etc. I could do with a holiday!!

My big, annual wrapping session is coming up, I have made appointments for nine sessions in late October. Dreading it... I am going to see if I can get some shoes that I can wear when wrapped instead of my trekking sandals which don't look very stylish with socks in, I feel.

I just got this cool jacket below from H&M, I am really pleased I got it. The fitted style goes well with baggy/widelegged trousers, creating some shape. It is getting colder here but with a bit of luck I can still use for perhaps another month.

A couple of months ago I got this stylish denim jacket which I am really glad I got. Something different with the zippers instead of buttons. I wore it to a christening a couple of weeks ago with a maxidress and my Chucks, sorry about the blurry picture.

The maxidress I got from Asos a couple of years ago.

My Chucks, now on eBay!

I still have the lonely partners of the Converse sneakers I got last year and I have finally managed to put them on eBay, what an ordeal! You can find them here. I send worldwide (except the usual navy bases etc.). They are brand new and the sizes are 6.5 (left) and 5 (right). You can buy one or both.
Mine have been hiding all winter but are about to come out of the closet as Summer is approaching. I find that they can go with many outfits catering for us, fx. a long dress or some wide leg pants/trousers with the ends tucked into as I talked about in the previous post.

This year I am going to wear them with - among other things - the items below.

 

I haven't bought these yet but I think I will.

 I have added a couple more suggestions for wide leg pants in this post here.

Wide legged pants for Summer

As I may have mentioned I have recently found lots of good stuff on eBay and the other day I did a quick search of wide leg pants. Loads came up, check out these:

Loose linen pants, £10.89, many colours, ships worldwide, free postage

Chiffon flower pants, £11.90, ships worldwide.


I quite like these ones, they look comfy and I think the oversize pockets are cool. $38 incl. postage.
Baggy harem pants.

I think these look very stylish. Seems see-through, but black might work. Cool buckle, eh? $23 incl. postage.
Baggy pants.

While the first pictures are from eBay reader Hutch tipped me about a great site, Etsy, and a seller there with some beautyful clothes. I really like these and they look like they are good quality too. Green trousers, $69.99, from SophiaClothing (on Etsy).

I think they all look great like this but I imagine one could tuck the ends down some high-top sneakers like the personal shopper told me to do on the picture below. At least the first two that are not as wide as the Etsy trousers. I wear the outfit below a lot and I am still amazed of how normal my leg look this way. I really think this is one of the best tips the personal shopper gave me. That and working with contrasts so that trousers, top and cardi/jacket are different colours.

Outfit from the personal shopper.

To new readers; I'd be ever so grateful if you would vote in my little unscientific survey about Lymphedema and diet overhere to the right. Thanks :-)

More eBay

I like eBay more and more. You can find anything on eBay, and at a good price too. At least compared to where I am where most things are expensive due to taxes. I am not complaining as I appreciate what I get for my taxes but who doesn't want to save money?
Anyway, I just wanted to share my latest purchases from this online temple with you guys:

I thought I needed something colourful to spice up my plain tops and bring attention to my upper body and these scarfs will do the trick. I just ordered them so haven't recieved them yet. I find the price unbelievable – the scarfs below all cost less than $5!

You can find the beige scarf above here.

Find the white and blue scarfs above here.

I also recently got a unit for hiding cables, boxes for paper storage, stuff to eliminate silverfish and a hair donut - now I just gotta learn how to use it.

And this gorgeous top that I'm really looking forward to using come Summer. The quality is not all that great but on the other hand it didn't cost much so when it is finished, it is finished.

 

Things I am looking forward to:

• Going out for a meal with my Tai Chi buddies tonight. Good people.
• My baking course. Haven't booked it yet but will soon.
• Spending the weekend in my sofa armed with Mad Men and left over desert from my Birthday.

Shopping for jeans

Hi again, sorry it's been so long, I have been so busy.
I am 40 now. I had a wonderful party in my flat on my Birthday and I spend most of my sparetime since New Year clearing out, cleaning, getting a couple of new bits and making preparations for my big day. I had a lovely day and everything went really well. It was a sort of reception where people could come and go and it worked really well. I had prepared champagne, sushi, cheese and homemade Tiramisu which all went down a treat. I had some lovely presents, the best one was a baking course that I am really looking forward to go to.

As promised I am posting a little tutorial of how I shop for jeans. Since my Lymphedema started I haven't bought a pair in a shop. Especially these days it is close to impossible to find a pair of wide legged jeans and so I find it is much easier to shop on places like eBay. eBay is for shops as well as individuals and you can find new as well as used items.
I haven't actually bought jeans on eBay yet but on a similar site that is only available to my country and on a smaller scale. This is what I would do if I decided to shop for jeans on eBay, which I may very well do one of these days.
You must have an eBay account before buying. It is free and easy to register.

Once you have your account go to www.ebay.com or www.ebay.co.uk and type in "jeans" in the search box and hit "enter".
You will now see all the jeans that are for sale on eBay. There is a lot and you don't want to see them all, only the ones that are relevant to you. Click on "womens clothing" (or "mens clothing for men of course)".

 

Then click on "jeans".

You now have various options to further limit your selection. You can chose to see only jeans marked fx. as "wide leg". Also indicate the size you are looking for and perhaps condition. I have highlighted the ones that would be important to me. You can also indicate brand, price etc., which is very handy.

 Now you have all the jeans that match your criterias.

Let's say I fancy the "Silver Jeans STARR Wide Leg Pants". Clicking on the picture I get to see more about the product and the option to bid or buy. It is important to check if the seller ships to your country. If you use www.ebay.co.uk and click "advanced" you can choose to view only items that ships to your country, this is very handy. Also make sure to check the shipping costs as they can be quite steep if shipping fx. from America to Europe. The shipping costs are not included in the price of the item itself.

Scrolling down you will see more information about the jeans.

Now to the most important bit. Do they fit? You can never be 100% sure untill you try them on but I have had good results asking the seller for three measurements: The waist, the length from crotch to foot and finally the leg width at the slimmest place. Usually that is at the knee. As the length vary a lot from person to person I have started to ask for the width 53cm from the waist which is where I know my knee sits in most styles. Get a pair of jeans or trousers out that fits you and measure them, then you know how wide your new jeans need to be.

I keep a little table with these measurements on all my jeans and so I can easily compare the styles and figure out what might work when I shop this way.

You can create a bookmark so you can easily find the jeans again but you also get a link in the e-mail you get when the seller replies to your questions.

Some sellers chose to sell their products by auction where you have to bid and others don't, then you just click "buy now".

Do you have any tips on shopping for wide legged jeans? Bring 'em on!

As good as new

Next month I will be going for my annual wrapping session before having my leg measured for new stockings. The trousers I use when bandaged are much less black than they used to be, they are not new either. However, they are not that worn and they are the only trousers I can use when wrapped so I am pleased I've got them. The other day I freshened up the colour with some cheap Rit dye in my parents washingmachine and they came out real nice. They don't look very sophisticated as it is (the trousers, not the parents...) but at least they no longer look old and faded (the parents a little, perhaps...). Anyway, they came out nice. I recently got some light blue, wide legged jeans from an auction and I dyed them blue, it worked well too.

Before and after.

Clothes from the personlig shopper

Here comes some of the clothes I got from the personal shopper a couple of weeks ago. I loooove this beautyful dark blue dress. Obviously it is too long and have to be shortened which will probably make it look less Greek goddess but I think it will be nice in a more userfriendly length too. It has an elastic band right where I put the belt. This gives it a baggy look which I find handy, especially in case of overdosing on desert, hmm.
The dress can be dressed up or down according to the occasion. I think that with the right accessories it could be worn for a wedding, but also for much less formal things – the new sneakers, a casual long necklace, a big shoulderbag and loose hair would dress it right down in a cool and stylish way. It is by Mango and it is 100% cotton.

I also got this top and the green skirt. I have returned both though but I thought I'd show it here anyway for inspiration. I really do like the look but wondered how much I would be using the skirt afterall. I like the way it sits high up, just under the boobs. The belt is the dot over the i, as we say overhere. I felt a little like the mum from The Little House on the Prairie. I still love watching that.

I was looking at asos.com the other day – their sale too is on – and I found a couple of maxiskirts and -dresses. Didn't buy anything though but they really have a big variety. The skirt below could easily be worn high up like my green one, and it is reduced too. It comes in four colours.

The Give-away is still on, you can still comment and have the chance of winning the book "Overcoming the emotional challenges of Lymphedema" that I am giving away together with LymphedemaProducts.com. Read more about the Give-away here.

Me and Chuck

At last! I am now the happy owner of two pairs of Converse All Star hi-top sneakers, one size for each foot! I am so excited! I got the one pair about a month ago from an on-line auction a little like eBay and the other pair yesterday with 20% off at a shoppingcenter near me. Yay! Now I can wear my long dresses and skirts. Because I've got the pads sewn into my stockings my ankle looks quite big and so I want to hide it – that I can do with these hi-top sneakers. It does still look a little bit big but I will be wearing long outfits anyway and perhaps I can sometimes wear an old stocking from which I have removed the pads. I am thinking of taking out the pads in one of the two stockings I have and wear at the moment.

If anyone is interested I'd be more than happy to sell the two sneakers I will not be using. Probably not worth it for readers in the US but perhaps for those in Europe. Make me an offer, I am very negotiable.

Sizes: Left: 6.5/39.5. Right: 5/37.5

Todays outfit:

The knee-high

I have finally worn my knee-high compression stocking to put over the thigh-high. It wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be, in fact I barely felt it. I may start using it more when sitting down a lot. I notice that my good foot (not all that great anymore) doesn't like when I sit still and so I find it logic that the bad leg doesn't either.

It must be around this time three years ago my Lymphedema started. I have made a change in the "about me" section overhere to the right, as it felt a little depressing everytime I updated it to yet another six months with Lymphedema. This way I don't have to worry about it and people can still figure out how long I have had it.

Yesterdays outfit: The new trousers I got on sale recently, haven't worn them until yesterday. They are so comfy, the material is so light and great for summer and the ends fold just the way I like it. Stylists may advice against it but I like it and until I get those darn high-top sneakers this will have to do. I don't think my legs look enormous like in that other post recently with the widelegged jeans.
The sneakers I'm wearing are some really cheap ones I got in two different sizes, 38 for the good foot, 39 for the bad. No one can tell.

Harem pants

The other day I ordered these really light berberpants/harempants. I am thinking they will be good for summer. They are a sort of mix between a skirt and trousers/pants. With them I can feel that I am wearing summerwear, and I imagine they will feel cool as well. Perhaps a pair of high Converse sneakers would go well with them, what do you think?
I have ordered them in white and I am wondering what to do as my two compression stockings are both black. Perhaps I could get some white or nude leggings. Only thing is I don't need more layers on the leg than absolute nessesary, but the dark compression stocking would show through the thin fabric. They won't get here until July so I have time to work out what to do.

Brunch with Tina

Brunch with Sophisticated Tina went well. It was good to see her. I am glad I have met her. She is about ten years older than me, but it doesn't matter. The first time I went to the patient weekend I dreaded it a little as I knew most of them would be women with Lymphedema due to breastcancer and therefore most likely a fair bit older than me, but once I got there and had adjusted – Lymphedema was all new to me and everything was a mess – I had a good time. It didn't - and still doesn't matter that we are of different ages, because we deal with the same things, we have the same worries and the same challenges. Lymphers older than us may even have more experience with Lymphedema than us.

Anyway, Tina was looking very stylish in some relatively tight trousers, boots – not long, not short, somewhere in between, a dressy t-shirt and a blazer. She had taken the good leg of the trousers in so it was sitting the same way on both legs and I tell you, no one would ever guess anything was wrong. Tina might see it herself, afterall we are our own worst critics, aren't we, but I didn't see anything. I doo think her calf might be smaller than mine though.

I am excited because I might be able to share pairs of shoes with her. We both have Lymphedema on the right leg, but she has smaller feet than me and wears a left 5 and a right 6 and I wear a left 6 and a right 7 – we can split the size 6 pair!! Wouldn't that be fantastic!

I think she shops a lot. She has many boots, shoes, sneakers etc., all in two different sizes. She has bought them over many years though.

Her look was spotless with nice, stylish hair, funky glasses and a nice make-up. I want her glasses. Hang on, I use contacts... Doesn't matter, I still want them ;-)

My knee-high arrived yesterday. Not looking forward to wearing it, I fear the bones near my toes will not tolerate it, but we will see.

New trousers

The other week I got these new trousers. They are quite long so the legs sort of folds over the ends so they don't show, I quite like that. They were very reduced because they are from last year, but who cares.

They look kind of stiff but are quite soft. Good quality. And the price was right.

I am thinking a pair of high, white Converse sneakers would look funky with them. In fact, they would be handy for a long skirt or dress too now that summer is approaching. Only thing is they are quite pricey overhere, and I would need two pairs. I am looking at online marketplaces for unused pairs, perhaps with a little luck I could find a pair - or two.

Today, yesterday and the day before I have been to physio therapy, getting MLD and being wrapped. Later today I am going to the fitter to have measurements for the knee-high taken.

Sunday I am having brunch with Sophisticated Tina, really looking forward to hanging out with her. I will let you know what she was wearing ;-)