Here we are about to enter 2008 and I am motivated. I started my list of goals and I will make 2007 my year to shine. I want to make a difference and be healthier by the time 2007 is about to end.
My Goals for 2008
1- No more excuses not to exercise! I have DVDs at home, small hand weights and VHS tapes. I also am wasting my spa membership.. I need to get back in the swim!
2- When I go out, pre plan and don't eat the bread and butter on the table or the crackers and cheese.
3- NO MORE SUGAR! Dump the white stuff. Avoid sugar and flour. NO more cookies, bread, cake unless it is a special occasion and be sure I have earned it.
4- Stay for meetings, never use a no weigh in pass, be accountable.
5- Take my medicine religiously and wear my compression garments daily. No excuses.
6- No more half and half or cream in my coffee, skim milk only if I need whitener. Carry nonfat milk powder with me so I can use it.
7-Walk further each day. Stop relying on Tanya to do so much for me- she is only 20 and deserves her life too.
8- Make this year my 100 pounds lost year!
Lymphedema can occur any time there is damage to the lymph nodes or vessels and is identified swelling of a body part, most often an extremity, caused by the abnormal accumulation of lymph fluid. It occurs most frequently in the arms and legs, but can also occur in the face, neck, back and abdomen. Lymphedema is different from acute swelling in that in most cases it has been present for 3 months or longer and elevation is not effective in reducing the swelling.
Mine appeared when I was a teenager and it was thought to be just fluid retention. Of course I was slightly overweight then (I was 5'4, 145 pounds) and my mother and step father were not very helpful in wanting to find out what was truly wrong with me. IT was always the numbers on the scale.
I remember being on the Hard boiled egg and grapefruit diet at 15, then if the scale needle did not show a loss, I was sent to my room without dinner. Then it got bad- if I gained (I was sneaking food obviously since I was HUNGRY) I was made to sit at the table and watch the family eat. Finally a few years ago-- the "swelling" was diagnosed. After 3 bouts of cellulitis in under a year , I had a sore that would not heal. The therapist took one look at me and said "You have lymphedema, has anyone ever told you this" well of course I was happy to have a diagnosis but not happy because it is incurable but manageable.
These are some of the things I deal with:
Swollen body part or limb
Condition generally worsens over time
Heaviness and limitation of motion
Repeated episodes of infection
Skin thickening, lymph leakage through the skin
Cosmetic problems, difficulty in finding clothes or shoes
Multiple hospitalizations
Altered life-style
Constant medical care and expense
I wear compression garments and I will be incorporating a lot more exercise this year since movement helps!