Purple Haze

I've just ordered the purple stockings from Medi! I have to say that I'm very excited and can't wait to see them. Just the prospect of getting a stocking that's different is cheering me up in this horrible hot weather we're having. I feel like I'm slowly cooking in my stocking...

More to follow when the stockings arrive!

It's all gone beige

I had an appointment at my lymphoedema clinic today, to discuss replacing my compression stockings. For some reason the last two lots I've had don't seem to have lasted as well as previous stockings, so my specialist suggested it was time for a change. As my stockings are made by the only manufacturer to make white ones, which I have always had, she suggested that it may well be a time to change - a time to change to BEIGE. I chose to wear a white stocking, the reasoning being that it looks like a bandage and hence I can dismiss it as something that's dealing with a medical problem. This is opposed to wearing a beige stocking that is indeed treating the same medical problem, but is something that in reality I wouldn't be seen dead in. Beige stockings are a whole different ball game. Whilst I know that most lymphies wear a beige, supposedly flesh coloured garment, I have never been able to face it. Beige compression stockings are mainly the colour of cheap tights that your Nan would buy in the market,the colour of the tights that would ladder when you wore them once. So I think beige compression stockings are yuck basically.

I did decide to be brave and look at the types of beige stocking available, but yuck, yuck, yuck! I just can't even think of wearing them, even underneath my clothes! After much discussion with my specialist, we decided that I would have some white stockings from the service as normal and I would splash out and order some others to compensate for my usuals not lasting the distance. I pay into a health care insurance scheme for opticians and dental treatment, which also covers - wait for it - surgical appliances. This means I can claim for buying compression stockings. In an exciting development I'm going to order a pair of stockings in PURPLE! Horray! Medi do a range of what they call "trend colours" and the purple is one of this seasons special shades. I will be ordering them soon and, somewhat sadly, am very excited about it.

We're having a heatwave...

...and whilst some people will think that's great, it's pretty yucky for most people with lymphoedema. The temperature is in the 30s today and it's going to be hot and humid this week. Wearing a compression stocking in these temperatures is not a great experience, but it really is a must to keep the swelling at bay. I'm also having a big dilemma about what to wear, particularly as I'll be spending time with people who don't know I have the condition and don't want the inevitable "What have you done to your leg?" question. Tomorrow I'm spending all day at a conference (sitting still, trying to avoid a swollen leg!), so have planned to wear some linen trousers and those will cover the stocking, but on Wednesday evening I'll be attending my usual tap class. In this heat jumping about is going to be pretty much unbearable, but I am so behind with learning the routine we're doing that I'm going to have to go. I was thinking of wearing cropped trousers, but then people will pry. Sometimes I'm happy to field the questions and enlighten the person, be they concerned, curious or just plain nosy, but other times I really can't be bothered. I guess I'm just going through a "can't be bothered" phase.

Wearing a compression garment is...

....well, a bit weird actually. When you think about it, having to wear a compression stocking every day is not like taking tablets or using an inhaler, or all the other things that people have to do to control a chronic condition. Most of the time I don't think about it. After 13 years of living with lymphoedema, wearing a compression stocking feels more or less normal. You get up, you get dressed, you wear a compression garment. But I was walking along today and was suddenly aware that my stocking was there and I thought how unusual it was really, how unusual a whole heap of things are in relation to lymphoedema and what an achievement it is to aim to live with the condition.

Living with lymphoedema, things that are unusual become commonplace. We wear compression garments, we moisturise, we do simple lymphatic drainage, we exercise. We may or may not be lucky enough to be able to access a good specialist lymphoedema service. We live with the condition and aim to be able to manage it in the best way we can, but do not forget that what you are aiming to do takes exceptional determination. It takes a special kind of mindset to manage lymphoedema and getting to this place is not always easy. Some people never get to this stage in the management of their care. They refuse to wear a garment or to engage with their specialists. With lymphoedema we cope with the unusual every day. Always remember the fact that in working to manage your lymphoedema, you have achieved a great deal. Never let the discomfort of a swollen limb, a bout of cellulitis or the ordeal of bandaging take this achievement away from you. You have faced unusual circumstances and evolved to take transform these circumstances into your usual life. With lymphoedema you achieve so much every day.

That's it. I've finished bigging us all up. Give yourself a round of applause lymphies!

Slightly damp skin and compression stockings...

...just do not go! Again, this a relatively simple equation, but it really does cause an issue with when you're going to have a wash. And as I type this sentiment, I sit here thinking "That really does sound stupid!", but as we lymphies need to try and keep our skin as clean as possible and wear a compression garment, just how do we get round the need to wash/need to put on a compression garment dilemma?

I usually have a bath at the end of the day, to avoid having to put a compression stocking on again, but yesterday I'd been gardening at the allotment and was burning some weeds, so got very smokey and mucky in the process. I went in the shower as soon as I got home, but it was too early in the day to leave my stocking off. Even trying to get as dry as possible, there was much wriggling and struggling with the stocking. After some time, the stocking went on, begrudgingly. Talcum powder helps a bit, but causes such of a mess.

It's actually not just having a bath that causes problems, as swimming creates similar issues. In the humid atmosphere of a poolside changing room, I can never get dry enough to get the stocking on without discomfort. I have to admit to going home not wearing it in the past, but to be honest I've pretty much given up swimming to avoid these difficulties.

I realise that lots of people have this daily struggle, regardless of the fact that they have nice dry skin when they try to put on a garment. Some individuals battle with putting on stockings and sleeves every day, those with mobility problems or difficulties with their hands finding it sometimes impossible to get a garment on comfortably. I simply resolve to wash late in the evening to avoid the damp skin vs stocking battle - and to try and keep clean in the meantime!

The First Bite of Summer

OK, so I have lymphoedema in my left leg, which means my lymphatic system doesn't work properly and if I don't wear a compression stocking every day my leg will swell up. In black and white it looks very simple, but there are all sorts of complications and considerations impacting on my day to day living. But that's just what you try to do. You live with lymphoedema and try to make sure that it doesn't take over your life.

At this time of year I have to start thinking about wearing insect repellent to bed. Yes, this does sound completely ridiculous, as I'm not living in some sub-tropical, mosquito-infested paradise. Lymphoedema means that you have to try and keep your skin in as good condition as possible, and try not to get cuts, grazes and bites, in fact anything that could let the bacteria in and potentially cause an infection. Cellultis is NOT the lymphie's friend and I do go to great lengths to try and avoid it. As I am taken to be a tasty meal by every biting insect in a three mile radius, in the Summer I moisturise with aftersun containing insect repellent at bedtime, meaning I'm maintaining the condition of my skin and repelling the biters at the same time. Last night it was actually very chilly and the windows hadn't been open during the day, so I never thought there was need to use the repellent stuff. I woke up with a large bite on my hip. Where was it hiding? And how had it survived the cold? In it's thermal undies, just waiting to get it's teeth on me? Luckily it wasn't in a place effected by my lymphoedema, so I'm not anticipating a problem, but it does indicate the time is here for insect repellent when I'm sitting out in the day and at night. Sigh.

This is just a small vignette of what it's like to live with lymphoedema. My blog is actually part of a much bigger project - more to follow!