When dealing with lipedema, patients will not experience a quick, single-treatment recovery but instead a lifelong ordeal that can be difficult to maintain. How you handle your lipedema can make all the difference when it comes to everyday life activities. This Lipedema management is best handled through a variety of treatment options that can help reduce the appearance of lipedema. These treatments also work to decrease various symptoms that can make movement difficult.
Initial Steps for Lipedema Management
The first steps for managing your lipedema symptoms usually involve more conservative forms of treatment. This can include practicing breathing exercises, wearing compression garments throughout the day, and maintaining a healthy diet. Compression garments can be purchased at your local pharmacy and need to be worn 24 hours a day to remain effective. Compression garments help with lipedema management by encouraging movement within the lymph system. Your physician may also recommend a CDT or Congenital Decongestive Therapy session. CDTs are a great way to relieve swelling through non-surgical options. This process typically entails manual lymph drainage that helps drain your lymph nodes of built-up fluids. A significant reduction in swelling can be noticed almost immediately; it can also break apart fibrosis that can be present in a limb impacted by lipedema. Rounding out this beginning step to lipedema management is having a regular skincare routine to keep your skin healthy.
Next Step for Lipedema Treatment
A more advanced form of managing lipedema comes in the form of liposuction. This fat reduction procedure is utilized by physicians, allowing them to provide long-term benefits to those who continue to suffer from lipedema. Lymph sparing liposuction uses tumescent local anesthesia and removes subcutaneous fat tissue that cannot be reduced through diet and exercise alone. Multiple research studies have shown than liposuction for lipedema can provide long-term benefits that last for up to 8 years. The effects of lymph sparing liposuction make it clear that it is the only effective treatment to truly remove subcutaneous fat tissue in lipedema.
Search for Your Help with Lipedema Today
Lipedema continues to be a lesser known condition within the United States medical community. However difficult it might be in managing your lipedema symptoms and onset, you are not alone. Reach out to one of Dr. Wright’s highly trusted treatment centers to see how our lipedema treatment options can make living with lipedema much easier!
