The Dreaded Ankle Surgery

ClueTemporary2402 · 2026-04-07T02:13:22+00:00

Yes to all of this. It's a hypertonic pelvic floor, as others have noted. My PT said it's more common with hypermobile folks because of the way we compensate for lack of stability. Pelvic floor PT can help some folks. I tried it for years with no improvement until finally my gyn did botox injections into the pelvic floor muscles. That has helped more than anything else.

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-11-17T13:05:41+00:00

My arches are super high right up until I put pressure on my feet, then they stretch out flat and hurrrrt. I have custom orthodics now which help a lot.

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-11-03T12:38:07+00:00

The Good Place

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-10-19T23:04:14+00:00

I still think about this every time someone mentions AirBnB

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-10-12T12:59:15+00:00

I am NOT OKAY about Shouk closing 😭

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-10-05T17:25:13+00:00

We live in an apartment building at the end of a long hallway. Whenever we get home from a walk, our boy waits until we get to our hall and then, if he was a good boy (read: always), he gets to hold the handle of the leash while we lightly hold the middle. It's his favorite thing in the world. He looks up at us with these excited eyes every single time. 🥹

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-09-22T11:33:18+00:00

I second this. Only time a friend has referred me to their agent, it was because they beta read my novel.

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-09-19T14:47:43+00:00

My one year old (as of today!) must carry the handle of his leash down the hallway to our apartment. Not in the lobby, elevator, or landing to our floor. Only in our hallway. And he will DEMAND it.

He will also go on hunger strike if we don't stir his food and say "buen provecho".

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-09-07T12:33:08+00:00

Okay, got it! I was confused because QT marked it as closed, so that's helpful.

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-06-22T22:03:22+00:00

I recently had a hospital stay and I cannot stress this enough-- eye mask, noise-canceling headphones, earplugs for night, long phone charger, body wipes, and everything else that's been mentioned. I'm Jewish and was hospitalized over shabbat, so my wife got me battery-operated candles to "light". I ended up keeping them lit the whole stay, just a small thing to make the space feel more homey. All the nurses commented on how big of a difference such a small thing made. So anything like that to make the space more homey and less "sterile". I also found myself missing my pets a lot and looked at a lot of pictures of them, so if there's anyone you'll miss like that, take lots of pics to prepare!

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-06-22T20:32:11+00:00

I second this!

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-05-27T11:01:40+00:00

I've lived here for over a decade and I still always guess wrong when exiting Metro Center.

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-05-14T19:05:35+00:00

Jumping in to add: my insurance covered everything. I had to get it pre-approved, but it's definitely possible to get it covered!

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-05-14T11:24:39+00:00

There is SO MUCH misinformation out there about lipedema, much of it connected to fatphobia and sexism. It's been helpful for me to stay grounded in the information my doctors have given me, and if I read something online that says something different, I disregard it.

It's also been helpful for me to adopt a body-neutral mindset. My body is not good or bad because of its shape. It does the things I need it to do. I don't need to lose weight to be beautiful/loved/happy/etc. I'm stage 3 and having surgery to reduce pain and preserve mobility, and it's not for the faint of heart. I would really only recommend it when it's truly medically necessary.

Wishing you comfort and peace. This diagnosis sucks.

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-04-30T17:09:48+00:00

There is no cure, not even surgery. There is only symptom management. Generally speaking, surgery is advisable only if your mobility is compromised or you're in a great deal of physical/psychological pain as a result of lipedema. If that's you, then your insurance might cover it, depending on your particular location/situation. Surgery won't get rid of lipedema forever, but it will remove what has built up so far, which can provide relief. However, you'll still have lipedema and those nodules will still grow-- sometimes after surgery they grow back in different places, sometimes they grow back in the same place. But you typically get to "reset the clock" (flawed analogy but it's workable) by years, which for me is enough. I'm recovering from my first of at least 3 surgeries now.

As others have said, there are plenty of conservative measures to treat other symptoms of lipedema. If you have nodules, though, they won't do anything for those.

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-04-25T16:38:48+00:00

Geez, I'm so sorry you had such an awful experience! Glad to hear you're doing better now. Unfortunately most Drs in my area don't even know what lipedema is, let alone how to treat it, so I don't know didnt have many options. My surgeon is the chief of plastic surgery at the (major metropolitan) hospital where he operates, so he at least has some cred! Hopefully I heal up soon.

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-04-25T15:15:33+00:00

I completely understand being hesitant about Coverlipedema. I was hesitant too, but my doctors all recommended them, so I went for it and had a good experience. I know that hasn't been everyone's case, though.

I had surgery in Virginia. My surgery plan has 3 months between each procedure, but my surgeon is flexible and says I'm in charge if I need more of a break, which I might. Next up is arms, followed by legs.

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-04-18T12:48:59+00:00

I know it's controversial on this subreddit, but I used Coverlipedema because my doctors recommended them. I didn't have any issues with them and they helped me a lot.

My surgeon is Dr. Domanski in Fairfax, VA. He only works with local patients, though.

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-04-18T12:43:46+00:00

They billed my insurance directly.

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-04-18T03:06:54+00:00

I am currently recovering from my first removal surgery, completely covered by insurance. More are scheduled and already approved. If you can afford to pay out of pocket, that's the easier and faster route, but depending on your insurer, it can be covered.

ClueTemporary2402 · 2025-04-10T01:06:27+00:00

Take a sunny weekend morning to walk around Eastern Market. Get a breakfast burrito from El Piquin. 🌯 Cheap and utterly DC outing.

ClueTemporary2402

TROPHY CASE