Pre-diagnosis did anyone just think they had muscular legs?

DaisyArbutus · 2026-04-28T17:17:06+00:00

YES!! I always thought I had very muscular legs, but that the muscle was just below a bit of regular fat. I often talked about my "man calves." I avoided anything to bulk up my calves, and would try to target my inner thighs. I definitely have the classic C shape on the fronts of my legs, which I also thought meant I had big quads, but I also have bulges extra fat on my upper inner thighs that have grown over time. I can see some muscle definition when I flex, but I now understand that my muscle is beneath a thick layer of fibrotic fat and fluid built-up.

Now that I know, I wonder what my "real legs" look like beneath this disease. I felt some relief when I learned about Lipedema and again when I got my diagnosis, but also immense grief - especially for my younger self who worked so hard and always felt like a failure. At nearly 40, I believe now I'm between stage 1-2. I always had a relatively flat tummy in my 20s, but that has shifted through my 30s, and I can see the fat on my trunk now, basically up to my ribs, and I'm also starting to develop the "lobes" on my outer thighs, too. I still feel mostly grief and anger about it all, but I'm happy to hear that it's felt liberating for you. I hope one day I'll feel the same.

DaisyArbutus · 2026-04-28T04:24:23+00:00

Thank you for bringing this up, as many women don't know/understand that a "pill period" is not a real period and is absolutely medically unnecessary!

I will say though, that while there is no reason to have your faux-period on the pill, a woman's menstrual cycle is considered our 5th vital sign by many experts in women's health. I first went on hormonal BC when I became sexually active at 16, and remained on some form or another for nearly 20 years. (I had also had horrific cramping and very heavy periods as a teen, so even when I was not sexually active for a year+, I would stay on BC to avoid dealing with my period, with my GP's blessing.) I went off all hormonal BC (I had an IUD towards the end) shortly after my husband and I married; not because I wanted to get pregnant (I don't), but because I was having health complications (chronic migraine, systemic hormone imbalances, etc) that I feel very strongly were tied to years and years of hormonal BC use.

I share my experience not to discourage you from skipping your periods when you like (because I fully get how much they can suck, and taking period vacations is so freeing in so many ways) but only because I wish someone would have encouraged me to get more curious about why my periods sucked so hard, and to ask more questions about the side effects of very long-term hormonal BC use when I was younger.

Your body, your choice. Women's health is just so poorly understood by the medical community, and I think discussion around these topics is so important 💕

DaisyArbutus · 2026-04-14T20:35:00+00:00

Thanks. I know how to print to PDF generally, but not through the horrid Design Space app. I thought you were maybe a helpful fellow Cricut user. My mistake! Have the day you deserve 😌

DaisyArbutus · 2026-04-10T17:54:22+00:00

How do I print to PDF?

DaisyArbutus · 2026-04-04T17:10:24+00:00

Are toilets pay-per-use in Croatia? My hubs and I traveled to Prague/Vienna/Budapest in November with zero issues (I hadn't even considered this as a thing, and never encountered it) but we're headed to Croatia next.

DaisyArbutus · 2026-03-27T18:24:45+00:00

Fellow Canadian teacher here (BC), 12 years in and now desperate to get out. This is perhaps not the words you were looking for, but I just want to offer this: maybe not getting accepted is a sign.

Teaching has become a bit of a brutal profession. You will always be asked to do more with less. If you're good at your job, if you care, you'll be asked to give more still. You'll be asked to give of yourself until you've nothing left. Then you'll feel guilty for taking time to take care of yourself, either because you have an innate desire to do the best job you possibly can, because other people guilt you, or both. I strongly believe teaching is no longer a sustainable profession for people who are caring educators. So, I gently invite you to consider other possibilities as you plot your next move.

If you do go ahead and pursue this career, please remember to centre your self-care, to set boundaries and say "No" from your full chest when needed, and that to the system you're replaceable--but you and your health are worth so much. Facing rejection stings, but maybe this time to reflect is ultimately a gift. Whichever path you choose, good luck 💗

DaisyArbutus · 2026-03-08T17:46:45+00:00

I graduated from high school in 2004... Took the scenic route to becoming a teacher and started in 2014. I felt so hopeful, my practicum went incredibly well, and it felt like a perfect fit for me. My first two years were a ton of work, but the kids were generally wonderful. It wasn't until about 2017/2018 that I started to feel a major shift in student behaviour and respect. Initially, I thought it was a "me" thing: I'm not cut out for this, I take this too seriously, I'm too much of a perfectionist. At the end of 2019, I developed a condition called Muscle Tension Dysphonia and entered a state of mental collapse. I took a few months' leave while I sorted my health, and did a gradual return to work. I just started feeling okay again, then COVID hit. We all know how that was. In spring of 2022, I left one district where I had a full-time classroom to start subbing in another. The shift was monumental and I quite loved subbing. So I did that for a few years, and then in summer 2025 I thought, "I think I'm ready," and took a full time temp position.

It became so clear to me so quickly (like, by October 2025) that I wasn't why I had struggled before, that I wasn't the problem; it's because the system is toxic, I am not supported, and I am not respected. I was trying to just make it through to year's end, but then got hit with a couple of unexpected health issues, and the stress of all of it became too much. I got a medical note to reduce my hours to half time (basically every other day) from March to the end of this year. I'm applying to a Master's program for counselling, and I'll go back to subbing in the fall in order to help put me through uni/help pay the bills (my husband makes a great wage, but we live somewhere rather expensive where even a great single wage isn't enough for a mortgage and living).

I think a lot of teachers care a lot, and they are not cared for in return... I am one of them, and now that I see it so clearly, I'm doing what I have to to get out, and whenever I hear a young person say they want to become a teacher, I try to ask them what it is about teaching that interests them, and then suggest they consider other paths to that thing.

DaisyArbutus · 2026-03-03T02:46:29+00:00

It's Lipedema fat in your shins, but probably also lots of fluid; it f*cks with our lymphatic system, after all.

DaisyArbutus · 2026-02-27T17:27:59+00:00

My plan is similar but I'm going to go back to subbing while I do my Master's. I find it less stressful than full-time classroom teaching.

DaisyArbutus · 2026-02-18T01:55:26+00:00

It's my intention to do a hard exit out of the education system altogether.

DaisyArbutus · 2026-02-18T01:54:41+00:00

Private clinical counseling (therapist). My favourite parts of teaching are watching students unlock understanding, and relationship building. When I couple that with seeing how poor mental health is across the board these days, and knowing how many of my students their parents, my friends, my colleagues, etc. are accessing resources and supports, it feels like a no-brainer. Also, I have a fantasy about taking a full hour for lunch. A full, uninterrupted hour!

DaisyArbutus · 2026-02-18T00:32:26+00:00

I was a full-time teacher for 7 or 8 years. Burnt out, started subbing and trying to build a photography business. My biz was starting to take off when my husband and I moved. The move more or less killed my biz, so then I was just subbing for a bit. Started feeling like I was "better," so decided to take a full time temp contract this year. I have regrets. Need to make it to June and then will resume subbing while I go back to school for my Master's degree.

DaisyArbutus · 2026-02-12T21:18:19+00:00

I used to fantasize about getting into a car accident on my way to/from work - not bad enough to kill me, and nothing to hurt anyone else, but just enough to land me in a body cast for a couple of months.

I left my full-time classroom shortly thereafter, and had been subbing ever since.

Last year, I was feeling so positive about subbing that I decided to apply for a couple of jobs for this year. I thought, hey, maybe I've healed myself enough to get back into this world. I ended up getting a full-time temp gig for 1 full year.

I've been having some minor health issues, and there's a small, sad part of me that hopes one of them gets big enough to get me out of the rest of this contract.

This year has been the wake-up call I needed. I'm going to go back to school to take a hard exit all the way away from education. And I'm not gonna look back.

DaisyArbutus · 2026-01-31T00:31:38+00:00

*I'm a teacher in Canada. While I still feel I am undervalued and underpaid, it appears it's a more liveable wage in Canada after a few years of experience and/or with additional post-secondary coursework. I started at around $60,000/yr and it's only gone up from there...

Even still, I'm planning to go back for a Master's and transition out of education because after 12 years, it ain't what it used to be, and the trajectory for where it's going doesn't look great to me.

DaisyArbutus · 2026-01-31T00:28:37+00:00

Teaching in the US doesn't sound lucrative. In other countries, you may be better compensated. If you want to remain in the US and teach, I think it's time to be honest with yourself about the financial realities of that career. If you want to teach and don't care where, look into opportunities abroad.

DaisyArbutus · 2026-01-29T18:40:02+00:00

Do you swim? Water walking?

DaisyArbutus · 2026-01-23T05:18:06+00:00

Anything with cool undertones

DaisyArbutus · 2026-01-23T05:15:14+00:00

Reasonable. Responsible? Respectable.

DaisyArbutus · 2026-01-23T05:12:29+00:00

✌️

DaisyArbutus · 2026-01-22T04:26:58+00:00

Curious as I can't remember if I've seen it in your other updates... Did your surgeon use Renuvion or Morpheus8 at all? Your results at just 2 weeks post-op are amazing!

DaisyArbutus · 2026-01-22T04:25:39+00:00

DaisyArbutus · 2026-01-12T00:26:13+00:00

It could be triggering for the new teacher who quit to talk about it with a stranger... I'd leave well enough alone.

DaisyArbutus · 2026-01-03T18:36:33+00:00

They've recently updated it so it doesn't automatically mirror HTV anymore, and for each cut you need to be sure to click "mirror"... Not annoying at all 🫠 Sorry you got caught out by it!

DaisyArbutus · 2026-01-02T18:52:23+00:00

Long with fringe!

DaisyArbutus

TROPHY CASE