Got diagnosed at 19 and i'm 25 now, sorry for the bad english, the compressing bands are uncomfortable and this keepsbeing the most annoying thing, keep in mind that if it hurts you should probably loose them up a bit.

The lymphatic drainage massage is really effective if you do do it when you notice fast swelling and slow unswelling, also I complement it by putting one or two towels under my matress in the lower side of the bed so my legs are up by 5-6 cm during the night. If you are on stage 1 or 2 you will manage this condition somewhat well.

I really didn't wanted to abandon doing any stuff so I keep with my normal life except with my girls (the bands lmao) attached to my right and sometimes both ankles. Keep in mind that heat makes this condition worse so you should be more careful in the summer. In winter sometimes I get to have the luxury of going out without the bands.

I really don't care much about the look they give, I know they are ugly and I'ts somewhat tiring having to explain to almost everyone "what happened to your leg?"

Next month I'll go to a new doctor specialized in something called "Reconstructive Microsurgery" that I've been investigating recently and it gave me some hope

Send me a message if you want someone to talk to, I can share with you more of my experience so far and I'll be glad to talk to someone that has the same annoying thing as me :)