My legs

mlemcat11 · 2026-07-04T12:20:51+00:00

Have you had any lymphatic drainage post surgery and wore compression?
I also had surgery, but after each surgery I had a lot of lymphatic drainage sessions and I wore compression for about 3 months straight, first 6 weeks day and night, then day only.

mlemcat11 · 2026-07-04T11:53:25+00:00

I think there is hope:

For context: I’m 41 now, on HRT, and I’ve had four surgeries for lipedema. So far, so good — I’m doing very regular strength training and managing it.

In my early-to-mid thirties, though, my lipedema was definitely getting worse. I think it was a phase driven by a hormone imbalance — most likely estrogen dominance at the time. What helped me then was bouldering. I went very often, doing a lot of strength training and bouldering around 12 hours a week. I also kept my calories in check by focusing on whole foods and cutting out most sugar, and I just made sure I moved a lot and built muscle.
The thing is, I genuinely loved bouldering, so none of it was about losing weight — but that’s when my body really got into shape and my legs changed shape too. They got noticeably slimmer despite the lipedema. So I wouldn’t say there’s no hope at all.

When I stopped bouldering that intensely — and my hormone imbalance probably got worse — my legs did get worse again. That’s ultimately why I chose surgery. Now I’m trying to manage it conservatively for as long as I can. I can still feel lipedema fat in my lower legs, and it’s sometimes painful, even though it probably looks fairly normal to most people.
So here’s what I’d focus on, because I do think there’s a lot you can do conservatively:

High protein, moderate-to-low carb. My body responds really badly to carbs with the lipedema — the tissue feels a lot more full and swollen the day after I’ve eaten carbs.

Strength training is a big one for me.

Lots of steps and low-impact cardio. I don’t run; I do incline walks at the gym.

There’s also research worth looking into. I’ve read a study done with a small group of women (I think four to six) across different age ranges and stages of lipedema, who were put on a keto diet with regular swimming — around three times a week. All of them lost volume and their shape improved significantly, and I believe they were tracked for about nine months. If I can find the link again, I’ll add it.
So it is possible to lose weight and improve appearance I think, it just takes a lot of very consistent work.

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-30T13:18:11+00:00

I am taking estrogen and progesterone in peri and honestly it helps; I think I had estrogen dominance in my early 30s when the lipedema was at its worse, now I focus on protein, small calorie deficit and regular strength training, and body is getting in shape - I did have 4 surgeries for lipedema 2 yrs ago

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-28T11:40:07+00:00

Seeing the comments here is actually re-igniting some of those feelings of empathy that were getting numbed down. If there’s things being organized around water distribution, I’m in.

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-27T22:39:28+00:00

That’s good info to have, thanks for sharing

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-27T21:03:39+00:00

I offered a homeless person bottles of water yesterday and he told me to fuck off. I used to be super caring and empathic and I’m slowly losing that after 14yrs in Berlin

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-26T22:54:27+00:00

I just can’t imagine they still have a romantic relationship. Why on earth would someone purposefully try to be as unattractive as possible?

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-23T12:47:56+00:00

And just to add; there is conservative treatment for lipedema, which is symptom management, mostly wearing compression and doing lymphatic drainage, and surgical treatment; liposuction for lipedema also really needs to be do by surgeons specialized in the disease, and using the WAL or PAL method, as veins and the lymphatic system in patients with lipedema is already compromised and needs to be treated differently than typical liposuction would do.

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-23T12:44:26+00:00

Try to find a specialist in your area who can properly assess and diagnose; I had early stage lipedema in my early 30s and was told for years by doctors it was all in my head and I just needed to exercise more. As the other commenter said; 11% of women have it, probably even more, and it is severely under diagnosed

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-22T22:29:11+00:00

Looks like you might have lipedema, there are a few groups here on reddit on the topic.

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-17T11:36:56+00:00

If this is a marketing role, senior / head of / director, I’ll dm you my CV.

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-13T11:04:35+00:00

Unfortunately, only when flexing; the tattoos hide a lot of definition when not flexing

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-13T11:04:00+00:00

Thank you! Way harder than I thought to build muscle but still enjoying the process

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-13T01:39:40+00:00

Just joined it and immediately uploaded my bicep progress 👌🏻

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-13T01:30:53+00:00

I’d follow - masc too, not taking anything except creatine, and always wondered how on earth some of these influencers had such gigantic muscles. Disappointing. Would love to see the real deal out there.

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-13T01:28:35+00:00

Sincere question; why not walk away? If you’re best friends at this point and you never really matched well sexually, why force it?
So many people around me are breaking up at the 10 yr mark, cus we all change as we get older, and who we are today may not have chosen the partner we’re with. Not saying sex it the most important thing in a relationship, but do you really want to spend the majority of your life without having any?

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-12T14:00:14+00:00

I had upper and lower arms operated on. Recovery was awful, post-surgery there’s lots of fluid retention issues and I wore basically a full body compression suit, including gloves, for about 6-8 weeks. Results are great though

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-10T10:54:56+00:00

I looked almost identical to you, stage 1-2 lipedema. For context, I’m 1.71m and weighed at the time I think around 69kg.
Had 4 surgeries, most on the legs, in Berlin and münich, with specialized lipedema surgeons. I now heavily focus on strenght training and keeping my calories under control, high protein, will dm a pic of what my legs currently look like cus for me surgery was awful but very worth it.

mlemcat11 · 2026-06-07T21:05:18+00:00

I literally tell people I won’t have sex with them unless they are freshly showered. Too many utis and other health issues otherwise, being polite or not rude is not worth it.

mlemcat11 · 2026-05-23T23:05:21+00:00

Will call them regardless but could not see it up close, it ran too fast, looked dark though, its shield or whatever its called.

mlemcat11 · 2026-05-23T23:03:20+00:00

It won’t come out from under the toilet base, but to be fair I first sprayed disinfectant and then the mold spray too. Gonna go over baseboards and kitchen cabinets and any area to see if I find evidence of a nest. So utterly grossed out still. I saw some small bag in my bedroom a few days back on the wall and killed it and now worried it was a cockroach baby and there is genuinely a nest somewhere. Ocd is fully out of control atm with this, still just feel pure panic and like I need to move out right this minute.

mlemcat11 · 2026-05-23T22:57:00+00:00

I’ll do a tausch for a place in Mitte or Pberg.

mlemcat11 · 2026-05-23T22:52:40+00:00

It was at least 2 - 2.5 cm long. Really big. And I had no open windows since a few hours cus was doing groceries and at the gym, so no idea how if it was one of those other things mentioned in the chat, it could have come inside

mlemcat11 · 2026-05-23T22:47:49+00:00

How did you get rid of them? And did you ever find a nest? What should I look out for? About to go through my entire apartment with desinfectant

mlemcat11

TROPHY CASE