There is actually 1 specialty lipedema clinic less than 25 miles from me (US), yay! But they don't take ANY insurance, boo! How common is this in the US??
I know a lot of speciality doctors are moving away from insurance (and yes insurance is evil), but this means only those with means will ever get to try them and get care. I'm priced out. 😭
Every time I try to lose weight, my belly HURTS. I already have a birth defect that makes my belly painful 24/7 (primary congenital vestibulodynia with umbilical sensitivity/pain) which gets worse when my stomach isn't full - but actively losing weight makes it unbearable. Being empty, the sensory overload, feeling like I'm starving, nausea from being hungry- is just miserable. I'm in a weight management program and the glp1 is making me MORE hungry and hurting. My team keeps looking at me like I'm crazy.
Can anyone else relate to what I'm talking about?? I can always tell the moment my body switches from burning blood sugar to burning "other" because the area between my stomach and belly button feels hallow and burning. Does anyone have any experience that might help it not feel so terrible?
I recently tried an epidural steroid for the damage caused by my hypermobility. The lidocaine they gave me first didn't kick in until I was done with the procedure and at home. I've always reacted strangely to medications due to this connective tissue disorder (and I know I've got a red head gene in there), but I think I always react to lidocaine badly. I talked to my PT and she said what I feel isn't normal and I should ask for something else next time. The nurse practitioner didn't take me seriously.
When I have lidocaine injections, it burns going in just like everyone else. But when it starts working I feel the area numb to sharp pain, but it THROBS. It throbs for hours. And then comes the torturous nerve awakening - that's PAINFUL. I usually take max ibuprofen and try to sleep through it. I've tried the patches and cream before and they just burn for hours.
So how do you react to lidocaine? And has anyone had to request a different numbing medication because of their reaction??