Skip to main content

Cheat Days

Like someone on a diet taking a day off to eat junk food, I call the times I go without compression “cheat days.” 


Perhaps it is just a couple hours out of the house where I want to wear a specific outfit without my compression. Or maybe it is just a one-day break from the time consuming and exhausting daily management of my lymphedema. Whatever the reason, it can be healthy for your emotional well-being to take a day off from compression every once in a while. 


However, it is very important to note that you should have confidence in your control of the situation before taking a cheat day. Try to resist the urges to go without compression if it will hurt you in the long-run. I have a pretty good feel for my limits when it comes to my swelling. I know that I can use lymphedema management techniques to return to my baseline size after a few hours up and about compression-free, or the span of the day if it’s particularly low-key. 


Additionally, for every cheat day you take, I recommend trying to counteract it with a lymph self-care day where you put in more effort than normal to manage your lymphedema. For me, this typically involves techniques I don't usually have the time for, such as self-massaging, dry brushing, and elevation.


Constantly having to treat a chronic illness such as lymphedema can definitely be draining. If you are able, taking a brief break every once in a while can give a much-needed sense of normalcy and relief, and is nothing to feel guilty about.


Picture from Summer 2020: My outfit on a recent "cheat day"


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Lymphedema Story

A little over a year after finishing cancer treatment for the first time, I was in physical therapy working to rebuild the strength I had lost during my year of chemotherapy and radiation when my physical therapist noticed my left leg seemed a bit larger than the right. The difference was slight, but noticeable.  Fearing it was a blood clot, I visited my primary care doctors, but there were no other indications of one, so that cause was ruled out. After close to a month of elevation and rest, the swelling in my leg still had not gone away. With a good amount of research and consultations with my oncology care team, it was decided that I probably had lymphedema. I got measured for my first compression stocking soon after that, and began to wear it every day. Embarrassed by its appearance, for the next few years I only wore clothing that covered it, but it was at the expense of my comfort. Not even some of my closest friends knew about my lymphedema and compression, and even in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shoes: Balancing Lymphedema & Leg Length Discrepancy

You may have noticed from previous posts and picture that in addition to dealing with lymphedema in my left leg, I also have a leg length discrepancy of 2+ inches.  Between the size of my extra-swollen foot and internal and external shoe lifts, my family and I like to joke that I’ve got a lot going on in my left shoe.  For a while after my hip surgery that led to my discrepancy, I was able to get by with just an internal lift in high top sneakers or boots. As my discrepancy increased beyond an inch though, it became clear that I needed something more.  Over the past year, I have spent a lot of time working with an orthotist and my doctors to come up with a functional shoe-lift design. There have been many failed attempts and moments of frustration, but I recently had a boot with a sloped lift done, and although it’s not exactly perfect, it is the most functional of any other design I have tried by far.  Aside from my boots, I have a pair of New Balance running sneak...
Post a Comment
Read more

Exercising & Activewear

I have heard over and over again from providers that compression works best while exercising and moving. I’m honestly not sure if it makes a big difference for me, but regardless, staying active is extremely important for all around health. As someone with physical disabilities, my exercise options are a little limited, but I have still been able to find activities that I have grown to love. The first is swimming . I am lucky enough to have had a swimming pool in my backyard my whole life. As such, even before cancer, swimming was something I really enjoyed and did all summer long. I joined my high school swim team a year-out from finishing cancer treatment and swam competitively for the next three years.  The thing I love most about the water is that many of the limitations I experience on land aren’t there in the pool. When I was recovering from my hip surgery, I couldn’t walk without crutches for a little over a year, but in the water I could swim freely and rebuild some of my s...
Post a Comment
Read more