The following is my personal experience on the GLP-1 medication, Wegovy, and its impact on my #lipedema symptoms.
This is not a recommendation for this medication, it is my experience after several months of research, and discussing with my primary doctor.
It was not an easy decision, but after menopause caused my lipedema symptoms to progress, and mobility challenges began, I felt like it was worth it for me to try this medication for the #antiinflammatory and #antifibrotic properties, in the hope it would help.
I had no side effects with the .25mg dose in month one, so my doctor moved me up to .5mg in month two. You can read about my first month here.
Month two on #wegovy continued with the reduced inflammation I experienced in the first month, and due to that continued inflammatory reduction, I began noticing my gait was improving.
I believe this is due to my inner thigh lobules reducing and causing my posture when standing to improve. I am standing more upright (due to less tissue between my thighs pushing my body out of alignment), which takes stress off my inner knees (woo hoo)!
The inner knee pain is not gone, but it has started improving. I can stand a bit longer and my gait is improving.
I have noticed some new pain in my legs that I believe is due to the posture shift, I think this new pain is due to my muscles and tendons not being used to supporting my body in this more upright position.
New pain can be scary. It can feel like the new thing you are trying is making you worse. So it really requires you to tune in to your body & pay extra attention to what changes you notice.
One adjustment I made last month was extending my cane up a notch, because I was standing taller, I needed a taller cane. This has helped with the new pain.
One of the injections had a small drop of blood after I was done, and an immediate bruise. While it was alarming, I did speak with some friends who have had this happen, even with their nurse doing the injection, so I was reassured it was nothing to worry about.
I was to start month 3 at 1mg tonight, but new insurance = new prior authorization, which has stalled my next month. Stay tuned.
UPDATED: One of the great things about sharing our experiences, is others share theirs, and it reminds us of things we may not have been paying attention to. Two things came up in the comments on this post in Instagram in just one day - Have I noticed and Fibrotic Tissue changes? and Heat Rash Improvements.
Fibrotic Tissue: someone asked if I had noticed any changes, and while I have not noticed changes to the individual lipedema nodules, I have noticed changes to the hardened area behind my ankle cuff, on both sides. This area has always been extremely sensitive (hits shoes and is very painful) and due to the stiffness of that area due to fibrotic tissue, I have a difficult time trying to soften it with massage, vibration, etc. I noticed today in my morning massage that the area is softer! I was able to massage in some magnesium cream and also my lower legs seem to respond more to the vibration plate I've been doing every evening (along with my meditation, self MLD, Big 6 routine, etc.). I'll definitely be keeping closer watch on that.
Heat Rashes - in the warmer months I would easily get raw heat rashes in the fold of my skin. I pay special attention to those areas and make sure to keep them extra clean and dry during the hot months, and just realized even with all the extreme temps we have been having for the past month or so, I've gotten zero heat rashes. At a time I should have been having more not less. So the question becomes, is it due to the reduced inflammation, or is something else going on in my body due to the medications? Either way, I'll take it. It was always very painful when those would occur. I know another friend who was susceptible to cellulitis infections said those all stopped when they went on the GLP-1 meds. That is huge, like life saving change.
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