This page contains an ongoing series of posts about my experience using Chinese medicine for lymphedema.

Chinese medicine for lymphedema: Days 1 through 4

I have primary lymphedema in my lower legs. I’ve had it for over two decades, although it really didn’t advance until I was in my late 40s. Then it started advancing fast. I tried many things but eventually had a great result from using Chinese herbs for lymphedema. Along with following a plant-based diet, I was able to reverse most of it, so the condition was hardly noticeable. It didn’t cure the lymphedema, but it did make it so it didn’t impact my life much. I no longer had to wear compression stockings or massage and elevate daily. You can read about my initial experience with Chinese medicine here.

Fast forward a few years: the swelling has stayed minimal, however recently it started advancing again. Because lymphedema is such a scary thing, that was my signal to take action again. So I decided to do another round of Chinese medicine.

After researching the entire topic again, I noticed that few people seem to be trying chinese medicine for lymphedema. Fortunately, I did find that it continues to be used for lymphedema in some parts of the world. There’s actually a formal clinical trial on chinese herbs for lymphedema going on in China right now. This makes me feel optimistic that there is much more to the ability of chinese medicine to treat lymphedema than seems to be commonly known. (That’s one of the reasons that I started this website).

So now I am starting another course of chinese herbs, this time with a different practitioner.

I also have a few questions this time:

If I continue the treatment for a longer period this time, can I actually cure the lymphedema completely?

Or, will I need to do this every few years?

I’ll happily do if it means freedom from compression stockings, massage, etc. Obviously there’s many questions and not many answeres here, yet. So I am going to chronicle this experience, in hopes that it might help others too.

After all, we have few choices when it comes to really “fixing” lymphedema. Fortunately some people are reporting good results with surgery. Surgery, however, is very expensive and comes with its own set of risk factors. Chinese medicine, on the other hand is natural, so no side effects usually and is affordable.

So, I’m trying it once again.

DAY ONE. I just got my herbs from my Chinese medicine provider. The mixture I got included about 12 different Chinese herbs and other natural ingredients, including a few common ones that I recognize (ginseng and ginger). The herbs are freeze dried and I simply take a certain amount (6 small spoonfuls) with water twice a day. So far, so good. Some chinese herb formulations can taste really bad, but these freeze dried ones are no problem. Not that you’d drink it voluntarily, it still tastes like medicine, but its easily stirred up and drank in one quick shot.

The practitioner said that I should start feeling general benefits from it in about 1 week—more energy, better sleep, lessening of stomach pain (I’d been experiencing stomach burning lately).

He said it may take a month or so for the swelling to start dropping. At that point he should know whether he needs to adjust the herbs for next month or stay on the same combination.

He also said that it had a lot of ginseng in it which you shouldn’t take late in the day.

I just took one dose that day to make sure I didn’t have any strange reactions. I didn’t, so I was fine to continue.

DAY TWO.  On day 2 I took the full two doses. I quickly realized that they weren’t kidding about the ginseng. I had a couple cups too many of green tea and turned into the caffeine monster: super edgy. That’s never a good feeling nor can I imagine it to be pleasant to be around. I did a quick google and found out that ginseng can magnify the impact of caffeine. Note to self…should I care to maintain my personal and business relationships, moderate the caffeine when taking ginseng.

DAY THREE. Slept well and felt fine all day. I took this first thing in the morning and then around noon. Nothing exceptional to report.

DAY FOUR. Had a great night’s sleep! I do love that about Chinese medicine. Seems to help address any sleep issues so once can get into that very deep sleep mode, fast. A welcome side effect. My legs ‘feel’ like they are swelling less, but my left leg (which swells significantly more) is about the same size. So maybe its a placebo effect (which I am very prone to) or it’s already starting to impact the swelling.

Day 5 through 15

DAY FIVE

Started feeling a bit “fuzzy” after taking the herbs. Seemed to now have a bit of the opposite effect, where before the herbs were energizing, now I felt a lack of energy. Oh well. I will just ride it out.

DAY SIX TO EIGHT

Whatever was happening got worse. I got a sore throat and felt really tired for three days. Hopefully it’s just a part of the healing process. Nothing bad, just a bit annoying. The legs feel the same, swelling still there although less feeling of liquid in my left leg.

DAY NINE TO ELEVEN

Feel much better now! Whatever happened seems to have passed. I am feeling more energy and feeling overall really good. Legs were swelling a bit again, however.

DAY TWELVE TO FIFTEEN

One thing I distinctly remember – and my husband reminds me of—is that the first time I took Chinese herbs, things got worse before they got better. Well, that is exactly what happened on these days. My legs started swelling again. But on day 13, they dropped back. Now, definitely less swelling, very encouraging.

And I am sleeping deeply and soundly! Love that side effect.

 

Day 16 through 30

DAY SIXTEEN

In my continuing experience using Chinese medicine for lymphedema, here’s my progress. I would say my swelling has notched down quite a bit, about 30%. Again—this is not something you can or should expect the first time you’re treated with Chinese herbs. The very first time I did this, it took FOUR MONTHS to get any drop in swelling. Another lady I’ve been chatting with about this saw her first result at month three. The key is patience.

But I consider it fantastic that on my second time several years later, I am getting a much quicker response. That’s very encouraging.

DAYS SEVENTEEN THROUGH THIRTY

Chinese herbs are a natural healing method. So it’s a bit of an interesting process. Always! It’s my understanding that Chinese herbs don’t treat your symptoms, they actually treat the imbalances in your body. The good part? Little nagging health issues will often disappear during the process of treating the bigger problem. I’ve already had one little thing go away—the gastritis I’ve had (burning stomach) for almost a year is gone! That makes me happy, as I was taking many supplements to try to tackle that and I didn’t have good results. One month of Chinese herbs and its gone!

On a more important note, the swelling in my legs IS down, probably about 40%. But it changes every few days. However it feels less heavy, so I have a lot more energy when I’m out and about.

This time I’m also sharing notes with another lady who also has primary lymphedema who’s also going through lymphedema treatment with Chinese herbs. One thing she noticed, which I noticed too is that these Chinese herbs seem to spur new hair growth. A lot of it! I don’t have thinning hair—I’ve got thick hair—but every time I do a course of these herbs I get tiny new hairs growing on my scalp. It’s amazing!

So, with all these positive results, I’m continuing to take everything.

During this time period, I also took a trip to Asia which involved two 11 hour flights. Thankfully we booked business class (using air miles) so we had flatbed seats, which helps you avoid the swelling, but we did also have a 3 hour flight which didn’t have business class. I did pay a bit extra for seats with more legroom (it was like $12 US per way, so was an easy choice), but I am happy to say that even on a 3 hour economy flight, I had no swelling. Of course, I wear compression stockings on those flights, as well as take pine bark extract as a precaution, since I’ve had problems with flying accelerating my swelling the past.

So, one month in, things are definitely moving in the right direction. The swelling has decreased. There’s more to go, but at least it’s less noticeable and I don’t need to wear compression every day.

However, there’s some things I continue to do every day, regardless: exercise at least an hour a day, including at least 45 minutes of walking, and 10 minutes on the rebounder mid-morning. I consider those critical no matter what, just to keep the lymph moving.

But given the good results so far, I’ll continue on with the herbs. I spoke with my provider and he’s going to send me more of the same ones, since they seem to be working, but he wants me to take them just once per day instead of twice. His reasoning is that he doesn’t want my body to get dependent on these herbs, so it’s best to ease up so the body can continue healing on its own.

 

Day 31 to 45

This is the next installment of an ongoing series detailing my second experience taking Chinese medicine for lymphedema.

My goal here is to demystify the process, since I know it can seem very different than going the western medicine route. It’s a more gradual approach to reducing and minimizing your lymphedema. While it requires an investment of time, it can change your life by minimizing your swelling, at least for a few years at a time. I’m hoping if I continue treatment longer I can actually cure the lymphedema once and for all, but that remains to be seen. In the meantime, I’m happy to do this every few years if it means freedom from compression stockings and the long daily ‘to do’ list associated with controlling lymphedema.

DAY 31 TO 45

One month into this, the good news is that the swelling has notched down. It has seemed to plateau at a lower level, but it’s much better.

Some notable things during this period:

  • On one day during the weekend, I didn’t sit at a desk at all, or any upright couch. Yes, busted….all sitting was being lazy and horizontal on a couch! Plus I was up and about most of the day, with a lot of walking and exercise too. That day I had minimal swelling. That’s a great sign.
  • I had an email exchange with my TCM doctor and he asked how it was going. I said fine but I had hoped that the herbs would also help control my allergies and sinus congestion. He said he would add something to the formulation.
  • A few days later I got the herbs (he ships them to me since he’s not local). He added two other elements to the herbs. One is a recognizable compound: cinnamon. Makes the herbs almost taste good! (Usually they taste pretty bad, but you just mix them up and drink them like a shot so it’s no big deal).
  • Well, this addition is going to take some getting used to. I’ve got more energy but having a tough time getting and staying asleep at night.
  • Annoying, I am having to use the bathroom constantly. It’s interesting that the earlier herbal formula did not make my body lose water, but this one for sinus appears to be doing just that. The world won’t end, but it is annoying. It seems to irritating my bladder a bit, too. If that persists I’ll contact my TCM doc, but for now I’ll see if it goes away.
  • Several days after, fortunately my body appears to be getting used to those additional herbs. Less constant urination, thankfully, although it’s still more than usual. Sleep is better, almost back to normal.
  • Less congestion too…thankfully. That’s another benefit to chinese herbs, they can treat everything all at once. Many times our health issues are all connected, anyway.
  • At day 45, the swelling is about the same. Definitely less, but more work to do. Seems to have plateaued for now.

It’s an interesting process. Overall I am feeling better and more energy and have less of the “heavy” feeling in my legs. Love it. But you will sometimes feel like you’re part of a science experiment. Every time your herbal formula is tweaked, you are probably going to experience some other interesting things.

 

Day 46 to 50

This is the next installment of an ongoing series detailing my second experience with Chinese medicine for lymphedema.

My goal here is to demystify the process, since I know it can seem very different than going the western medicine route.  It’s a more gradual approach to reducing and minimizing your lymphedema.  While it requires an investment of time, it can change your life by minimizing your swelling, at least for a few years at a time.  I’m hoping if I continue treatment longer I can actually cure the lymphedema once and for all, but that remains to be seen.  In the meantime, I’m happy to do this every few years if it means freedom from compression stockings and the long daily ‘to do’ list associated with controlling lymphedema.

DAY 46 TO 50

Unfortunately I had some travel coming up and decided not to drag the herbs around with me, just because I was traveling very light (small carry-on only).  So after thinking about it, I decided to stop the herbs right around day 50.  For now…I’ll go back to them in a month or two.

But in the meantime, more observations.  If you have lymphedema, it’s probably stressful for you too, to get on a plane.  My particular situation (lower leg) has advanced in the past after long international trips (in economy), so I am very paranoid.  I always wear compression stockings, take pine bark extract and move around a lot before, during and after the flight.

But I had good news:

  • I had two 10 hour flights plus a couple 2 hour flights and I had almost no swelling.
  • Then…while away, I didn’t work much so there was not much time sitting at a desk. With that, I had almost zero swelling either!

That’s huge and tells me that the herbs are once again, doing their job.  Fifty days of herbs and my lymphedema is back in control.  Even though I’ve stopped the herbs the benefits continue, that’s key.

I do get the mid-day swelling when I sit for hours at a desk, but then it resolves overnight when I sleep.  But on this trip I found out that once again, my swelling is not even noticeable on days I don’t sit at a desk. That’s with no compression stockings, no elevation, no effort at all!

Needless to say that makes me very happy, and I hope it helps you have some hope too!

I will be getting back on the herbs in a month or two as I have more travel scheduled, and I hope to make even a bigger dent in this lymphedema—ideally resolve it permanently, if that is possible.  If not ….that’s okay….I’ll be fine having to do a month or two of herbs every few years, I will trade that any day for the life of compression socks, elevation, daily massage, etc.

I’ll have more soon.

(Please subscribe to our blog for automatic updates.)

Have you ever taken Chinese herbs for lymphedema?  Please let us know your experience!