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" When Sarah Buller was pregnant with her first child, she expected the typical pregnancy symptoms. What she didn&amp;#039;t see coming? Her left leg swelling to twice its size... and staying that way. The Australian mother and former model first started experiencing a little swelling in her left groin area three months into her first pregnancy, but thought everything was normal. But over just a few weeks, her entire left leg inflated like a balloon. &amp;quot;I knew something wasn&amp;#039;t right,&amp;quot; she writes on her blog, The Lymphosaurusrex. &amp;quot;After a few visits to the ER, blood tests, doctors&amp;#039; assessments, and ultrasound scans, the doctors were still unsure what was causing my swelling and basically told me it was just a weird thing that would go away after I gave birth. Unfortunately, it did not.&amp;quot;           When you wake up in the morning and think your leg looks great and nearly normal size, so you take a photo and realise its still.... A fat leg.... &#128077;&#127997; &#128514;&#128534;#lymphedema #primarylymphedema #lymphieproblems #lymphedemaproblems A photo posted by @lymphosaurus_rex on Feb 10, 2016 at 12:31am PST      A few months after the delivery of her little girl, Buller found out she has primary lymphedema, a rare, inherited condition that causes swelling in the arms or legs due to a blockage in the lymphatic system.  There isn&amp;#039;t currently a cure for lymphedema, so managing the condition has become an around-the-clock battle, Buller says.           #lymphedema #lymphaticsystem #lymphnodes #lymphaticdrainage #lymphie #lymphnodetransfer #vlnt A photo posted by @lymphosaurus_rex on Aug 21, 2016 at 10:40am PDT      &amp;quot;Wearing compression garments every day, manual lymphatic draining massages at the physiotherapist, exercising, elevating my leg, bandaging, taking supplements to get rid of excess fluid... It has always been a constant daily struggle to keep the swelling under control,&amp;quot; she writes. When her lymphedema got worse last August, she felt incredibly alone and depressed and decided to try to find other women who were going through the same exhausting ordeal. With a quick hashtag search on Instagram, she came across ladies just like her who were also searching for answers. One of the friends she made even introduced her to a procedure that could help alleviate the severity of her condition.           Hey lymphies, thanks to everyone for all the love and messages!! This guinea pig is out of theatre and resting up after a successful operation. Im not feeling too sore (aside from my shoulder but i&amp;#039;ll talk about that later) and Dr Becker said everything went well-- am waiting to see her today to get some more info and details. She said I could start to see some improvements in 2 weeks time &#128561; Fingers crossed &#128588;&#127996; #lymphnodetransfer #lymphaticsystem #lymphdrainage #primarylymphedema A photo posted by @lymphosaurus_rex on May 18, 2016 at 12:13am PDT               Hey all, doing a little update on zee #lymphie leg. It&amp;#039;s been 2 weeks since the lymph node transfer and things are still going well. My leg is a lot softer in my calf area, my foot/ toes are still swollen (but these will be the last areas to loose liquid from, said the doc)... My thigh is carrying a lot of extra fluid but is still very soft; I believe this is because the fluid is coming out from the lower part of my leg and taking time to drain from my knee upwards. When I pit my leg up to elevate I can immediately feel pins adbd needles and the liquid flowing back up the leg (I never felt movement like that before!)... I&amp;#039;m still really sore in the areas they cut me open, mostly in my left arm/ back area!!! Its seriously sore, I still cant lift my arm to wash my hair or pick my nose. SO frustrating &#128514; Some days my leg isnt feeling great, because I&amp;#039;ve been on my feet too much and need to rest, so its still fluctuating in size-- which I expect it to do anyways (even though it makes me feel horrible when its a &amp;quot;bad&amp;quot; day cause I&amp;#039;m like ITS NOT WORKING!!.. I&amp;#039;m too impatient!)... Anyways, thats where we are at right now xoxoxo #lymphnodetransfer #lymphoedema #lymphedema #primarylymphoedema #vlnt #primarylymphedema A photo posted by @lymphosaurus_rex on May 31, 2016 at 12:38pm PDT     Buller ended up traveling to France last May to undergo a Vascularized Lymph Node Transfer (VLNT), a microsurgical procedure that takes normal lymph nodes from one part of the body and transfers them to the area of the body that suffers from lymphedema, according to the National Institute of Lymphology.           So. Swollen. &#128554; Swimming doesn&amp;#039;t do much to help at the moment. The combination of hot and humid is a killer. Bring on winter I say (which is totally unlike me!!). #lymphedema #weirdestdiseaseever #kankles #lymphaticdrainage #lymphaticsystem #lymphatic #vlnt #lymphnodetransfer A video posted by @lymphosaurus_rex on Aug 14, 2016 at 6:38am PDT     Buller&amp;#039;s swelling still fluctuates \u2014 she says taking care of her post-op requirements is a full-time job \u2014 but she&amp;#039;s confident that she&amp;#039;s on the road to a more bandage-free life. Follow her inspiring journey on her blog and Instagram.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.drozthegoodlife.com/health-articles/health-conditions/news/a2227/models-swollen-leg-during-pregnancy-primary-lymphedema/>