Welcome to Lymph Notes

Lymph Notes is a specialty publisher serving the millions of people affected by lipedema, lymphedema, or Dercum’s Disease, along with their friends, families, caregivers, and health care providers. Our goal is to help improve the quality of life for this group by bringing people together and sharing trustworthy information from experts.

Lymph Notes publishes books, supports websites with an online community, and funds scholarships for specialized therapists, as described below.

To stay up-to-date on new developments from Lymph Notes, join our online community at https://community.lipedema.com/. 

Lipedema, Lymphedema, and Dercum’s Disease

Lipedema, lymphedema, and Dercum’s Disease are related medical conditions: 

  • Lymphedema is edema, or chronic swelling, caused by problems with the lymphatic system that can lead to abnormal fat accumulation in affected areas. For example: arm swelling following breast cancer treatment, foot and leg swelling triggered by abdominal surgery, heart failure, or circulatory issues, etc. 

  • Lipedema, also known as painful fat syndrome, is a loose connective tissue disorder associated with abnormal fat growth, pain, hypermobility, lymphatic system dysfunction, and other medical issues. Lipedema primarily affects women and causes abnormal fat on the lower body or upper arms but there are multiple variations.

  • Dercum’s Disease is a rare disease that causes extremely painful nodules. There are multiple variations of this condition, it affects both sexes, and can affect people who have lipedema.

For more information on these conditions, see our Lipedema.com website: https://www.lipedema.com/basics-introduction. Here is an overview of the lymphatic system from the old LymphNotes.com website: The Lymphatic System previously at http://www.lymphnotes.com/article.php/id/151/

Lymph Notes Books

Lymph Notes is the publisher of these books: 

Lymphedema and Lipedema Nutrition Guide eat to starve lymphedema and lipedema by having foods that fight these conditions (and cancer) and avoiding foods that contribute to symptoms or related conditions. Learn how better nutrition can improve your symptoms and reduce pain, see Nutrition Guide.

Lymphedema Caregiver’s Guide provides detailed instructions for caregivers on all aspects of lymphedema home care as well as information for care arrangers and patients. See Caregiver’s Guide for details.

Overcoming the Emotional Challenges of Lymphedema is a self-help book on the psychological aspects of lymphedema that contains information for patients, family, parents, caregivers, and medical professionals. See Overcoming Book for more information.

Voices of Lymphedema offers practical tips, encouragement, and inspiration through the words of those who know lymphedema best—the patients who have it and the professionals who treat it. See Voices of Lymphedema for more information.

Living Well With Lymphedema is a comprehensive resource on the physical aspects of lymphedema including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, self-care, insurance, nutrition, and much more. See Living Well for details.

Please note:

Good News: Lymph Notes finally has a modern website focusing on our books.

Bad News: we dropped hundreds of articles dating back to 2003.

Unfortunately this means broken links and visitor frustration. If you are seeking any specific information from our old website, please Contact Lymph Notes and we might be able to provide a copy.

Consumers can order Lymph Notes books from most bookstores and online book vendors, including Amazon.com, around the world. Book sellers can order our books from Ingram and their global network. We also accept publisher direct orders for quantities of 20 or more for sale in the United State. See Ordering Information for details. 

Lipedema.com Website and Online Community

Lymph Notes supports and extensive information and referral website for people with lymphedema or lipedema at www.lipedema.com. 

This website includes an online community for people with these conditions and those who care for them, see: https://community.lipedema.com/. There are also multiple groups working on content development and research projects, see: https://www.lipedema.com/groups-projects-introduction. 

Lymph Notes Scholarships

Specialized treatments for lymphedema and lipedema are provided by Certified Lymphedema Therapists (CLT). Treatments include Complete Decongestive Therapy (CDT), Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD), and other types of treatments. CLT is a specialty training that is only offered to individuals who are licensed health care professionals. For example, Physical Therapists (PT), Occupational Therapists (OT), or Massage Therapists (MT or LMT). 

With only one therapist for every 1,000 people living with lymphedema in the US, we desperately need more trained lymphedema therapists. To address this shortage, Lymph Notes started funding scholarships for licensed health care professionals who wish to become certified lymphedema therapists (CLT) in 2013.

These scholarships are awarded by the Lymphedema Education and Resource Network (LE&RN) on an annual cycle. See the LE&RN website for information on how to apply and when scholarships will be awarded: https://lymphaticnetwork.org.