Naturelle Lymphatic Drainage

"it didn't feel like skin anymore."

I used to sit on the couch and press my ankle. over and over. my thumb would just sink in and the dent would stay there for like 30 seconds. it didn't feel like skin it felt like a stress ball that forgot how to bounce back. my ankle bone was completely gone. couldn't see it, couldn't feel it, just this smooth puffy thing. I ran my hand down my shin one night and where bone should be there was just soft puffiness that held the shape of my fingers. that's when I got actually scared. not annoyed, scared. started Naturelle expecting nothing honestly. around week 3 I pressed my ankle out of habit and it bounced back. not fully but it bounced. by about 6 weeks I could feel my ankle bone again with my fingers. I keep touching it like an idiot because I forgot what normal felt like.

"I can see my veins again."

ok so I know this is going to sound weird but I haven't been able to see the veins in my feet in like... months? they were just smooth and puffy, like overfilled water balloons honestly. I didn't even think about it until one morning about 5 weeks in I looked down getting out of the shower and there they were. actual veins. tendons. the bones on top of my foot. I literally called my wife in to look at my feet which, yeah, not a normal thing to do. but if you've been watching your feet slowly turn into something you don't recognize you get it. this was a big deal for me.

"even elevating wasn't doing anything anymore."

the heaviness is what gets you. my legs felt like they were full of wet sand at the end of every day. calves tight, shiny, felt like they could burst. I'd come home and stack pillows and elevate for hours. still swollen. my doctor said compression and elevation like I hadn't been doing exactly that every single day for months. cool. thanks. around week 3 on Naturelle the tightness started letting up. by about a month in I looked down on the couch and saw my ankle bone. my husband never notices anything and even HE said something. that's how I knew it was real.

"I don't need the wraps anymore."

I was wearing compression bandages every single day for over a year. without them the swelling came back within hours. I used to play soccer, go on long walks to clear my head — all of that just stopped. my mental health tanked honestly. I didn't realize how much I relied on being active until I couldn't be. 8 weeks on Naturelle and I still wear compression some days, I'm not going to pretend it's a miracle. but there are days now where I don't wear them and my legs hold. just normal socks and out the door. I know that sounds so basic but if you've been dependent on wraps every day for a year you know what it means to just... not need them.

"my boyfriend noticed before I did."

so I usually have a pretty defined jawline. for months it just... disappeared. double chin out of nowhere. my stomach was bloated constantly. but my wrists were still skinny so I knew it wasn't fat it was fluid. I cut salt, drank so much water I was in the bathroom every 20 minutes, nothing changed. about 3 weeks into Naturelle my boyfriend looked at me kind of weird and said "your face looks different today." I thought he was being an idiot. then I looked in the mirror and I could actually see my jaw again?? like I have a face shape now instead of just round. he noticed before I did. that was a weird moment but in a good way.

"my legs were changing colors and I was terrified."

the swelling was bad enough. then brown and red spots started showing up on my lower legs. the skin was tight and tender, almost felt sunburned from the inside. my doctor said it was probably from the swelling and to keep wearing compression socks. great, more compression socks. my father had terrible edema and watching my own legs start to look like his was honestly the scariest thing. I kept comparing them. by week 4 on Naturelle the red areas were fading to pink. by week 7 spots I was convinced were permanent are actually lighter. I don't look down and see my dad's legs anymore. I see mine coming back. that might not make sense to everyone but if you've watched a parent go through this you know what I mean.

"just turned 73. wish I found this sooner."

ankle edema for about 3 years now. tried compression socks but at my age they're honestly just too hard to get on, my hands aren't great anymore. doctor had me on water pills but they made me dizzy and I had to stop. my daughter found Naturelle online and ordered it for me. 2 months in and this has helped more than anything else I've tried. I can see my ankle bones again which I haven't in a long time. my daughter told me to write this because she thinks other women my age are dealing with the same thing and just accepting it like I was. she's probably right. don't just accept it.

"my desk job was making it worse every single week."

I sit at a desk 8-9 hours a day. by wednesday my ankles would be noticeably bigger than monday. by friday they were just... gone. like my ankle just became my calf. my doctor told me to drink more water and cut salt. wow thanks, groundbreaking stuff lol. been taking Naturelle about 6 weeks now and the thing that blew my mind is wednesday looks like monday now. that weekly buildup just kind of... stopped. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal but if you watch your legs get worse every single work week you know exactly why I'm writing this.

"the sock dents had me up at 2am googling heart failure."

every night I'd pull my socks off and these deep grooves would just sit there. like 45 minutes later still there. the skin around them was this red-purple color. I'm not proud of this but I was googling pitting edema grades and ejection fractions at 2 in the morning convinced I was dying. went to the doctor, everything came back normal. bloodwork normal. heart normal. but the dents kept getting worse and nobody could tell me why. around week 4 on Naturelle the marks started going away in like 10-15 min instead of almost an hour. I stopped the 2am google spirals. honestly that alone was worth it. I was losing my mind.

"I stopped walking my dog. that's when I knew it was bad."

my feet weren't just swollen they were HOT. like red and radiating heat, the skin felt so tight like it could split open. by 3pm every day I was done. feet up, not moving, not going anywhere. I stopped walking my dog. he'd bring his leash to me and I'd just sit there feeling like the worst person. I tried compression, elevation, cutting salt, the whole list everyone gives you. about 4 weeks into Naturelle the throbbing was maybe half of what it was. by 6 weeks I took him on a full 40 minute walk and didn't have to stop once. he was so happy. I'm tearing up writing this honestly, over a walk. but when something that simple gets taken from you it means everything to get it back.

"2 summers hiding my legs."

I haven't worn sandals in two years. not an exaggeration. my legs were so swollen I didn't have ankles anymore, just thick calves that went straight into my feet. the skin had that stretched shiny look. my mom has the same thing so I figured this was just my life now, you know? genetics, whatever, deal with it. about 6 weeks into Naturelle my calves had actual shape again. I pulled sandals out of the back of my closet last weekend and they fit. wore them to Target. nobody stared. nobody looked at my legs. you don't understand what that means unless you've been the person hiding their legs every summer. I almost cried in the shoe aisle.

"a 9 hour flight used to wreck me for a full week."

I fly to see my parents 4-5 times a year. every single time my feet and ankles would balloon up on the plane. I'd land and spend 3-4 days swollen, elevating, compression socks, the whole thing. it was starting to make me dread visiting my own parents which is an awful feeling. started Naturelle about 3 weeks before a trip. flew 8 hours. landed. feet were maybe a little puffy but nothing like before. no sausage toes. no week long recovery. I actually walked through the airport without that tight painful feeling where every step feels wrong. if you fly even a few times a year and deal with this, try it. this alone was worth it for me.

"not even when I was pregnant did it get this bad."

I have two kids. my feet never looked like this during either pregnancy. the skin was so tight and shiny it looked like it could pop. when I pressed my foot the dent just SAT there. like 30+ seconds, squishy, like pressing into a water balloon. shoes went up two sizes. I found Naturelle through a facebook group because at that point I'd tried everything my doctor suggested and was just desperate honestly. by week 5 the pitting was barely there. week 7 I tried on my old flats and they went on. I sat in my car in the driveway and just stared at my feet for a minute. my daughter goes "mom why are you looking at your feet" and I go "because they look like my feet again"

"wrote that note before I even made coffee."

woke up and my legs felt light. actually light. not the usual heavy logs I'd been dragging out of bed every morning for months. 3 weeks in. I grabbed a sticky note and wrote it before I even made coffee because I wanted to remember exactly what that morning felt like. that's it. that's the whole review. if your legs feel heavy every morning you'll understand.

"the scale was making me insane."

I'd wake up 5 pounds heavier for no reason and just spiral. every morning was this awful lottery. am I up 3? 6? I was eating clean, working out, doing everything right. bloodwork normal. thyroid normal. everything normal except the number that kept going up. I knew it was fluid because it would bounce around so much day to day but knowing that didn't make it less awful to see. about a month into Naturelle the number just... settled. same weight 3 days in a row. then 4. I didn't realize how much that daily morning panic was wrecking me until it stopped. the foot swelling is better too but honestly it was the scale thing that gave me my sanity back.

"perimenopause edema is REAL and nobody talks about it."

never had this problem in my entire life. hit 46 and suddenly my feet swell, ankles disappear by evening, rings don't fit. I literally googled "can menopause cause edema" at midnight because my doctor just shrugged. loss of estrogen, fluid balance, gravity, blah blah. compression helped a little. cutting salt helped a little. nothing actually fixed it. week 3 on Naturelle the nighttime calf aching calmed down which was HUGE because I hadn't slept properly in months. by about 7 weeks the bad days are way less frequent and the good days are actually good. I can wear my wedding ring again. I know that sounds small but I was devastated when it stopped fitting.