How I manage Lymphedema, Headaches, Anxiety, and Depression

Interview & article by Jesse Driessen.
Published 23rd July 2024.

Veronica lives with Lymphedema, Headaches, Insomnia, Anxiety, and Depression. Recently, we reached out to chat about how Bearable is helping her to manage her symptoms, find helpful correlations, and feel more in control of her health.

How long have you been using Bearable and are there any specific health conditions that you're tracking or managing with Bearable?

Well, I checked my Google Play subscriptions before this and it’s been almost exactly a year since I subscribed. So I think I started using it a little bit before then. I kind of try to track everything with Bearable.

I’ve used a ton of different apps for health, self-help, and mental health. I use it primarily for tracking mental health. I track depression anxiety potential triggers for those, sleep, and insomnia. I have a lot of GI issues – probably related to anxiety – so I track those too.

I have a lot that I try to work on in Bearable.

If we go back to before you were using Bearable, how was your Health at that point in time?

My health before always sucked. It just kind of sucks all around and I don’t expect an app to change that. I feel like using Bearable, I have a better idea of how, why, and in which ways my health sucks.

Sometimes I learn there are things I can do differently to change that suckage and so I do feel Bearable is helpful. Even though it’s not a miracle app or a miracle pill, It helps me manage what I’m doing and what could be affecting the symptoms of my existing conditions.

It also helps me pay attention when there are new side effects or symptoms that pop up and it helps me track, for example; I only got three hours of sleep last night but Bearable reminds me that I also had two energy shots yesterday and that maybe there’s a connection there.

...using Bearable, I have a better idea of how, why, and in which ways my health sucks.

Was there anything specific that happened that made you look for an app like Bearable?

I think I was recommended to try Bearable by someone in a Facebook group. I think it might have been an ADHD group for women. Or maybe from a mental health article I read.

When I downloaded it, at first I was a little overwhelmed. I do feel like I’m kind of lazy with my phone. I feel like there’s a lot more I could do with Bearable if I took the time to set it up to be exactly what I want it to be. To learn everything it could do with it. But right now, I have a lot in there already.

What would you say is the main outcome you've had from using Bearable?

I think it’s helped me pay more attention to myself. Before Bearable, I was just kind of like “I feel like crap”. Now I’m like “I feel like crap, this is how I feel like crap, this is why I feel like crap”.

I try to make those connections. I try to use better words to describe how I’m feeling and to get a handle on exactly what I’m feeling. And to potentially find out what could have caused me to feel like crap.

Earlier, you mentioned tracking triggers. Have you found that identifying potential causes for flare-ups has had an impact on your well-being or day-to-day life?

Yes, so I noticed that I wasn’t drinking enough water. I thought I was drinking enough because I have this giant flask of water – and I fill it with ice more than I fill it with water – but I just wasn’t drinking enough.

When I sat and tried to track how much water I was actually drinking, I quickly realized that I wasn’t drinking enough and it was contributing to my migraine headaches. So I was able to reduce the amount of times a week I need to take my emergency migraine medicine by improving my hydration.

Of course that doesn’t work 100% of the time to get rid of them, but it has reduced my headache overall, which is great.

I also have a combination of Lipedema and Lymphedema. Bearable helped me discover that my symptoms are more related to Sugar than Salt – which was surprising. Usually, you hear that salt increases swelling. But I started to notice that on days when I had a moderate amount of sugar, I also had more severe swelling. In Bearable, it was just a clear pattern.

I had no idea that Sugar could cause cholesterol like that but it kind of makes sense. Because it’s a fatty deposit and because sugar feeds inflammation. I knew that before but I didn’t want to admit it. I tried to ignore that I was like “No, sugar makes me feel good.”

So paying attention to my salt and sugar levels in Bearable, I’m able to to reduce some of my swelling. Not all of it, it's got a mind of its own, and it does what it wants - but it definitely does help.

We often hear from Bearable members that they’ll speak with their doctor about their insights. Is that something that you've used Bearable for yourself?

I avoided going to the doctor for a while. Over the past 12 months, there was a period where I avoided going to the doctor. I was trying to take care of my cats before myself and I just didn’t have time to go to the doctor.

But, in general, I see so many doctors. I’m actually wearing a heart monitor right now. It’s this weird one that is taped on with a button on it. You have to leave it on for two weeks and then I have to take it off and put it in a box and mail it. Then put on a second one for another two weeks. It’s just collecting data.

They didn’t tell me how much insurance is going to cover it. They said “We’ll figure that out after we process the data” and I was like “No, you’re supposed to do that before you do anything”. They didn’t even tell me they were putting it on until they were putting it on me. I didn’t even have a chance to say no.

So, I see a lot of doctors and it’s hard to keep track of everything I’ve communicated with them. When I do see them, it’s not always a positive experience.

Right now, my cardiologist is trying to change my medication. I’ll definitely be paying attention to the side effects in Bearable because I’m worried about them. So I’ll definitely be putting them in there.

They didn't even tell me they were putting it on until they were putting it on me. I didn't even have a chance to say no.

We hear from lots of Bearable members that they feel more in control of their health or - have a better understanding of their health - after using the app. Have you had a similar experience?

Yes, I think so. I feel less passive. My health isn’t something that just happens to me anymore. It’s something that I have more control over now.

Being able to pay attention to the things that I do. Pay attention to the things that happen to me. Pay attention to the things that I feel throughout the day. To see the connections between things that happen and my health. To look back over time and make choices based on the data I’ve collected.

It makes me feel more in control because I DO have a say in how I feel. I can make these changes that positively impact my health.

My health isn’t something that just happens to me anymore. It’s something that I have more control over now.

I think it’s fairly common to feel like most of the advice for managing symptoms is very generic or not very personalised. For example, eat better, hydrate better, get more time outdoors. Has that been your experience too?

It’s hard to do dietary changes. It takes so much work to cook healthy meals and a lot of money most of the time too. Especially, If you don’t have the physical or mental ability to stand at your kitchen counter cutting vegetables and cooking for like an hour.

People say “Eat vegetables” or “Eat healthy” and it’s like “Well do you want to come over here and make it for me!?”

There are also a lot of people who live in food deserts here. There’s literally nowhere to buy produce for like 20 miles. That makes you feel even more isolated too.

Is there anything that you would like to add? Or any advice you have for maybe somebody thinking about using Bearable?

I’m not normally a ‘charts, numbers, and data’ type of person but I really appreciate how Bearable makes things visual for me. It shows me correlations between things like the weather, fatigue, and headaches! That is a huge part of it, especially considering where I live (Oklahoma).

I think some people might be put off or intimidated by the idea of something that tracks all this data or that is so numbers-based. But it’s not really, it’s very visual. I think anyone who has thought of trying Bearable but might be put off by these things, should just try the free version first. Just give it a shot.

There’s a lot you can do with a free version without even having to subscribe. There’s a lot you can do with the subscription too but there’s just so much you can do with this app.

I wish I was more disciplined with using it but when I do use Bearable consistently, every day, it pays off immediately. I’m really glad I got it.

If anyone's on the fence they should definitely just try Bearable.

Note. The names and information in this article have been used with the permission of the interviewee.