The medical world still does not know much about lipoedema and there is no cure for it. The facts about lipoedema are:
Lipoedema is a fat metabolism discrepancy affecting predominantly women.
It is genetic.
It often happens at times of hormone fluctuation such as puberty, pregnancy and menopause.
It is generally compounded by varicosed veins and lymphatic vessels.
Individuals with lipoedema are often misdiagnosed as obese, which adds to the burden of dealing with the condition. This is the frustrating part of lipoedema because someone’s diet can be lean and healthy with small portions. Regardless, they have difficulty keeping a healthy weight or losing weight, often despite exercising.
Lipoedema people often suffer from knee pain and hypermobile joints.
Many complain of painful fatty nodules, which are due to lymphatic and blood vessels leaking fluid and constituents such as protein and other molecules into the tissue, attracting inflammatory cells. Due to these inflammatory cells, fibrosis occurs around the fat cells creating these nodules of various sizes, which can eventually form a painful mass in the subcutaneous tissue. It is called Dercum's Disease, which is often associated with lipoedema.
Women with Dercum's have higher pain scores and often suffer from fibromyalgia, abdominal pain and migraines.
Lipoedema legs and arms appear symmetrical from hips to ankles or/and shoulders to wrists. It can also happen that the size discrepancy affects hips to knees or upper arms to elbows only. Everyone is different.
The areas affected feel spongy, and the skin is cool to the touch.
Having cold feet and hands is often reported, as well as feeling cold.
A person with lipoedema bruises easily and seemingly for no apparent reasons.
Not everyone suffers all lipoedema-related symptoms.
There are various stages of lipoedema.
It is sad that despite often being high functioning and highly intelligent, women with lipoedema can experience loneliness and feelings of inferiority and inadequacy leading to anxiety, depression, obesity, and secondary lymphoedema.
Everyone is presenting with similar, yet different symptoms. These symptoms can be managed with various modalities.
Diet is a way to health but not all foods are suitable for everyone. Saying this, natural foods like dark green vegetables, ginger, citrus fruits, flaxseed, and garlic are ideal for lymphatic cleansing. Dietitians specialising in lipoedema tend to advise an anti-inflammatory diet to reduce bloating and pain. I would suggest perusing the website from Megan Pfeffer, https://ichoosehealth.com.au/, as she is a very knowledgeable and an experienced Dietary Clinician. She says that what we eat needs to support a healthy mind, not only to lose weight but to combat food addictions and emotional eating.
Surgery can be an option, keeping in mind that it is not the easy way out. Prior to and post-surgery, the conventional treatment with diet, wearing a compression garment and exercising is strongly indicated for best results.
I can support your endeavour with lymphatic drainage massage, to desensitise the lipoedema tissue, improve the lymph fluid circulation and decrease swelling if present. Wearing a flat knit compression garment is indicated and recommended by surgeons to decrease the discomfort of lipoedema and control eventual swelling. I can assist you with measuring, ordering and fitting of the said garment, which is definitively necessary post-surgery to minimise swelling, bruising and pain. Please keep wearing your garment when exercising.
Managing lipoedema involves making decisions and lifestyle changes. You have options. Time is precious, waste it wisely. Every day is a fresh beginning with the chance to leave behind the broken pieces of yesterday.
References
Al-Ghadhan, S., Herbst, K. L., & Bunnell, B. A. (2019, May 9). Lipedema: A Painful Adipose Tissue Disorder. Retrieved August 14, 2023, from Intecopen: https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/68520
Al-Ghadhan, S., Teeler, M. L., & Bunnel, B. A. (2021, February 18). Estrogen as a Contributing Factor to the Development of Lipedema. In Hot Topics in Endocrinology and Metabolism. Online. Retrieved from https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/75320
Herbst, K. L. (2019, December 14). Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue Diseases: Dercum Disease, Lipedema, Familial Multiple Lipomatosis, and Madelung Disease. Retrieved October 10, 2023, from National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK552156/#:~:text=Authors%20have%20tried%20to%20differentiate,have%20lipomas%2C%20cognitive%20dysfunction%20and
Katzer, K., Hill, J. L., McIver, K. B., & Foster, M. T. (2021, October 29). Lipedema and the Potential Role of Estrogen in Excessive Adipose Tissue Accumulation. Internation journal of Molecula Sciences. doi:10.3390/ijms222111720
lipoedema, T. (n.d.). Emotional Support for lipoedema. Retrieved August 6, 2023, from Talk lipoedema: https://www.talklipoedema.org/living-well-with-lipoedema/emotional-support/#:~:text=Some%20researchers%20have%20suggested%20that,the%20start%20of%20lipoedema%20symptoms.
Pfeffer, M. (2022). Nutrition for Lipoedema. Retrieved October 10, 2023, from I Choose Health: https://ichoosehealth.com.au/