Young Chef Newly Diagnosed with Lipoedema Urges women to 'Check Your Legs'

"I am 21 and have just been told I have Stage One Lipoedema..

I didn't realise I had Lipoedema and I wonder how many other women don't know they have it either? 

From then on, I did start to wonder and so I decided to go and get them checked out.  The Doctor thought that it might be Lymphoedema and so he referred me to see a Lymphoedema Specialist.

My Mum came to the meeting with me and the lady specialist said she could see that I had Lipoedema the minute I sat down, because of the way my hips were over the chair.  I had never heard of Lipoedema; she explained it to me in detail and asked "did anyone else have a similar shape to me in the family?" My Mum thought of her Auntie; she has always had big legs and a smaller top, just like me, and never knew why. She used to go on crazy diets, so the rest of her body was thin but her legs were still big. 

I have learned that women with Lipoedema can have a significant disproportion of the waist to hip ratio and that Lipoedema is rarely recognised by Doctors and so it is under-diagnosed, often misdiagnosed as obesity or Lymphoedema (as my Doctor had thought).

I am usually a size 14 to 16 top, sometimes a 12, depending on style and on the bottom half , I am a size 18 to 20. I have dieted all the time but to no avail, the weight is never lost from my legs.  I used to swim twice a week, 60 lengths an hour, still no loss of weight to my legs.

Many of those affected with Lipoedema go on a cycle of never-ending diets and heavy exercise regimes, which can result in further physical and psychological harm.

The Specialist explained about the importance of wearing the compression tights (which she measured me up for at the meeting) and she gave me an explanatory leaflet about the condition. She advised me to keep a healthy and balanced diet and to exercise regularly.

I have been supplied with some black, medical class 2, compression tights, which are like ordinary tights (and they come in different colours/patterns and the types of compression vary depending on the stage of Lipoedema). They are helping a lot and keeping the swelling under control.  I wear these every day and during exercise, I do 30 mins on my exercise bike a day. The tights help prevent swelling during exercise because improved circulation presses more water into the tissues and they help to keep my lymph flowing. The tights will hopefully halt /slow down any progression of the disease.

Recognising Lipoedema early on and getting the right help and advice is massively important before it gets harder to manage and can affect mobility. Though having Lipoedema does not affect my job as a Chef, after being on my feet all day, my legs do hurt a lot and I also have some spider veins and I bruise easily, all symptoms of the condition.

My neighbours' comment had annoyed me initially, because I had always felt self-conscious of my legs but now I know why and I'm getting help, so I've gone from annoyed to glad!  Check those legs ladies! Let's all spread awareness of this condition and help make Lipoedema become a household name.

Miss T

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