Becoming Aware That You're Not Just Fat, Part 1: The Physical Signs of Lipedema
Do you have Lipedema too?
Hi Everyone,
I want to start at the beginning-becoming aware that you may have Lipedema. If you already know you do, know that others might not. I want to cover all the aspects of Lipedema, from awareness to diagnosis to treatment.
I have been battling Lipedema for years, but I didn’t know I had it. I went through menopause and started getting the middle spread, back fat, a big belly, chubby knees, and large thighs. I started exercising and dieting and did this for four years without success. My weight increased, and my pants size grew. I tried everything, from Weight Watchers to a strict high-protein diet program to a medically assisted weight loss clinic and everything in between. Nothing worked.
Last summer, I was reading about a blogger who was diagnosed with Lipedema. Her disease is at Stage IV, so the diagnosis may be a bit easier for physicians to recognize.
However, many women, like me, and maybe you, don’t have Stage IV Lipedema (which is a later stage of this disease). Women may only be in Stage I or II and look maybe a little overweight or not overweight at all. But, Lipedema still affects us in negative ways, and we still need diagnosis and treatment. In fact, the earlier we get treatment, the more successful we will be in slowing the progression and living a healthy, active life.
This brings me to the signs and symptoms of Lipedema. This is how a woman’s body physically looks when they have this disease. This information is taken from my article, “I Have Also Been Diagnosed With Lipedema.”
“Do I Have Lipedema too?”
If you see yourself in this list below, you may want to explore Lipedema as a possibility.
The body signs of Lipedema
How can you tell the difference between metabolic fat (i.e., regular fat) vs. lipedema? This list below is what many Lipedema patients show. This list is not a diagnostic tool! It’s only guidance. Here are the signs:
Lumpy skin in the lower body: This is the lumpy, dimpled, bumpy, uneven-looking skin, usually on your buttocks, legs, and thighs. The lumpiness can also be in your abdomen, torso, calves, and arms. The lumps are different than cellulite because they are more like hard nodules you can palpate.
BIG LEGS or disproportionate fat: Do you have excess fat in your thighs/legs, hips, buttocks, and/or upper arms? Do you have “saddlebags?” Your lower body will be significantly larger than your upper body, and you’ll still have a waist. This lopsidedness is especially noticeable in the early stages of lipedema.
Edema or swelling: Are your thighs, legs, and ankles swollen? Do you have swelling in the back of your knees? The unhealthy fat tissue is accompanied by fluid swelling, which causes the legs to lose their defining shape and become more columnar (see the photo above, Stage IV Lipedema).
Ankle cuffs: Also known as “cankles,” where the edema swells to the ankles, but it doesn’t affect the feet. You can see definitively where the swelling stops at the ankle.
You still have a waist: As I mentioned above, you may consider yourself “curvy” because you have a large behind and a smaller waist. The Kardashians have glamorized this look, but the truth is that if you are “bottom-heavy” without plastic surgery and you have lumpy, bumpy, swollen, dimpled skin, it’s a good chance you have Lipedema.
The physical part of Lipedema looks like what I’ve described above. In advanced stages, you may lose your waist or look overall obese. You may also carry more Lipedema in your upper body (such as your arms) than your lower body.
Lipedema can look similar but also a little different on everyone.
These physical signs are only the beginning. In the meantime, take care of yourself.