I am referring to people with lipedema as lippys. This article applies to those in the more severe stages III and IV. Yes meeting other people like me online was a relief weighed with emotion. I finally met people who LOOKED like me body wise. That never had happened before.
1. Diets don't work on lippys. Of course you want to get as much "fat" weight off as possible but hundreds of pounds of us are fluids in serious cases. The Fat cells are even altered themselves.
2. When a lippy sits up, their bottom half fills with fluids. The lymphatic system is severely affected. In my case there is a two hour time limit on sitting up as well as a danger of pressure sores which in my case are aggravated by the condition. This means my legs [unwrapped but they are always wrapped or compressed now] and lower stomach grows VISIBLY. This was remarked on in my medical records when an at home physical therapist noticed this process especially during exercise.
3. Your legs hurt all the time. Many doctors tell you it is because you are fat and have too much weight on you but it goes beyond that. The more you walk, the more they hurt, the more you swell. Which by the way is something alone that can push a lipedemic into more inactivity. Being a severe lipedema means feeling pain somewhere each and every day. I'm a person that can tune out pain, remember I'm the woman who toughed out kidney stones at home, but that has limits, it takes a toll. There are days where I am far more inactive not out of being "lazy" but just to ease pain.
4. Your mobility is affected. Many severe lippy's do need wheelchairs, walkers or canes and other mobility devices. The weight distribution and if you have lipo-lymphedema which puts even more weight on you via the comorbidity of lymphedema coming to join the lipedema party, means it is harder to walk. Before my legs were compressed, I did have serious worries about my more severe leg destroying my mobility. One thing we need to watch too is making sure my thighs do not grow.
5. Lippy's have the ultimate "pear" shape, which means usually thinner on top. If the right picture is taken, I can be cut off at the waist and look like a much thinner person. Even before I had my weight gain, the hips and butt area were far far larger then my waist. When I lose any weight it goes off my face and neck area first. In fact in photographs depending on my level of fluids, I have a far thinner face some days then others.
6. Lippy's often have severe food allergies. Lippys get sick from beef and a variety of other foods. I have a problem digesting meat and have to be very careful even eating a steak.
7. Lippy's often are hypothyroid, or have other hormonal problems such as PCOS.
8. Lippy's often know by a young age that they are "different" and their bodies and legs do not look the same. Often lipedema comes on in puberty but some women it is later in life with menopause.
9. Severe weight gains like I had with the 400lb weight gain, are not unknown in lipedemics.
10. Lipedema is genetic.
11. Lippy's often have lipomas and hard and other nodules of fat.
It would be so hard living with a condition such as this in our terribly fatphobic society. Doctors seem to be encouraged to dismiss fat people who come to them for help. My fiance is a physician's assistant. He treats every person who comes to him with dignity and compassion. Unfortunately, he seems to be in the minority.
ReplyDeleteThank you for providing this educational information.
Yes it is hard. I think about how long I was undiagnosed. I have had more success with PAs being less fatphobic, I am glad your finance is one of the good ones. I wonder if there is something taught about obesity in regular medical school turning doctors against the obese and telling them to ignore these rarer conditions.
ReplyDeleteI watch "My 600 lb life", and many documented on this show seem to have this issue. Agree that it is a lymphatic system issue, not fat but fluid. My heart broke for each of them in the beginning. No one should be treated less-than. Every human being should be treated with dignity but we live in a cruel and unfair world, who tend to judge others based on their appearance rather than their character, authenticity, kindness, their motivations and heart.
ReplyDeleteI would much rather be friends with someone who had substance and emotional intelligence who was 600 lbs than Kim Kardashian. There is no denying she is beautiful by the world's standards, and she knows it, but there is no soul there. When i see pics of her, I see ugliness - only b/c I see a hollow, empty vessel. I wonder what will happen when she gets old and no longer valued for her beauty, passed over by new generations of younger, beautiful, fresh-faced girls. Every woman, especially the beauties, need to break their mirrors in their youth, and no longer depend on looks for fulfillment and self-love so by the time their beauty fades, they would have already embraced and developed deeper aspects of their human condition and experience, other than taking amazing selfies. As a woman ages, 40's-50's, she can no longer hide the true condition of her spirit, be it beautiful or ugly. It's going to show.
I think there is so much we don't know about obesity, and one should never judge another without first walking in their shoes first. There are definite genetic conditions like "lippy." You can see the fluid build-up is not fat. There's thyroid and hormonal issues, brain injuries can sometimes cause rapid weight gain.
Stay encouraged Peep. You have a beautiful soul and so much going for you. I hope you are able to get right care for this condition. It looks very painful. God bless you.
Hi Anon, Thanks so much for your kind words <3 I appreciate it. I think many people entering the super-fat life are ending up with severe fluid issues, and yes I see the same type of swollen legs and hips and stomachs, on that show too, and they always push weight loss surgery that never works. The fluid issues are definitely ignored. I agree everyone should be treated with kindness, we know with obesity it is used as a reason for the wicked to abuse those who suffer from it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for saying you would rather be friends with someone who is 600lbs rather them KIm K. I see a deadness on the face of many celebrities now and this is who society wants us to emulate? One thing ever notice how so many of them commit suicide even outside of the Brittany Spears MK ultra club? Or destroy themselves with drugs. It is obvious that fame in this world is not fulfilling them. You can see it on their face. Maybe they start feeling like puppets on display. I think some sell their souls to get to that place and others LOSE their souls. Not sure which category she is in, but yes, no love and focus on appearances.
In the model actress world once you pass 35 and sometimes younger, there is someone waiting in the wings to take your place. I agree about them no longer depending on looks. Celebrities of course are used to imprison women world-wide into the looks and beauty prison. We need to go back to the days where character counts and where the inside of people is what matters rather then the transitory glittering surfaces many of which are photoshopped anyway!
I think if science can continue barring an economic or other collapse due to war, they will find the truth about obesity and realize how absolutely wrong they got it. I agree no one should judge without walking in their shoes.
I am getting more care, very happy for it, a new garment and hopefully Flexitouch soon, thanks so much and God bless you too. :)
I was sifting back through some of your old posts.........the one about South Park and the scooters comes to mind and some of the comments there were beyond harsh. It's sad to think there are people out there with so little to occupy their time that they invade the space you have created to get away from that kind of crap.
ReplyDeleteYeah it really makes you wonder doesn't it? They were just a few of many who decried me as I tried to find out what was wrong. I am glad I was vindicated with the lipedema diagnosis. There is a lot of nasty posts I don't put up here and censor out. Let's just say this fat people are really hated. Thanks for speaking up for me.
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