Three stages of legs of women with lipedema with subcategories of types. In Stage 1, the skin is smooth, and the legs can appear normal but there is pain, easy bruising and a nodular feel to the fat tissue.
In this early stage, it may be difficult to distinguish lipedema from excess fat on the lower body. Instead, providers look for certain characteristics, including: Extra fat in the buttocks, thighs, and calves, but not in the ankles or feet. Pain resulting from firm pressure on the affected area.
Lipedema symptoms include: Fat buildup in your butt, thighs, calves and sometimes upper arms on both sides of your body. Bumps inside the fat that feel like there's something under your skin. Pain that can be from mild to severe and from constant to only with pressure.
Types of lipedema
Type I: The fat is between the navel and the hips. It often covers the pelvis and buttocks. Type II: The fat is around the pelvis and down to the knees. Type III: The fat begins at the pelvis and continues down to the ankles.
Mild lipedema symptoms typically do not have a major impact on one's quality of life. However, if you do not take steps to manage your mild lipedema and seek treatment, then the condition can progress and symptoms may become more severe.
Treatments for lipoedema
There's currently no cure, but there are things that can help and stop it getting worse. Your treatment will depend on how severe your symptoms are and how they're affecting you. The main treatments are: eating healthily, doing more exercise and trying to maintain a healthy weight.
Lipedema is often confused with lymphedema, a similar disease that also causes swelling in the limbs.
The tissue tenderness that is characteristic of lipedema can be checked with the pinch test, which is often felt as very unpleasant in the affected areas but causes no pain elsewhere. Increased capillary fragility manifests itself in spontaneous hematoma formation.
Liposuction is the only treatment available to lipedema patients that eliminates the troublesome fat deposits from the legs, hips, buttocks, stomach, and/or arms. Liposuction enables doctors to improve the look of the legs and restore better mobility for the long-term.
Fat accumulation can cause the legs to look lumpy or like columns. You may also notice fat deposits below your knees. Fat legs can feel abnormal and even painful. Lipedema, which is a form of fat accumulation, can make fat areas feel unusually tender.
Causes. The exact cause of lipoedema isn't known but it may be caused by changes in your hormones: during puberty. when you're pregnant.
If you have lipoedema your legs become swollen, bruise easily, are tender and feel painful and uncomfortable. Lipoedema may occur because of changes in female hormones. The most common time of onset is around puberty or when there are other hormonal shifts such as during pregnancy and menopause.
Stage II lipedema has the same symptoms as the first stage, except: Larger-sized lumps of fat can begin to develop in the affected areas. Fatty nodes can be felt easily. Instead of the fat feeling smooth, small fatty nodules can often be easily felt and are unevenly distributed in the tissue.
There is no specific test or tool to diagnose lipedema. This makes the diagnosis difficult, and many patients struggle without a correct diagnosis for a long time. However, the awareness of the disease among healthcare professionals (HCPs) is increasing.
A simple pinch test can often tell you whether you have lipedema. To do this, pinch the skin lightly in the areas of the body that may be affected. If you experience disproportionate pain, you may suspect lipedema.
Current treatment of lipedema includes liposuction of the fat cells, healthy diet and exercise, and manual treatments to keep the fluid to a minimum. More research is needed in the area of lipedema to help the millions of women affected by this condition.
Avoid Alcohol, Caffeine and Diuretics
Does drinking water help with lymphedema? Absolutely! Because the body is more prone to hold onto excess liquid when it feels dehydrated, drinking enough water is especially important for those with lymphedema so they can maintain a healthy fluid and chemical balance.
Unlike obesity, lipedema tissue does not respond well to diet or physical exercise alone. Therefore, in this review we discuss the effect of various dietary supplements that, along with diet and physical exercise, cause fat burning and weight loss, and which could potentially be important in the treatment of lipedema.
When you first notice any signs or symptoms of lipedema, your general practitioner (GP) or a nurse is usually the one you refer to. The basic diagnostics for lipedema focus on your medical history and the physical examination of your body.
However, there is a stark difference between cellulite and lipedema. Lipedema is a medical condition that can result in pain, bruising, and swelling. On the other hand, cellulite is purely cosmetic and doesn't result in pain or require treatment.
Lipedema pain is often characterized as pain or tenderness in the limbs affected by excess adipose (fat) tissue. However, patients describe many different experiences of pain varying in intensity, quality (e.g. dull, throbbing, sharp, etc.), duration, and other factors.
Dr Faerber, are there also slim lipoedema patients? “Lipoedema is a fat distribution disorder with a tendency towards disproportion. Lipoedema patients are not always overweight. There are also patients with a dress size of 38 [UK 10] who have thickened fat tissue under the skin.
If you're living with lymphedema, lipedema, or a similar condition, you can take steps to get relief from pain and the other symptoms at home. Lymphatic massage can be used to relieve the swelling in your arms, legs, or other affected areas. The technique works by helping to promote lymphatic drainage.