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Lipoedema UK Featured In Health Europa

lipoedema-uk-0098I was delighted and honoured to get Lipoedema UK featured in the Health Europa Quarterly Issue 04 this month. Below is a quick section of the interview and article. I have included a link to the full publication at the bottom of this page. 

Lipoedema is a chronic condition whereby fat cells abnormally build up in the hips, buttocks, legs and occasionally arms of women (and, far more rarely, men), resulting in often painful pockets of fat that do not go away with exercise or dietary changes. The condition varies in appearance from woman to woman, but every woman with lipoedema suffers from a frustrating lack of awareness among the public and medical community alike.

Lipoedema has been little researched, is rarely taught and is poorly understood; as a result, it is frequently misdiagnosed as obesity or lymphoedema (swelling that occurs due to the lymphatic system not working properly) and only limited treatment options are available.

Lipoedema UK was set up in 2012 by women with lipoedema and St George’s Hospital, London, in order to educate doctors, health practitioners and the public about lipoedema and its symptoms, with a view to improving diagnosis numbers and ensuring that women get the advice and treatment they need to live well with the condition and avoid related complications.

Health Europa Quarterly speaks to the charity’s chair, Sharie Fetzer, about the support available to women with lipoedema, its relationship with obesity, and efforts in the UK to raise awareness and improve understanding.

Read the full article by downloading a free copy of Health Europa Quarterly Issue 04 by clicking here.

Lipoedema Featured In Daily Mail Health – 27 Sept, 2016

Hitting puberty, what troubled Laura Childs was not her skin, but her legs, which began to balloon completely out of proportion with the rest of her body.

‘It was much more exaggerated than just being pear-shaped,’ recalls Laura, 37, a local authority administrative officer, who lives in Dover with her husband, Dean, 42, a trainee teacher, and their two children Leah, 13, and Oliver, ten. ‘I’d previously been very slim, but over two to three years my legs became up to two dress sizes bigger than my top half.

‘It was weird because I had slim ankles and feet — the fat formed a cuff above the knee and the ankle. The skin on my legs would bruise really easily, too — even if I just scratched an itch, my whole leg would bruise.

My legs also swelled up in the heat and could be quite achy and painful….

Read the full article here: Lipoedema Featured In Daily Mail Health