Do You Experience The Following Symptoms?
- Excess weight on your legs
- Heaviness and discomfort of the legs
- Your upper body and lower body are completely different sizes making clothes shopping very difficult
- You have a small waist, but large hips and thighs
- Your excess weight does not include your feet or hands
- You can lose weight from your upper body but not your lower
- Your lower body bruises easily
- Some members of your family are or were a similar shape
You may have a medical condition called Lipoedema
Lipoedema (also spelt Lipedema in the USA), is a chronic condition that makes you accumulate fat below the waist, often giving you hips, buttocks and legs that are out of proportion with your upper body. It can also affect your arms.
78% of women with Lipoedema who took part in Lipoedema UK Big Survey 2014 developed symptoms between the ages of 18-25 but only 7% received a diagnosis at that time. Most took decades to realise they had Lipoedema as they were constantly dismissed by the medical profession and told that the excess fat ‘was their own fault’.
No one knows exactly how many women have lipoedema but as the vast majority of doctors and nurses aren’t trained to recognise lipoedema, many women go their whole lives without obtaining a diagnosis.
Lipoedema Stories
Read about many women’s experiences with Lipoedema, their struggles with misdiagnosis and their mission to make a change.
Lipoedema UK in The News
What People Say About Us
“I have learnt and shared so much with the Lipoedema UK Health & Wellbeing Community (H&WC) especially about how to take better care of myself both mentally and physically. The confidential support and respect we give to each other has helped me to cope with lipoedema. I am extremely grateful to all the professionals and my new friends who are part of this Community.”
“I found Lipoedema UK and Health and wellbeing just at the height of the Pandemic. A friendly and helpful team greeted us every Thursday. It took my loneliness away, gave me good and helpful advises I.e. self help, bandages, self care etc. During this time I found new friends.
Thank you for all the effort and support.”
