Lipedema Series Part V: Patient Story - Living with Lipedema

Lipedema Series Part V: Patient Story – Living with Lipedema

By Dr. David Amron Living life with lipedema is far from easy. It’s a very rarely discussed disease and many patients are often misdiagnosed. Kathleen Manly started showing symptoms of lipedema in her early twenties, and like so many other lipedema patients, she suffered for approximately 20 years before she was able to receive treatment.

Kathleen’s symptoms started with light swelling of her ankles, but then continued into her calf, thigh and hip area. As years progressed, the swelling and weight became so severe, Kathleen stopped wearing shorts, stockings and capris because she was so unhappy and self conscious with her physical appearance.

Over the last two decades, Kathleen saw numerous doctors, all of whom told her the only solution to her problem was a strict diet and exercising to lose weight. “I was constantly exercising and eating healthy foods, desperately trying to lose the weight,” said Kathleen.

“All of my food was organic and I was running five miles a day. I did manage to lose some of the weight, but I was still very disproportionate. My top was a size 6/8 and my pants were a size 16.”

Kathleen spent thousands of dollars on personal trainers and diet programs, yet no one could understand why she wasn’t able to thin down. “I always felt a sense of judgment coming from other people, and I knew they looked at me as a lazy person who wasn’t trying, but I’m the opposite of that.”

Lipedema didn’t only affect Kathleen’s physical appearance. It affected her entire life and she ended up hiding herself from the world. “Even little things such as going on planes became a difficult task,” said Kathleen. “The swelling in my legs would increase, but what was even worse was the way people would look at me when I boarded the plane.”

After years of suffering, Kathleen was ready for change. Over the past few years, she’d read information regarding lipedema online, but was unable to find a doctor who would diagnose her. Kathleen said, “I continued online research to see if there were any doctors in California able to treat this disease, and the first result that appeared was Dr. Amron. I got so excited!” A few weeks later, in December 2015, Kathleen received two separate tumescent liposuction procedures to remove the affected fat tissue in her body.

Kathleen successfully completed both procedures and is on her way to a happy healthy life, free from the side affects of lipedema. “I used to think this condition was somehow my fault, and now I’m able to know someone else finally recognizes it,” Kathleen said. “It’s not me, I’m not crazy!” !