Lipedema is characterized by increased fatty tissue in the extremities, and fatty tissue can be painful.
There is a very wide manifestation of symptoms of the disease. The pain may be constant, may come and go, or only occur when pressure is applied to the fatty tissue. And the pain experienced can be very mild or severe. Some facts and manifestations that you should know about Lipedema are:
- It has an almost exclusive occurrence in women.
- It has a bilateral and symmetrical manifestation with minimal involvement of the feet.
- Presents minimal pitting edema.
- Negative Kaposi-Stemmer sign.
- He has pain and tenderness to pressure.
- The skin bruises easily.
- Limb enlargement persists after limb elevation or weight loss.
- He has hypothermia of the skin.
- Swelling worsens with orthostasis in summer.
- It is not affected by caloric restriction.
- Telangiectasias are observed in the affected area (small and dilated blood vessels in the skin).
- The arms are affected 30% of the time.
How to identify if you suffer from Lipedema?
It can be difficult for people suffering from lipedema to get a correct and timely diagnosis. Unfortunately, there is no simple test, so diagnosing it often requires a bit of detective work.
If you suspect you have this condition, use the strategy below to try to validate if this may be the case for you. Many family doctors have limited knowledge about lipedema, so it's essential that you analyze your body for signs that allow you to obtain a formal diagnosis.
Obviously, a self-diagnosis can't replace a formal diagnosis by a knowledgeable health professional, but it can help you talk effectively about your symptoms, better target your care, and get the diagnosis you need.
Below, we indicate how you can make a self-diagnosis of lipedema and lipo-lymphedema, as well as effectively seek a formal diagnosis:
- Find out if you have a family history of the condition. Who in your family had legs with accumulated fat?
- Familiarize yourself with the stages of lipedema described in our previous articles.
- Research the symptoms and take notes. What symptoms do you currently feel identified with? Do you feel differences in texture between the fat in the affected area and the fat in other areas of your body? Do the symptoms fit with one of the stages of lipedema?
- How have your symptoms changed over time? Write a timeline of symptoms: when did you first notice something developing? What symptoms did you experience then, how have the symptoms progressed since then, and over what period of time? Do you have other additional symptoms?
- After doing the above, you may be able to make a reasonable attempt to rule out the possibility that you have lipedema.
The complicated part comes from the fact that there are other conditions that can cause similar symptoms, and that is why it is vitally important to see a doctor specialized in this pathology, such as our specialist on Dr. Daniel Rodriguez Morales de los Ríos.
If you have discomfort and are concerned about the evolution of your disease, visit us at our cline located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. It is very important that in the initial assessment consultation, you can talk with our Doctor about the chronology of your symptoms, the family history and all the notes you have taken when evaluating your body and the evolution of the fat in your extremities.
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