By Tatjana van der Krabben
We
sometimes read or hear about lipedema and eating disorders. Over time I
encountered several ladies who had an eating disorder in the past. We know it’s
there, but for me personally it was more like background information. A little
surreal.
Today, on
Twitter and on a forum I heard about a woman with lipedema who had developed
anorexia. She lost the battle. Today it became more real than ever. Too real…
We all know
what lipedema does. It takes nothing (much) to gain, but it takes blood, sweat
and tears to lose weight. And you don’t get to lose it where you want it gone or
to the point you want to lose it. At the same time many of us get encouraged to
exercise more and eat less. Even by medical professionals and even if that is
not realistic or what is truly needed. This is a red flag, people. A big one.
I got
tempted to speak of support groups in this blog, but the truth is that eating
disorders are a league of their own and very complex. Which leaves raising
awareness, so people at least have a chance to learn about this piece of their
health puzzle early. It’s good to see more and more lipedema patients are
stepping forward and sharing their experiences.
Here’s to
hope.
My doctor was puzzled. I complained about dizziness, fatigue, constipation. He saw my upper body & said maybe I should eat a bit more. I told him I'd just gain weight (but I forgot to mention where). Later, when he was examining my legs he had a puzzled expression. I also complained about pain & swelling in my legs. He said I should keep exercising & get lots of fibre & a healthy diet. After he saw my legs he never pressed me to eat more, & always seemed afraid of something about me. This was in my thirties (I'm now 61). Anyway "stay hungry & keep moving" has been my life, just to try & keep my legs from getting so fat I can't walk properly. I started dieting at age 7. People were talking about my 'sturdy legs' even then, & trying to figure out if I was fat or not. At puberty my legs started swelling ominously, so I got anorexia nervosa, & persisted for at least a couple of years. But just when my legs were starting to show some muscle-definition & look normal my thyroid stopped working. So I couldn't lose any more weight, which probably saved my life. I have a new doctor now who'll be examining my legs in June (Lipedema Awareness month!). I also have severe osteoporosis & low vitamin D, & lots of other issues, probably from never getting sufficient nutrients all my life due to my demon: Lipedema. (It was my grandma who taught me, by example, to exercise a lot & watch my diet. She had a trim upper body, but a lower body that looked 'inflated'. As a little girl, something in me was put on the alert, & it gave me just a mind-bending fear of weight-gain.) My doctor won't be telling me to lose weight though, because my BMI is normal. But there's bound to be puzzlement... unless my doctor knows about Lipedema. Whatever, I'll put my disproportionate body to use as a teaching aid. There are too many women suffering, starving, being shamed, developing gruesome co-morbidities, anxiety, depression, lymphedema, anorexia... & having wasted lives because of this & it has to be fixed.
ReplyDeleteI admire your courage and spirit, but it breaks my heart how a lacking diagnosis has affected you and your health. Thank you for stepping forward to give others the opportunity to learn.
DeleteTatjana
Thank You Tatjana! Lipedema is a hard topic to keep studying everyday - so it's taken till now to get back to you. One has to stop thinking about lipedema for a while, just to 'process' all the frustration, rage against nature, self-hate, etc. that it stirs up. Thought for today: I love my strong smooth toned legs - but I hate the heavy lumpy 'blubber pants' I'm wearing on top of them!
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