Staged Out of Healthcare
Advanced lipedema patients need more doctors to take us seriously. How we get there is up for debate.
It's very difficult to talk about advanced lipedema aka lipo-lymphedema and weight loss in a sensitive way. Most doctors, and most of the public remain ignorant of the metabolic effects of lipedema and lymphatic diseases, not to mention the severity of trauma we heavier lipedema patients tend to face for years—or decades, even.
While lipedema surgeons like Dr. Amron will still take us on and begin our treatments regardless of our BMIs, there's a devastating dearth of physicians willing to treat our coexisting conditions. Most doctors will flatly refuse to adequately treat us unless we lose x amount of pounds, but the more we struggle with those under-treated conditions, the harder it can be for us to actually lose significant amounts of weight.
I've run into a lot of this with my knee injuries and arthritis, of course, but also with my PCOS, endometriosis, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, mental health, and currently, my suspected hernia. It's very difficult to be taken seriously by most medical professionals if their view of your body is so strictly limited to a high BMI.
Often, it's harder to get proper imaging or medical tests done when you are morbidly obese. You might need special equipment or additional expertise. It's harder to get physicians to look at all of your symptoms, too, if all they really care to see is your weight.
All too often, they decide it's a lifestyle defect.
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