MALIKA SEVIL
The body can surprise us with unpleasant and strange symptoms. An eyelid that starts to twitch at regular intervals, localized hair loss, or unexplained itching. Today: lipoedema.
Pants size 44, waist size 38. With lipedema, a difference of three clothing sizes is not unusual. The condition is chronic, unsightly, painful, limiting, and often overlooked, says dermatologist Hajo Bruining of Resculpt Clinic.
With lipoedema, the fat cells in the legs and sometimes also in the arms show abnormal growth from puberty onwards, which makes movement more difficult. Over time, the skin can also become uneven and painful. "It is particularly sensitive to pressure, touch, and abrupt movements, such as when exercising. It can even be painful when someone squeezes your leg for fun. This often leaves a bruise, as women with lipoedema bruise easily."
It only occurs in women. "It seems that there is something wrong with the combustion engine of these fat cells." According to Bruining, lipoedema is often not recognized by doctors. Women who visit their GP are advised to exercise more and eat less. In other words, to lose weight, even though that does not alleviate the symptoms. Yo-yo dieting actually worsens the fat swelling, says Bruining. "I always explain it like this: it's a kind of valve on a fat cell. It goes in, but it doesn't come out so easily."
He advises patients to exercise regularly. Swimming or cycling, especially sports that do not put too much strain on the arms and legs. The dietitian will recommend eating few carbohydrates. Because patients with this condition often suffer from lymph fluid in the legs, compression stockings are used.
But also manual lymphatic drainage (removing fluid with hand massage) or pneumatic compression therapy, in which air sleeves around the leg massage the fluid to a place where the body can more easily drain it.
More invasive, but much more effective, is liposuction under local anesthesia, says Bruining. "This removes most of the lipedema fat. The Fat is removed stays away. If you don't gain weight, you can benefit from this for decades."