Angela’s Lipedema Journey

We all have our unique stories, yet they are all so similar in many ways…

The first picture was taken October 18th 2019 just before A planned 50th birthday trip, hiking and kayaking throughout the south island of New Zealand December 1st through December 19th 2019. I was an active person; I was a cyclist. I rode 2 to 3 times a week 30 to 40 miles, constantly pushing myself. I exercised daily on my row machine. I loved to hike and explore. I owned my own self serve dog wash and grooming business. I was noticing it was getting harder and my mobility was declining, I also noticed the little bit of weight I was gaining, despite following the advice of my PCP to try keto, to help with perimenopause hormones.

2020 brought more than just COVID. Early February 2020, what seemed to be an asthma attack, struck me. It was intense and extremely scary. This wasn’t the first time in my life that I would get these random attacks, this time was different. I was getting these attacks two to three times an hour. At first, I was trying all my holistic ways to control the attacks, but these attacks grew stronger and stronger and I was struggling to breathe. I had a chest x-ray, maybe I picked up something while traveling? We visited my son in Sacramento in January. Perhaps I picked up Valley Fever. The problem was, there was no fever to the valley. I never really ran a fever. I would get horrific puss filled hives I was weak I couldn’t walk without feeling like my legs were going to shatter and they were so heavy.

The second picture is from August 2020. In 7 months I gained nearly 70 pounds. By this time, I could barely walk across my house without being in agony. I was so tired, there were times I would have attacks that I swore I wasn’t going to survive. I quit keto, I swore that it was causing a lot of my issues. Sure enough, the hives and the breathing attacks ended.

I have had cat scans, MRIs, x-rays, cortisol injections, countless bloodwork you name it, I did it. There wasn’t a medical person I saw that could tell me what was happening to my body. I went to Chiropractors, physical therapists, massage therapist and facia bodywork therapists. Oh, lets not forget my partner is a physician and are friends with many. The one therapy that would give me some relief was Rossiter. I swear by it.

The third picture is August 2022, 80 pound plus weight gain.

Oct 2022!!!! We are on the move, we relocated to a new state. Unfortunately, there is not a single Rossiter therapist in the new state I live in. I tired rolfing, rolfing itself did not give me any relief and I found no benefit. I shared my story with the therapist and her response was, well my dear you have lipedema. She gave me a pamphlet from the Lipedema Foundation to take home to my partner.

I walked in the door excited about the newfound information I just learned, is it possible there is light at the end of the tunnel? Is there? I walk in the door and yelled I think I have lipedema. I was instantly corrected and told no, you are saying it wrong its lymphedema and you do not have lymphedema. I said Lipedema not lymphedema and handed the pamphlet to Liza.

I owe Liza’s brilliant research capabilities, guidance and medical knowledge to where I am at today. I am also so very proud of myself because it does take extreme dedication and willpower to make huge changes in your life. The 3rd picture is today. Oh for shits and giggles as I am writing this I thought, I wonder if that outfit from October 18th 2019 could possible fit me. . .

I DID IT!
So. Can. You.