Lipedema Blog

An estimated 17-million women in the U.S. and nearly 370 million women across the globe suffer from a condition known as Lipedema. What is regularly associated with rapid and uncontrollable weight gain in its initial stages can quickly spiral out of control if left undiagnosed. Lipedema is a disease that leads to the excessive buildup of fat cells, primarily in the arms and legs. Going far beyond the appearance of extra pounds, those who suffer from Lipedema often have large pockets of fat on their limbs that appear disproportionate in

Fall has arrived and with the cold weather looming you may be wondering what you can eat that can be both fulfilling and anti-inflammatory for your lipedema. It’s easy to learn what you should and shouldn’t eat but sometimes hard to stick to it without the background knowledge of why. Knowing the why can help you make the best decisions for yourself and maybe incorporate some things that you may not have thought of before.    Follow an Anti-Inflammatory Diet It is recommended to follow the RAD diet (or Rare Adipose

Before you start looking for more invasive treatments to help reduce the symptoms of your lipedema, there are a few tools you have right at home, and every little bit helps! Your nutrition plays a key factor in how and when your body experiences edema (swelling), and a large player in this experience is in response to the food you eat. Learn how to reduce lipedema swelling below! The Rare Adipose Disorder Diet (AKA RAD Diet) Dr. Wright recommends following a Rare Adipose Disorder (RAD) diet, a modification to a

When dealing with the effects of lipedema, your body can also feel the repercussions of direct impact on your lymphatic and venous circulation system. Both systems together help the body create lymph. Venous disorders like venous hypertension and venous reflux impact these combined systems to create excess lymph production. Having an overwhelmed production can lead to overloaded lymphatic circulation. Both the venous system and our lymphatic circulation utilize passive contractions to clear this fluid from our limbs. As a result, our team has put together some of the most important

There’s nothing more satisfying and exciting for Dr. Wright and his team at Laser Lipo & Vein Center than celebrating patient wins! One of our favorite patients, Rita, spent her time in quarantine focused on getting through her lipedema surgeries, recovering safely at home, and both she and our team couldn’t be happier with her results! Rita’s experience is proof that Lipedema surgery can transform patient experiences as they walk through life (literally!) from pain and immobility to pain-free progress!  Rita has undergone three Lipedema surgeries on her legs and

Lipedema Standard of Care As of May 28, 2021, Dr. Wright and nearly two dozen other Lipedema experts led by Dr. Karen Herbst published 85 consensus statements making up the first ever Standard of Care Guidelines for Lipedema in the United States. Prior to it’s publication, other countries such as Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and The Netherlands have documented and published Standards of Care for women with Lipedema, but the United States continued to lag behind it’s international colleagues. Ultimately, this resulted in American women with Lipedema being underdiagnosed,

June is Lipedema Awareness month, one in which the Lipedema community focuses (even more than usual) on how to reach women who have lived with this painful and distressing disease. While we’ve seen great strides in awareness, insurance coverage, and slightly greater recognition of this disease in the medical community, we continue to fight an uphill battle as women are underdiagnosed or completely dismissed when discussing their struggles and side effects with their providers. As a result, our team has put together some of the most important and most impactful

It’s not uncommon for women with Lipedema to either be misdiagnosed with severe obesity, or diagnosed with both Lipedema and obesity. In either scenario, it can be difficult to know what the next step should be. And if your doctor is recommending a serious surgery, such as bariatric surgery, to address obesity, it can be even more difficult to understand the relationship that has with lipedema, and how treatments should work so that both issues are addressed.  Typically, BMI plays a large role in the starting point for obesity diagnosis,

There’s nothing more frustrating than sticking closely to an exercise routine and never deviating from a diet without any results to show for it. While some may attribute this scenario to a subpar attempt at fighting fat, for many, there is an underlying medical reason that weight isn’t being lost despite a concentrated effort. When diet and exercise aren’t doing the trick and in some cases, weight continues to accumulate over time, it’s time to look more closely at what could be causing this to happen, as seen in this

Hi everyone – it’s Cat again! If you haven’t read my story or seen any of my videos before, I’m a long-time patient of Dr. Wright and am working towards completing a total of five Lipedema liposuction surgeries with him. I’ve put together some helpful tips and a bit about my story, and you can find all my videos on Dr. Wrights YouTube channel. At the end of February, I hit the one-year mark since undergoing my second Lipedema surgery. My initial goal was to get all five surgeries completed