This is what it's all about.
I have suffered from lipoedema in my arms and legs since puberty. This has made me feel uncomfortable in my body for as long as I can remember. To this day, at the age of 24, I’ve never worn a tank top or shorts because I’m ashamed of the cellulite and the anti-proportionality caused by the condition. I rarely go swimming or wear tight clothing. In addition to the external complaints, there are also internal ones. I have pain when walking, my arms and legs are so sensitive that the slightest touch hurts and bruises follow. As soon as it gets colder outside, my life is back in full swing with constant pain. I have been fighting a battle against my own body for years. The past few years have been characterized by eating disorders, excessive exercise to the point of exhaustion, depression and hatred of my body. I am now at an age when I should be enjoying my life to the full. I have been wishing for this operation for so long that I could dance around the world in short skirts and simply have a pain-free life.
Information about lipedema and the lack of help from health insurance companies
I hope that society will be sensitized to this topic. For the most part, the disease only affects women, which means that it is not so important for research to make progress. However, lipoedema is still massively underestimated today. This disease not only has a drastic effect on the external appearance, but it goes much deeper than that. It causes constant pain, both physically and mentally. Women with lipoedema suffer significantly more often from social, psychological and physical impairments than women in the normal population. These are all consequences of the fact that society in this world is not educated enough. People just stare at you and automatically label you as obese, lazy and unathletic. The suffering of the women affected is overlooked. Uninformed doctors react to joint pain, movement pain and physical dissatisfaction with the tip: «You should just lose a few kilos and get some exercise into your life. If you weigh less, the pain will disappear quickly.»Even specialists label people as obese and lazy. Dermatologist Brigit Wörle (specialist for lipoedema Switzerland) supports this statement by uninformed doctors, she also knows that too little information is provided. The disease is caused by puberty, hormonal changes such as pregnancy or the menopause. Hormonal changes or weight gain are suspected triggers. This brings us right back to the point that it is «suspected». More urgently needs to be done to combat this disease. The only thing that health insurance will pay for, as long as you are not in stage 3 (elephant legs), is physiotherapy or support stockings, i.e. conservative therapy. This alleviates the symptoms but does not get rid of the disease. The same applies to sport. Exercise and a healthy diet help to keep lipoedema in check, but they won’t get rid of this awful disease. Exercise and sport also mean pain and enormous disappointment. You can’t train the diseased tissue (fat) away. Which sooner or later is associated with a huge mountain of frustration. The hope of a body in which you feel comfortable disappears and you fall into a vicious circle. It has been proven many times that surgery is the only way to live pain-free. However, lipoedema can never be completely removed. It accompanies you for a lifetime and further interventions cannot be ruled out. However, the chance that your health insurance will cover the procedure is very small. The reason: The effectiveness, expediency and cost-effectiveness of the method has not been sufficiently proven. Great, isn’t it? Support stockings etc. only reduce the symptoms, but the operation, which can at least make an improvement possible for years, is so expensive that normal earners cannot afford it. I want to sensitize people to this topic through social media and hope that more research will be done in the coming years. Every woman deserves to live pain-free and happy!
This is what I need backing for.
I need your support for a pain-free life. I am also active on social media and am now trying to build up my posts about mental health and lipedema and create a platform for affected women. At the same time, if there are any donations left over, my goal is to create a campaign for this disease. In this way, I hope that more people will be made aware of the issue and that sooner or later health insurance companies will be forced to cover the costs.