Patient Stories

For as long as I can remember, something about my legs never felt quite right. Since my teenage years, they’ve never looked what I thought was ‘normal’, and deep down I always knew there was a reason for it. Several years ago, I made the decision to take control of my health. I had a […]

My name is Laura McCreath and I am 44 years old. I would like to share my story as I would really love to help this disease become more well known in this country, and particularly to encourage NICE to see that people like me are the reason why it is so important to agree

My experience with lipoedema and exercise I only discovered that I have lipoedema within the last 12 months, so it’s still fairly new information to me. That discovery answered a lot of long-standing questions about my body – particularly the size and shape of my legs, their sensitivity, and the fact that no matter what

I have had ‘big legs’ for as long as I can remember. Even as a teenager I remember clothes never fitting the way they should and never being able to fit into boots because of my legs.  I began to self-harm as a teenager, and over the years, this meant my body began to look

I am a qualified Occupational Therapist (OT). An OT helps a client to build bridges between themself and their challenges. We consider the whole person and their environment. OTs can assess for aids, such as rise-and-recliner chairs, profiling beds, pressure equipment, bath and shower equipment, kitchen equipment and walking aids. We can also refer to

I didn’t know anything about Lipoedema until 2018, but I noticed my legs were difficult to reduce in size after I had my son, who is now 36. I know some people notice symptoms around puberty, and I may have had it then but because I was unusually tall for a female in the 70s,

For Lipoedema UK member Lisa, a sponsored naked swim was a fantastic way to fundraise and raise awareness of Lipoedema. ‘What better way to spread awareness and embrace and accept the way we are than by doing a naked swim?’ she says. ‘Swimming and moving in water generally are great ways to get the lymph

I first heard about Lipoedema three months ago, when I finally got a referral to a local Lymphoedema Clinic. I had been suffering from swelling and pain in my legs for 10 years, which I put down to a serious car accident that caused extensive injury and scarring to my right leg. Every doctor, nurse

I am now 77 and my Lipoedema was diagnosed in 2022. This photo was taken in December 2021. Symptoms like mine are not a family trait, and my problem only started to show post menopause, about 25 years ago. Prior to that I took the contraceptive pill for 23 years without a break, followed by