Dr Nighat Arif shared there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ way to manage a condition that impacts 10% of women and girls globally, and says more needs to be done…
Dr Nighat Arif, NHS doctor and regular on ITV’s This Morning, shared the facts about a condition which impacts 10% of women and girls worldwide, as there are many misconceptions about it. Dr Nighat Arif shared a video explaining “how to manage your lipoedema on the NHS,” explaining there is “no cure” at present. However, she also wanted to myth-bust about the condition.
She penned: “Lipoedema is NOT obesity, or simply just being fat because of lifestyle failure – it’s a lifelong, progressive medical condition that causes the build-up of adipose tissue. Globally, 10% of women and girls are affected by it.
“So it’s not a hidden condition, just hidden in diagnosis, compounded by lack of research and limited treatment options.”
She did say there are ways to “effectively manage the symptoms and improve the quality of your life,” and claimed getting a diagnosis is important, as it’s a “progressive, lifelong condition” and if you’re diagnosed early, you can “hopefully look at management options on the NHS”.
So, what are the symptoms of lipoedema?
According to the NHS, lipoedema is more common in women. It usually affects both sides of the body equally.
Lipoedema can make your bottom, thighs, lower legs and sometimes your arms look out of proportion with the rest of the body.
In early-stage lipoedema, you may have bigger legs, a narrow waist and a much smaller upper body. You may have a large bottom, thighs, and lower legs, but your feet are not usually affected.
Sometimes lipoedema can affect the arms too, but the hands are not usually affected. The affected skin feels soft and cool and may be dimpled with an “orange peel” texture.
You may also have pain, tenderness or heaviness in the affected limbs, and you may bruise easily. Lipoedema affects people differently.
Some people have mild symptoms that do not affect their lives. Others can struggle with physical problems, blaming themselves for the changes in their body, and have mental health problems.
Dr Nighat explained it’s a “postcode lottery” when it comes to your initial referral, and said if you’re “struggling to get a referral” then you should “write to your MP” to advocate for you.
She then shared the “primary goals” with managing symptoms is to “reduce inflammation, reduce fibrosis, decrease adipose tissue, improve lymphatic flow, increase mobility, minimise tiredness and fatigue, manage pain, prioritise emotional and mental health, and promote overall health”.
Dr Nighat said when “it comes to lipodema, there’s no one size fits all, and no treatment or management plan is gonna fit everybody”.
She said some patients may try compression, some may try to change their diet to reduce adipose tissue, or massaging the tissue may help some.
The doctor explained there is currently “no data” to back up the fact that diets such as keto, or GLP-1 medications work; however, some patients do report that these work in terms of symptom easing.
But, she did say looking at your overall “nutrition” and “exercise” can be helpful. “So movement is what you’re focusing on, not necessarily trying to lose weight,” she reiterated, saying that this is a “medical condition, not a lifestyle failure”.
Dr Nighat also said “some patients choose to have specialist liposuction,” which is “not for cosmetic reasons” but helps them to “manage their symptoms”.
The NHS shares that the main treatments are:
- Eating healthily, doing more exercise and trying to maintain a healthy weight
- Wearing compression stockings or bandages to reduce pain and discomfort, and make it easier for you to walk
- Looking after your skin – for example, by regularly using moisturising cream to stop your skin drying out
- Counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) if you’re finding it difficult to cope with your symptoms and you feel depressed
- A procedure to get rid of the fat (liposuction) if your symptoms are particularly severe – you may need more than one operation, and it may not be available on the NHS
Dr Nighat said: “It can feel like such a lonely journey because it could be that you’re not being offered any treatments on the NHS at all, so it might be that you need to look for somebody who is able to understand the condition at your GP surgery, or referral into a specialist centre.
“LipoedemaUK has a wealth of information on how you can advocate for yourself, and then go onto their website, so that you’re able to get the help that you need.
“We need to make sure that this condition is more known about, because 10% of women and girls experience and suffer with this globally, so it’s not a hidden condition; it’s just hidden in its diagnosis because we don’t pick it up enough.”