Lipedema Treatment: Our Only Alternatives

National Health Blog Post Month Day 10 – Alternative Medicine

Write about alternative treatments and regimens and tell us how you feel about them. What do you support? What is crazy? Have you used any?

Lipedema does not yet have a diagnosis code, let alone a known cause or effective treatment options. Lipedema is an abnormal accumulation of subcutaneous tissue aka FAT. However, lipedema fat cannot be reduced by restricted diet or exercise. Treatment options focus on the inflammation and swelling associated. Some lipedema patients, such as myself, also development lymphedema. Compression therapy has done wonders for my lymphedema, since it pushes the fluid out of my legs, however compression can help maintain lipedema progression the effectiveness is not as successful. There is a promising information for liposuction for the treatment of lipedema, while it doesn’t not address the “cause”, it does relieve the symptom. Currently, the most knowledgeable and experiences surgeons performing liposuction on lipedema patients are in Germany. There are plans for US doctors in New York City to begin performing liposuction for lipedema in 2014. The next challenge will for us to get insurance to cover the treatment, I am currently advocating for passage of legislation to cover compression therapy for lymphedema.

Current treatments lipedema patients use to reduce/manage symptoms:

• Manual Lymph Massage
• Compression Wraps
• Compression Pumps
• Compression Garments
• Compression Sleeves
• Supplements
• Lymphatic Brushing
• CVAC
• Vibration Plates
• RAD Diet
• Detox Bath Soaks
• Liposuction

Each of these options deserve a blog post of their own for explanation, I will have to expand on them at a later date.

If you are a Lipedema patient, share with me what options you have tried and if you found any relief.