Jenny's Story

I discovered I had lipoedema completely by accident. While scrolling on my phone one evening, I came across a photo of legs that looked just like mine. I have always had hips and thighs much wider than my upper half, but I had always just thought of myself as being pear-shaped with a stubborn lower half.

I first noticed that I was different to my friends as a teenager. Family members would encourage me to lose weight, which was frustrating as I didn’t really know how. Comparing myself to my siblings, I felt a bit of a failure.

My shape really changed after the birth of my third child. I lost weight after pregnancy and, although I weighed less than before, clothes didn’t fit in the same way. I couldn’t pull trousers over my thighs. It was really disheartening.

Seeing photos online spurred me on to learn more about lipoedema and the more I read, the more I knew this described me to a tee. I contacted Talk Lipoedema who provided me with a pack to send to my GP, which was really helpful. I was referred to a vascular surgeon in 2021 who diagnosed me formally.

Talk Lipoedema has been a great source of support and I am determined to find a way to make peace with my body shape. I’m not there yet but I’m a work in progress!