Lipoedema Ladies

A honest and open review of Liposuction 

By Renne Watters

​

When I was 16 I went to spend my summer in Florida. My family had not seen me for a year and they commented that my legs were looking 'thick'. I was a size 8 on top and 8/10 on the bottom. That winter I went to buy some knee high boots, and a girl who went with me, who was really overweight could get them to do up, I couldn't get mine over my calves! Gradually the size of my legs got bigger but not really bad. When I left uni I got a job as a sales manager and was in the car a lot! I worked out but my diet was terrible!



I began to put on weight. I dieted, my top half slimmed down, but my bottom

half stayed the same. I had tests for Lymphoedema and they were negative, so
as far as my doctor was concerned that was it. It wasn't just the size, it
was the condition, no rolls of fat, but severe cellulite, always cold and a
constant 'corned beef' look! I was in the dentist and I read a problem page
about a woman who had a size 8 top (like me) but struggled to get a 14 over
her calves, same as me! They said about Lipoedema. Once I looked this up, I
knew it was me.



I read about a doctor called Mr Ross, he was doing a special lipo, my dream

procedure! I went to my GP as Mr Ross is private, and asked if they could
help with the costs, I was told no.

I asked him to diagnose me, his reply was 'If you say you have it, you have it' . And also that I had body dysmorphia and that if I wanted treatment I would need to undergo counselling for a year. So I paid to see Mr Ross, and when he confirmed my Lipoedema and said he could help me, I felt like a huge weight was gone!



I was 25 when I had the op, I am 30 now. I had the Ultrasound Lipo and Dr Ross took 8.5 litres of fat out of my legs. This surgery is not to be taken lightly, it took 10 weeks to recover, from my waist to my feet I was black and blue, and I got a seroma, (which is a collection of fluid under the skin) on my knee which had to be drained. 

 I had to wear compression garments for 6 weeks, and they help with the circulation, and I am going to be graphic here, but they also push any excess fat out of the holes the surgeon made, so I had liquid fat seeping out of me, it smelt like a chip shop and ruined a mattress! Also, blood got stuck underneath the layers of skin in my inner thigh, and my skin started to rot, or become 'sluffy', and I was left with hole in my leg, which has got better with time, but did look like a shark bit out of it! And it stunk, they are still not perfect, as he had to stop because my body went into shock, but the difference was amazing. I still have internal scarring and it is painful, but I work through it. I exercise, I try to eat clean and I stay active.

​



It is hard not to let it get me down, and I do feel it's not fair, but I have to work with what I have been given, and make the best of it. Would I do it again, yes.