June is Lipedema Awareness Month, and after nearly a decade of silent suffering, misdiagnosis, and confusion, I’m finally ready to share my story.

This is the blog I never thought I’d write. Not only because I was ashamed, but because for years I didn’t have a name for what I was going through. I only had symptoms, pain, unexplained weight gain, and doctors who shrugged or told me I was fine. I wasn’t fine. My body was changing in ways that didn’t make sense, and I was trapped in a cycle of trying to fix something I didn’t yet understand.

In early 2024, I was officially diagnosed with Lipedema, a condition that affects 1 in 11 women. Lipedema is a fibrotic fat disorder caused by genetics, hormones, leaky lymphatics, and often Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). It leads to painful, symmetrical fat accumulation, mostly in the legs, arms, hips, and torso, and it does not respond to diet or exercise.

You can read more about Lipedema in this post: What Is Lipedema?

This post is about the emotional toll. The hidden symptoms. The damage that happened while I tried to keep smiling for the camera. And why, after everything, I finally feel free.

Before It All Changed

Before 2016, I had never weighed more than 120 pounds. I stayed slim effortlessly, even during my five-year battle with Lyme disease. I was too sick to exercise for most of that time, yet I never gained weight. My metabolism seemed to hold steady without trying.

The only area I ever felt self-conscious about was my thighs. They were always a little larger, but I chalked it up to being strong and muscular. I even joked and called them my “thunder thighs,” but I didn’t think much of it. I figured everyone had a part of their body they weren’t totally in love with. For me, it was my thighs and also my knees. They always looked padded and puffy to me, with no clear kneecap definition. Still, I shrugged it off and just covered up with pants or cute midi dresses. It was easy to hide, and I genuinely believed it was just how I was built.

Then stem cell therapy in 2016 changed everything.

When My Body Betrayed Me (Again)

My Lyme journey was horrific and I thought health issues were finally going to be behind me. Stem cell therapy saved my life. It gave me energy, clarity, and strength I hadn’t felt in years. I was finally well enough to work out again and started moving my body with the hope that it would accelerate my healing.

But about a month after treatment, I began gaining weight rapidly. It started with a few pounds, then became five pounds a month, always right before my period, clearly tied to hormones. The weight never dropped after each cycle. It just stayed, and built, month after month.

I couldn’t build muscle no matter how hard I trained. My legs and arms felt heavy, swollen, and sore. My belly puffed out in ways it never had. My stance changed. I stood with my legs angled outward without trying. It didn’t matter how clean I ate, how consistent I was with workouts, or how carefully I managed my supplements. Nothing worked.

I went from doctor to doctor, trying everything. Thyroid support helped a bit, I switched to T3-only and lost about 10 pounds. But nothing else changed. I ran hormone panels, addressed estrogen dominance, supplemented with progesterone and testosterone. I did every kind of workout. I changed my diet over and over. I worked on gut health, did parasite cleanses, supported my liver, addressed adrenals, tried GLP-1s like Saxenda, experimented with AMPK activators, and even weight loss probiotics. Everything looked good on paper. The only lab marker ever off was leptin, which I now know is linked to Lipedema.

I did everything “right.” And nothing worked.

It felt cruel to have survived Lyme only to end up trapped in a body that didn’t reflect how good I felt. I used to say, “I healed from Lyme, but now I’m fat, and no one knows why.”

The One Thing That Helped

The only thing that gave me temporary relief was lymphatic drainage. After every session, my clothes fit better, my swelling went down, and I felt lighter. But the effect would fade in a day or two.

I told every doctor. I explained that it felt like water was getting stuck in my body and turning into fat. They looked at me like I was insane. One doctor actually told me I was having a “Barbie moment” and needed to work out more. I never went back.

But I wasn’t crazy. That exact process, lymphatic backup leading to fibrotic fat, is how Lipedema works. I had been describing it all along, and no one had the knowledge to recognize it.

The Silent Struggle

From the outside, I looked like I was fine. I kept showing up, creating content, smiling for the camera. But I was unraveling. The weight gain was terrifying. My body didn’t feel like mine, and I was doing everything to hide it.

In 2018, I discovered the HCG diet. I was at my highest weight, 176 pounds, and desperate. My doctor recommended it, and I started the next day.

If you’re not familiar, HCG is an archaic weight loss protocol where you inject the pregnancy hormone HCG daily and eat just 500 calories a day from a restricted list. No oils. No fats. Not even on your skin. The program lasts 21 to 40 days and you can lose 10 to 20 pounds quickly.

I would disappear for weeks to do it, lose the weight, and then reemerge. I’d immediately schedule a photoshoot, capture weeks of content at my thinnest, and then spread it out to give the illusion I was fine. That I had beat the stem cell weight gain. But it wasn’t real. The weight always came back.

I did HCG 10 times between 2018 and 2024. It was the only thing that worked, even if just temporarily. I developed a fringe eating disorder because of Lipedema. Fasting, Prolon rounds, and days of starvation became my routine. I spent more days not eating than eating.

The weeks leading up to my wedding were some of the worst. I was terrified my dress wouldn’t zip. I had nightmares about it every night. I even faked a visit to my seamstress, pretending I needed to choose a shawl, but I just needed to try it on to make sure it still fit.

There was no hiding that I had gained weight. But I did hide the emotional torment. The shame. The embarrassment. How was I supposed to be “The Trail to Health” if I looked unhealthy? If I was, by medical standards, now obese?

I felt like a fraud. Only I knew I was doing everything right but no one else saw me day to day.

The Diagnosis That Changed Everything

By 2024, I refused to do another HCG round. It wasn’t working anymore. I knew something deeper was going on and I was ready to figure it out.

During an IV therapy appointment, my doctor mentioned Lipedema. I looked it up. Joined the Facebook groups. Saw bodies that looked like mine. Heard stories that matched mine exactly. It was a lightbulb moment.

Three different doctors confirmed it: late stage 1, early stage 2 Lipedema. Finally, everything made sense.

Finally On The Path To Healing

The only truly effective treatment is lymph-sparing liposuction.

In 2024, I had four surgeries.

March: Lower legs to above the knees. I saw my kneecaps for the first time in my life.
May: Upper thighs, arms, and axilla.
October: Torso, which had grown rapidly between surgeries.
November: Forearms. I had extensive cuffing and my bracelets and watch no longer fit.

I worked with two incredible surgeons: Dr. Su at Art Lipo and Dr. Hamwi at Florida Plastic Surgery. Both specialize in Lipedema and delivered incredible aesthetic and clinical results.

Recovery was intense, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. I feel strong. I feel like myself. I can wear shorts without second-guessing. The swelling and pain are gone. I move freely. I have my body, and my life, back.

I wore compression around the clock for 6 weeks, got consistent MLD therapy, and even added hyperbaric oxygen therapy for my last two surgeries. I’m still healing, but by November 2025 I’ll be considered fully recovered.

I continue to support my body with strength training, an anti-inflammatory diet, occasional compression, and GLP-1 microdosing to help with inflmmation and to ensure it doesn’t come back.

This wasn’t just about stopping disease progression. It was about reclaiming my identity and finally feeling at peace in my body.

Breaking My Silence

Lipedema is a disease that has stolen so much from so many women, time, confidence, comfort, and clarity. Most of us go years before getting a diagnosis. Most of us are told we’re just gaining weight. Most of us are left to figure it out alone.

Talking about this isn’t easy. But staying silent helps no one.

If you’re struggling with unexplained weight gain, swelling, or pain in your limbs, especially around hormonal shifts, please know you’re not alone. There is an answer. Lipedema is real, and it’s more common than people realize.

This is me, finally speaking the truth about my body. And I have never felt more free.