Call (636)614-1665
Call (636)614-1665
Awareness of Lipedema is way too low. Only a small fraction of the United States population knows what lipedema is. Unfortunately, that also include many members of the medical community. At our practice, every day we hear patients tell us: “I went from Doctor to Doctor and no one could tell me what was wrong”. Even worse, many women affected by lipedema are misdiagnosed obese, when the fat of obesity concentrates around the abdomen, not the legs and arms.
The fat of lipedema concentrates almost exclusively on the legs and arms. The reason the misdiagnosis of lipedema is can be especially detrimental is that it is often followed with the recommendation to “just lose weight.” This recommendation to” just lose weight” is especially frustrating because lipedema fat is highly resistant to weight loss and failed attempts can lead to depression and social isolation.
The reality is lipedema is not a rare disease. At least 10% of the female population or over 16 million American women affected by this disease. While for many with lipedema it may not cause too much disability, for some women with lipedema the disease can be disabling, leading to serious complications and even premature death. The good news is that there are effective treatments for lipedema, and if diagnosed and treated early, all the serious complications can be avoided.
Dr Wright with help of some of his patients has been engaged in a campaign to spread awareness for Lipedema. He has been giving talks and presentations to interested medical professionals, trying to increase awareness for those in the front lines of medical care. He has been trying to get the word out through appearances on news programs like Fox 2 news and local news station KPLR Channel 11. Dr Wright and the Laser Lipo and Vein Center staff have been trying to share the story about lipedema and it treatment on social media. Finally, working with local media, we have issued a press release to about the awareness campaign for Lipedema.
Together we are stronger. Dr Wright is dedicated to educating as many people as possible about Lipedema. However, this important task is not his alone. Hopefully readers of this page will be inspired to share it with family or friends. There are several national organizations that are also trying to spread awareness about this terrible fat disorder. Cure Lipedema, The Lipedema Project USA, Fat Disorders Research Society, Inc. are excellent organizations which are also trying to share information about lipedema and its treatment. Are interested in learning more about lipedema, how it is diagnosed and treated please go to Lipedema.net and or our Intro to Lipedema.
