6 things doctors want you to know about lipedema

If you’re dealing with a health issue you can’t quite figure out, you’re probably searching online to try to figure out what’s happening to your body. And if your TikTok feed includes content related to health and weight loss, you’ve probably determined that you have lipoedema.

Doja Cat is with you. I participated in a Tik Tok video Earlier this week, she learned she had lipoedema, a condition that causes abnormal fat accumulation in the legs or arms. Douga said that she suspects that her mother has this condition, and that she is checking pictures posted on the Internet to find out what is going on. “I was probably in stage one or stage two,” she said. “And it looks just like my legs.” Doja shared that she underwent liposuction (something she previously revealed in 2023), which she hinted she now regrets.

The comments on her post were filled with other people saying they thought they had lipoedema, too. “When I first discovered lipoedema and looked at my legs, I cried,” one commenter said. “If Douga has lipoedema, I’ll probably be okay.” Another offered this: “I lost over 100 pounds and my legs looked exactly the same, like I didn’t lose any weight from my lower half. It was all from my torso. I think I may have lipedema because there are a lot of symptoms that go along with it.”

Lipedema is a huge topic Tik Tok For now, but doctors who treat people with the condition say there’s a lot of misunderstanding surrounding it. Here’s what they want you to know.

1. Lipoedema is more than just fat accumulation.

Lipoedema is a chronic condition that causes abnormal fat accumulation in the lower body, according to Cleveland Clinic. “Patients with lipedema usually experience fat accumulation in the lower extremities and sometimes in the arms, while the hands, feet and trunk areas are spared.” Mir Ali, MDmedical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, tells SELF. “The affected area is usually disproportionate in size to the rest of the body.” Eric Asher, Drsays a family medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in Northwell.

People with this condition can also have a characteristic “slap” of fat buildup near the ankles, Dr. Ali says.

But while abnormal fat distribution is the hallmark of this condition, there is more to it than that. People with lipedema may notice bumps within the fat that look like there’s something under your skin, along with skin that bruises easily, and a heavy feeling in your legs, according to the Cleveland Clinic.