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C-Section Mamas

Painful swollen fat cells all over the body?

Hey guys,

So after I had my baby 16 months ago by emergency c section (May 2022) I had this weird lump on my left thigh which they initially thought was a lipoma then turned out to be something they couldn't define but "most likely" an injury to the fat cells below my skin when I had an ultrasound scan. I was supposed to have a follow up scan 2 months later but they didn't book it and I'm still waiting for it.

Over time, that lump got smaller but the surrounding areas were still sore and lumpy to the touch...as the months have progressed I've now got this lumpy sore bruised feeling almost all over my body (upper and lower legs and upper arms).

From my research it could be lipedema which affects about 11% of women and can occur with hormonal changes such as pregnancy. It makes sense that it might be this but I'm not sure.

I went to my doctor's about this a few months ago when it was just my legs and the GP just told me it's due to hormonal changes and will go away over time....but now it seems to have progressed even more. She didn't mention lipedema. I'm just wondering what else it could be?

It's very painful even when I'm not touching it, when I'm just sitting or walking. When I've had physiotherapy, osteopathy and massage therapy it's very painful whenever the therapist touches those areas.

I'm not overweight...in fact I've lost so much weight since having my son. I'm about 4kg (8.8lbs) lighter than I was before pregnancy.

My upper body does look a bit more slimmer compared to my lower half but I wouldn't consider my hips and thighs to be abnormally large which seems to be the criteria for lipedema. I'm just confused about what this could be.

Does anyone else have this problem?

I'm going to book another appointment with my GP but I'm not hopeful that they will really investigate it.

Thanks in advance!