Mum: ‘I feel like I’m wrapped in barbed wire’
TANYA’S RAISING MONEY FOR ‘LIFE-CHANGING’ SURGERY
A MUM iving with a little-known condition which causes an abnormal build-up of fat feels like she is “wrapped in barbed wire”.
Tanya Willings, 49, has been suffering with the effects of lipoedema since she was 12.
The carer from Sutton-in-ashfield says she was “horrendously picked on” at school in her teenage years due to her size, which she now understands to be because of the condition.
Yet, years later, Tanya says people still “stare in the street” while many others have condemned her for trying to raise money for non-cosmetic liposuction, which is not available on the NHS.
“After I got beaten up in the 80s I stopped eating. But it did not stop me getting big, it just made me ill,” Tanya said.
“I tried various diets. I went down to a size six but
I still had size 14 legs. When I fell pregnant with my daughter, Beth, I put on nine stone in nine months.
“I did not know I had lipoedema until after I had Beth and I was really quite low. I developed carpal tunnel syndrome and my lymphatic system shut down.”
After more than a decade of visiting GPS who could not help her, and even longer trying diets, Tanya says clinicians at King’s Mill Hospital managed to diagnose her in the early 2000s.
At first she was told there was no cure, and as she got older the condition worsened, with fat building up in her legs and arms.
As a result the condition is now affecting her role as team leader, where she is on her feet most of the day. “It has been a battle,” she added. “But I have never given up. I have spent thousands on gym equipment and diets.
“When I stand the pain is unbearable. I feel like I’m wrapped in barbed wire.
“People are very judgemental. I look at myself and I am disgusted at how I look. But I will do everything in my power to beat this disease.”
Tanya had surgery in October 2019, which cost £7,200 after decades of saving up.
However, this went wrong and she was bed-bound for nine weeks while her daughters had to bathe her.
Eldest daughter Bethany Tuck, 22, won a £2,500 competition prize on Instagram in a contest held by the founder of Pretty Little Thing, Umar Kamani.
The family are attempting to raise a further £9,200 for her next “life-changing” operation with the Dr Vasu Karri of the Karri Clinic, who specialises in lipoedema surgery.
Sharie Fetzer, chairwoman of Lipoedema UK, said there was an “appalling lack of treatment” for woman in the UK.
“Liposuction can definitely make a huge difference to women’s mobility, pain and self-confidence,” she said.
“Their ability to buy normal-sized clothes and essential footwear such as winter boots, ability to perform their jobs and continue with their careers, and most importantly participate in normal family and social life.
“All these become increasingly distressing and difficult as lipoedema progresses.
“Lipoedema UK will be shortly be part of a presentation to UK trainee surgeons to encourage them to take up surgery for lipoedema as there is a national shortage of suitable surgeons in the UK.
“It is absolutely astonishing that something that is so obviously ‘abnormal’ has been ignored and misdiagnosed by the entire worldwide medical communities for centuries.
“Once you recognise the symptoms, you will notice huge numbers of women walking around without a diagnosis.
“Women who have been told that a poor diet and laziness are the cause of their heavy, tree trunk-like legs and fatty lumps that don’t go away, no matter how good their diet or how hard they exercise.
“These women are completely desperate for help and treatments that will mean they can lead a normal life and reduce pain.”