I thought legs were curvy but found problem – docs drained 6.5L from my thighs

A woman realised she had a health condition by watching YouTube videos.

Alisa Vandercruyssen was 17 when she noticed her legs, arms and abdomen were getting bigger.

Despite her active lifestyle and healthy diet, she believes she piled on around 3.5st.

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The aesthetician, from Michigan in the US, thought she was just "curvy" initially.

And when she went to the doctors complaining about pain and mobility issues, they gave her pamphlets on weight loss.

Alissa recalled: "I'd always been active and pretty trim and then without any lifestyle changes I started to get bigger and bigger."

She roped in a personal trainer and stuck to a strict diet – but failed to shift the pounds.

And when medication didn't even help, she knew something was wrong.

Alisa said: "I was on Ozempic, the highest dose, for six months and I did not lose weight. It looks just like fat so you get diagnosed with obesity all the time."

After researching into her symptoms online, Alisa thought she might have the chronic condition lipoedema – an abnormal build-up of fat

She said: "I came across it on YouTube and brought it up to the doctor after watching a vlog about it. I questioned why I was relating to everything she was saying.

"I realised I had to have six to seven surgeries and I've had one so far where they removed 6.5 litres of nodules from my upper thighs…

"Before the diagnosis I thought I just had thicker legs and cellulite.

"But it feels lumpy as it's nodules forming. It's like tumours forming under your skin.

"All the places that were fatty felt like that.

"It's harmful as it's a progressive disease. It's constantly growing.

"Even normal everyday things are painful to do as you're sitting on the nodules.

"It was a lot of pressure on my knees – I had so much bulk."

Alisa decided to get the lipoedema nodules removed via a £6,500 surgery that was covered by her health insurance.

She said: "I was told I could be referred to a plastic surgeon and the only option of getting rid of it is through surgery. It's called water assisted lipo-suction.

"They take a water hose and break down the nodules and then suck it out.

"It sits directly under the skin and it's very easy to get to. They don't have to go very deep and it took two to three hours.

"They took out 6.5 litres out of just my front upper thighs."

Alisa feels a sense of "relief" after the op and plans to return to the surgery to have the rest of the lipoedema nodules removed soon.

She added: "I know how sad and lonely it was to be in my body.

"But other people don't know that they're doing everything they can and it's not their fault at all.

"It's very underdiagnosed and under researched…

"I'm trying to focus more on how I feel than how I look.

"It will be nice to have an easier time finding my size in stores, but feel more energy and walk without pain!

"I'm excited to see the muscle I've built working out all these years."

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