Do You Need a Lipedema Diagnosis for Medical Treatment?
The answer might surprise you.
Part of the work I do with Lipedema women is to help them work on getting a diagnosis in their medical chart with their primary physician. Getting diagnosed is especially important for liposuction surgery because your insurance will require TWO doctors to give you a diagnosis. One of them is the surgeon who will operate on you, but another is from a non-surgical physician. That physician is usually the one you seek for an initial diagnosis.
Many women—including myself— don’t get diagnosed until they pursue liposuction surgery. I had both of my diagnoses done on the same day, in the same office, and it was coupled with a surgical consult for lipo surgery.
Since then, I’ve been advocating for women to get a Lipedema diagnosis much sooner than when they’re ready for surgery. And as Lipedema becomes more visible, women are discovering they have Lipedema before they are so advanced in their disease to the point of needing surgical intervention.
However, do you really need a Lipedema diagnosis for non-surgical or conservative medical care?