Critical Medical Condition Causes A Vegan mother's Arms And Legs To Swell

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Rachel Latimer, a 43-year-old vegan mother suffers from an agonizing medical condition which has caused her legs and arms to grow and swell, weighing almost 18 stone. She is plagued by lipoedema - a disorder which causes fatty tissue to accumulate around the lower part of the body. This is a condition that is often mistaken for obesity and has made Latimer to go from wearing a size 14 to size 24. 

It is described as an abnormal accumulation of fat cells in the thighs, legs and buttocks, which makes these parts of the body to become enlarged. Although, the hips and the ankles are affected, the feet are left unaffected. Lipoedema makes the skin to feel very cold and bruises easily. It is very painful and can make the affected person to feel pain in the knees.

The condition occurs almost exclusively in women with most symptoms manifesting at the onset of puberty or in pregnancy. The build-up of fatty tissues tends to worsen in people who are obese but can also affect people who have a healthy weight. Although, the cause of the condition is not known, researchers have found a family history in patients. The only treatment used for the condition is known as tumescent liposuction, according to Daily Mail.

Since regular exercise and diet does not help in shifting the fat, Latimer is left with the option of liposuction, which will require her to raise £4,000 to pay for it privately as the NHS would not fund the procedure. The worst thing about the condition is the way people look at you, especially women, the widow, who struggles to walk for more than 15 minutes without taking a break due to the pain, said.

She started noticing the weight gain when she was in her thirties, and has consulted more than 15 dietitians and countless medical appointments for more than a decade. Doctors were mystified as to what exactly was wrong with her

Her pregnancy in 2013 made her condition to worsen, even with that, she delighted at the news. However, things changed while she was still pregnant as her husband, John Taylor, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died just six weeks after.

The traumatic stress she suffered during this period made her limbs to swell even more and made her reliant on family and friends for help. She realized the problem was not going away when the swelling remained after giving birth. She is now scared that she will pass the condition, which has been linked to genetics, on to her baby, according to Medical Tips.

She was diagnosed with stage three lipoedema in October 2015, with her only option being liposuction - a procedure that she is unable to afford the cost on her own, with just few specialists in the UK who can perform the surgery as it is very different from the cosmetic version, she said.

She noted that the condition has prevented her from wearing anything tight due to the pain it causes and has turned into a shell of her former self. People who want to help the widow can donate on her GoFundMe page.