{"id":899177,"date":"2026-10-29T21:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T21:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/899177\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T21:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T21:20:14","slug":"i-went-from-13-stone-and-wearing-a-size-10-to-an-18-stone-size-20-in-just-18-months-i-had-no-idea-at-the-time-but-i-had-an-incurable-condition-affecting-one-in-ten-women-and-no-exercise-cant-fix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/899177\/","title":{"rendered":"I went from 13 stone and wearing a size 10 to an 18-stone size 20 in just 18 months. I had no idea at the time, but I had an incurable condition affecting one in ten women. And, no, exercise can’t fix it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Five years ago, my lower body ballooned from a size 10 to 20 in a year and a half. I was only 23 and many people were shocked at my sudden weight gain. Was it what I ate? How often I exercised? Was I just lazy?<\/p>\n

Truthfully, it wasn\u2019t any of those things: I have lipoedema, a genetic condition that causes an abnormal amount of fat to accumulate in the legs, hips and occasionally the upper arms. It affects around one in ten women (it’s very rare in men) and there isn\u2019t a cure.<\/p>\n

Until that point, I\u2019d been a slim, confident woman. I\u2019ve played rugby since the age of eight, eventually becoming the Vice Captain of the Widnes Vikings Rugby Team, so I\u2019ve always been toned and loved going to the gym.<\/p>\n

But suddenly \u2013 and with seemingly no explanation \u2013 I went from around 13st to 18.5st in 18 months. I\u2019d never been a bad eater, but I couldn\u2019t understand what had changed so I tried cutting my calories and exercising more, yet my hips and legs kept getting bigger and bigger. I was at a loss.<\/p>\n

As the lipoedema progressed, it became really painful just walking around and I couldn\u2019t play rugby the way I used to. There were days I couldn\u2019t train and I would get restless legs at night so I would be wandering around the house at 3am.<\/p>\n

Worst of all was the mental aspect: I felt so guilty, as though I\u2019d done something wrong that had ruined my body. I\u2019d suddenly adopted a completely different body shape, so I didn\u2019t know how to dress myself. I would wear baggy clothes most of the time and when I played rugby, I\u2019d put leggings on under my shorts to hide my legs.<\/p>\n

\"Chlo\u00e9 <\/p>\n

Chlo\u00e9 Richardson’s lower body ballooned from a size 10 to 20 in a year and a half, as a result of\u00a0lipoedema, a genetic condition that affects one in ten women<\/p>\n

\"Chlo\u00e9 <\/p>\n

Chlo\u00e9 has played rugby since the age of eight but as her lipoedema progressed, it became\u00a0 painful just walking around and she could no longer play the way she used to<\/p>\n

The worst moment was a trip with my boyfriend Lenny to Alton Towers. We queued for over an hour to get on the Wicker Man ride, but when we eventually made it, the lap bar wouldn\u2019t lock because of my size. I\u2019d never felt so embarrassed. It\u2019s so silly looking back, but in that moment all my confidence disappeared.<\/p>\n

Fed up and desperate for answers, I started looking at social media accounts and forums online and I found a woman called Shannon Natalia who posts about her lipoedema. I saw her figure and realised: that\u2019s me. That\u2019s what I\u2019m experiencing.<\/p>\n

After more researching, I found a charity called Lipoedema UK who try to help women get a diagnosis. A lot of doctors don\u2019t know about it and there\u2019s such a stigma with women who gain weight suddenly \u2013 a lot of people think it\u2019s hormones or the contraception you\u2019re using.<\/p>\n

I printed off the charity\u2019s information pack and took it with me to the doctor\u2019s surgery ready to present my case. It was pure luck, but my usual GP was off that day, so I saw a young doctor who thankfully knew about the condition and was able to diagnose me. I know so many women don\u2019t get that privilege and go months wondering what\u2019s wrong with them, often blaming themselves. When I look at photographs of my grandmother, she also had that exaggerated pear shape \u2013 I\u2019ll never know for certain, but I reckon she had lipoedema too and didn\u2019t realise. She just thought it\u2019s something that happens with age.<\/p>\n

\"Chlo\u00e9's <\/p>\n

Chlo\u00e9’s parents helped her fund life-changing surgery to fix her lipoedema, as treatment isn’t available on the NHS due to it being seen as cosmetic<\/p>\n

\"'I <\/p>\n

‘I can\u2019t believe there are so many women who can\u2019t access the life-changing treatment I had,’ says Chlo\u00e9<\/p>\n

The most effective way to manage lipoedema is through liposuction. But although the condition can cause pain and has a huge impact on mental health, treatment isn\u2019t available on the NHS because it\u2019s seen as cosmetic \u2013 those with botched butt lifts can be treated, but women with this genetic condition have no choice but to pay tens of thousands privately or suffer without any medical support. It\u2019s absurd.<\/p>\n

Despite the eye-watering cost, I was determined to get my life back. I started looking up loans online, but my parents could see the impact lipoedema was having on my confidence, so they very generously offered to pay for my treatments. I know how fortunate I am to have that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are surgeries that offer lipoedema treatments in countries like Spain and Turkey, but when you add the cost of travel, accommodation and health insurance, it made more sense to look within the UK. That said, because lipoedema treatment is so expensive (prices start from \u00a36,000 per session depending on the area and often require multiple sessions), there aren\u2019t many options. But I stumbled across Manchester Private Hospital online where they had a specialist, Dr Anuj Purbey, who could help me.<\/p>\n

You can choose whether to do full leg, half leg or the whole lot. I decided to get all the affected areas treated across four sessions.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t experience many side effects, just some minimal bruising, though you do swell for a while, so I worked from home for a few weeks. I work in logistics so I\u2019m lucky I didn\u2019t need to take much time off.<\/p>\n

The transformation \u2013 not just physically, but mentally \u2013 was enormous. My boyfriend says it was like witnessing two different people. I\u2019ll always remember a shopping trip I went on with my mum after the surgery: we picked up loads of clothes that were quite figure-hugging, and I was convinced they wouldn\u2019t suit me. I went to the changing room to try them on and when I walked out my mum just started sobbing, then I was sobbing, and the woman sat next to my mum was sobbing. Later on, my mum said when I came out of the changing room, my face just lit up \u2013 I finally had my glow back.<\/p>\n

A year after the surgery I was able to get back into rugby; my coach said I was so much fitter, faster and more agile. When my legs were large, I would doubt myself, so I\u2019d hold back a bit during a game. Now I\u2019m far more confident and a better player.<\/p>\n

\"Doctors <\/p>\n

Doctors told Chlo\u00e9 that if they didn\u2019t treat her lipoedema, she would have been in a wheelchair by the age of 30<\/p>\n

\"'The <\/p>\n

‘The transformation \u2013 not just physically, but mentally \u2013 was enormous. My boyfriend says it was like witnessing two different people’<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll always have lipoedema and there\u2019s a chance I may have to pay for treatment again whenever I go through significant hormonal changes, such as menopause. Looking back, my condition progressed around the same time I started taking a contraceptive injection which makes sense as lipoedema can flare up with hormonal shifts.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t believe there are so many women who can\u2019t access the life-changing treatment I had. My surgeon and I spoke at an awareness event recently and there were women telling me they were depressed and had considered taking their lives because they couldn\u2019t afford the surgeries. It\u2019s heartbreaking.<\/p>\n

Sadly, the financial cost has put me off having children. I\u2019m 28 now and I may change my mind, but having a daughter who inherits my condition is my biggest fear. I was so lucky my parents had worked hard and could pay for my treatments, but my boyfriend and I aren\u2019t in the same financial position. It wouldn\u2019t be fair for us to say: \u2018Well, your mum did it, but we can\u2019t fund you so you\u2019re going to have to suffer.\u2019<\/p>\n

Every year, Lipoedema UK fight to get treatment on the NHS. We fund so many other treatments, why not this one? Doctors told me if I didn\u2019t treat my lipoedema, I\u2019d be in a wheelchair by the age of 30. How is that fair? It affects so many women, I really hope our options begin to change. I honestly wouldn\u2019t be the happy, confident woman I am today without this crucial treatment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Five years ago, my lower body ballooned from a size 10 to 20 in a year and a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":899178,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[98,337,97,149,133789,1624,135828],"class_list":["post-899177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-dailymail","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-lifestyle","tag-lifestylefitnesswellbeing","tag-nhs","tag-you-mag"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/899178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}