Woman’s bruises led to life -changing diagnosis (exclusive)

Taylor Omalley never thought that any mysterious bruises would change her life.

For several years she brushed off the marks that dotted her legs, chalked them up to clumsiness or just had sensitive skin. It wasn’t until a social media post and a long-awaited diagnosis finally gave her answers.

“It’s pretty much been all my life,” Taylor tells people and reflects on how her tendency to blow easily once protruded laughter among friends. “In high school it was a kind of joke that I blew so easily, but we just never did anything about it.”

She was not unaware of the signs – far from that. During her first pregnancy, she even took it up with her midwife, who referred her to a blood specialist just to be safe. “My blood has always been normal and nothing really aroused the warning,” she says. “So it was just brushed again.”

Like many women with vague, unexplained symptoms, Taylor spent years being dismissed or overlooked by the medical system. “Most doctors just pied me,” she says. “They would say,” everyone gets bruises “or” some people just bruises lighter than others, “and that would be the end of it.”

Her family and friends were also used to her bruises. “My parents didn’t really care about investigating it because it was just normal for me,” she adds. “There were no other symptoms that seemed serious enough to raise alarms.”

It wasn’t until she stumbled across an Instagram post that everything started to change. Posten mentioned Lipedem – a condition that Taylor had never heard of before.

According to Lipedem foundation“The lipedema is a chronic condition that occurs almost exclusively in women and is manifested as symmetrical structure of often melted fat in the limbs and saves hands and feet.”

When Taylor read through the description, something clicked. “I realized I had all the symptoms,” she reminds. “And then I thought about it for a year before I finally brought it up with my doctor.”

That conversation marked the beginning of what would be a long, mentally exhausting journey towards a diagnosis. “Seeing specialists for my bruise would have been about five years ago,” she says. “But getting a diagnosis here is pretty tricky.”

The difficulty, she explains, derives from the lack of awareness among general practitioners and the absence of a clear diagnostic tool. “You have to find someone who specializes in it,” she says. “And it’s not easy.”

When she was enough for a surgeon, she met with skepticism. “He just sent me back this massive e -mail message and said,” Don’t waste your time getting in if you don’t have one, B and C, “Which I did,” says Taylor. “But it made me doubt myself – made me think I might overreact.”

After months of waiting and a little encouragement from her general practitioner, she finally got a time with a three-month waiting time. “It was pretty mentally loss,” she says. “I had to sit with the uncertainty and hope I didn’t imagine things.”

Recently, Taylor was officially diagnosed with lipedem. “I was actually quite relieved,” she tells people. “The first day was a bit outrageous because I realized that no matter what I do, it probably won’t make any difference.”

For someone as health -focused and active as Taylor, who works as a personal trainer, came the diagnosis with mixed emotions. “All the efforts I have put in the last ten years … It’s not that they were not for nothing, but I will never have the physique that is my goal,” she says. “It’s a little heartbreaking.”

It was still comforting in finally being heard. “I have always thought that I am a bit of an overreactor because pain is one of the symptoms,” she explains. “Even if my dog ​​hits my leg too hard, it actually hurts, but people would say:” It didn’t hurt. ”

Taylor now knows that her pain was not imagined. “Being validated for my feelings makes me feel so much better,” she says. “Even my parents were like,” wow, all these X-rays show that you were actually in pain. ”

Since she was diagnosed, Taylor’s lifestyle has undergone a major change. “It was recommended that I wear compression pants every day,” she says. “And I use a massage gun for daily lymphatic massage.”

She has also reworked her entire fitness routine. “All the education I have done has always been a type of hardcore,” she explains. “But now I have learned that this is the opposite of what I should do.”

Her new regime includes low -power activities such as walking and lifting lighter weights. “Some exercises even cause bruises,” she notes. “If I make hip shocks, my hips bruises. If I squat with a bar, bruises bruises.”

Taylor has also changed how she fits her body. “They recommend a keto or the Mediterranean diet, so much low carbohydrate,” she says. “While I have previously eaten a lot of carbohydrates because that’s what you are told to do for energy and muscle building. So it completely tilted my daily routine up and down.”

Instead of seeing these changes as restrictions, Taylor turns its experience into an assignment. “I actually decided to use this to my advantage,” she says. “I’ve started to put the word there that I want to educate lipedem patients.”

She has already made contacts with potential customers through the specialist who diagnosed her. “Since I also have a nursing background, it’s kind of a win-win,” she says. “They get someone who understands what they are going through.”

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Taylor’s viral tictoc video Discovering her condition has led to a wave of conversation, support and skepticism. “I’ve got a lot of girls to go out to say thank you,” she says. “But there are also people who tell me to be controlled for leukemia or something more serious, which I have done – and I say it in the caption – but people don’t always read it.”

Nevertheless, the support she has been happy. “Women say:” I have these symptoms, I will address it with my doctor, “she says.” I even started a support group and some women have shown interest in that too. ”

Now Taylor hopes that her history can help raise awareness of a condition that is too often misunderstood. “The lipedema becomes wrong for just being overweight,” she says. “People think you’re just fat because they don’t know.”

And what does she want readers to remove from her trip? “You know your body more than anyone else,” says Taylor. “So if you strongly think something is wrong, keep pressing until someone listens – because sometimes you have to get them to listen.”