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On Instagram, the candidate of “Moms & Famous” who delivers without taboo on her weight, revealed that she also suffered from a rare chronic disease, without however losing sight of her goal.
Accustomed to confidences through the television program Moms & Famous, Kelly Helard is also active on social networks. What led her on December 25 to talk about a disease from which she suffers on a daily basis: lipoedema.
“Yes I suffer from lipedema, but in France we are poorly informed”
The young woman who has been talking about her struggle to lose weight since the birth of her children in 2015 and 2020 (a struggle at the origin of a book), thus shared on Christmas Day on her Instagram feed, a video of aerobics, during a trampoline session, one of his practices to lose a few pounds. This is when the word lipoedema appears in the benevolent comments that accompany his video:
“I’m pretty sure you have LIPOEDEMA! Find out from an angiologist who knows the disease and who can diagnose it for you. That would explain this shape of arms and legs that you have which is typical of the disease, as well weight loss which is difficult or even impossible when you suffer from lipoedema.Also if you have pain in the legs and a feeling of heaviness in the arms, it can be a further sign of the disease“, writes his subscriber.
A statement quickly confirmed by the person concerned, who then confided in this chronic disease:
“I talked about it in my book and, yes, I suffer from it. But in France, we are poorly informed. It’s not severe, but it’s annoying because I’m in the gym from Monday to Friday, I pay attention to my diet and I’m losing weight, but slower than normal. I don’t despair, I have already lost 30 kilos“, she revealed.
What is lipedema?
According to the website of the American Hospital of Paris, which has a full page on the subject, lipedema is “chronic swelling of a limb (leg or arm) linked to a dysfunction of the lymphatic vessels. These can no longer perform their role of draining the lymph, which then accumulates in the subcutaneous tissue”. This disease, which gradually sets in from adolescence, could affect 1 in 10 women and remains to be distinguished from obesity because lipedema can occur without a context of overweight.
“In lipedema, the fatty tissue is loaded with water between the fatty lobules: this gives this specific aspect of small ping pong balls to the touch for our specialists in vascular medicine. This results in a fragility of the microcirculation, hence the tendency to hematoma. It is a great source of discomfort, hypersensitivity of the members concerned, associated with aesthetic and psychic suffering.
What is the treatment for lipedema?
To date, the treatment is based on compression, carried out by specialists in vascular medicine, dietary rules and weight control through sport also help to fight against the disease. Lymphatic drainage performed by physiotherapists can also help a lot. Finally, the radical treatment of lipedema is based on surgery.