Lipedema Warrior Clinic

02/02/2026

MCAS + Nervous System

02/01/2026

**Mental health and lipedema**

The other day, a friend and I were on a walk when a neighbor stopped us. They went on and on about my friend’s 40-pound weight loss. I watched the words land like confetti around her, deserved and earned.

And quietly, something in me sank.

My feelings are valid. The hurt is real.

I have lost over 100 pounds. My BMI is lower than my friend’s. Yet my weight loss often goes unnoticed, hidden beneath the reality of lipedema. This disease does not reward effort with visible proof. It asks for discipline, restraint, consistency, and patience, then withholds the applause.

I am genuinely proud of my friend. I know how hard weight loss is. I know the daily choices, the mental negotiations, the moments of doubt. She deserves every word of praise.

Still, there are moments when I have to be my own cheerleader. Silently. Alone.

Lipedema teaches an unspoken lesson about mental health. You can do everything right and still be overlooked. You can be strong and still ache. You can celebrate others fully while grieving the invisibility of your own progress.

Both truths can exist at the same time.

If this resonates with you, know this. Your effort counts, even when no one names it out loud. Your progress is real, even when it does not fit someone else’s definition of success. And you are not weak for feeling this way. You are human, navigating a body that asks more of you than most will ever see.

Today, if no one else says it, I will.
I see the work. I see the resilience. And it matters. I celebrate YOU!

If your struggling reach out, our clinic exists for YOU https://www.lipedemawarriorclinic.com/-

01/30/2026

Lipedema rarely worsens overnight. It tightens its grip quietly, shaped by patterns that seem ordinary on the surface and exhausting underneath. Understanding those patterns is the first act of reclaiming control.

⚠️Lifestyles that tend to worsen lipedema

Chronic inflammation as a baseline
🍕A diet heavy in ultra-processed foods, refined carbohydrates, seed oils, and frequent sugar spikes keeps the immune system on constant alert. For someone with lipedema, this amplifies pain, swelling, fibrosis, and tissue tenderness.

Sedentary rhythms or punishing exercise cycles
📺Too little movement slows lymphatic flow.
🏃‍♀️Too much high-intensity, cortisol-spiking exercise can inflame connective tissue and worsen swelling. Many women bounce between the two, blamed for “not trying hard enough.”

🫨Unmanaged stress and nervous system overload
Living in fight-or-flight increases cortisol, destabilizes mast cells, worsens insulin resistance, and interferes with lymphatic drainage. Trauma, caregiving, sleep deprivation, and perfectionism quietly compound symptoms.

🧬Hormonal disruption without guidance
Perimenopause, menopause, birth control, thyroid imbalance, or unmonitored hormone therapy can accelerate lipedema progression when not addressed thoughtfully and individually.

🙈🙉🙊Medical gaslighting and fragmented care
Years of being told “it’s just weight” leads many women to try extreme diets, excessive cardio, or self-blame. This often worsens metabolic dysfunction and deepens inflammation rather than resolving it.

🙏How Lipedema Warrior Clinic helps guide a healthier path ~
We do not ask women with lipedema to fight their bodies. We teach them how to work with them.
Root-cause clarity instead of guesswork
Through advanced testing, we identify each person’s unique inflammatory drivers. Food reactions, insulin resistance, hormone imbalance, mast cell instability, gut dysfunction, mitochondrial stress. No assumptions, no copy-paste plans.
Anti-inflammatory nutrition that is livable
Not restriction. Precision. We guide patients toward foods that calm the immune system, stabilize blood sugar, and reduce edema, using objective data and ongoing support rather than rigid rules.

🚶‍♀️Movement that supports lymph and joints
Gentle, strategic movement plans that improve lymphatic flow without triggering flares.

This is especially critical for those with hEDS, pain syndromes, or post-surgical needs.
🧬Hormone and metabolic support with intention
We address thyroid health, perimenopause, menopause, insulin resistance, and metabolic dysfunction in a way that protects connective tissue and long-term vitality.

🧘‍♀️Nervous system regulation as medical care
Stress physiology matters. We help patients downshift from survival mode into stability, because healing cannot occur in constant alarm.
Continuity, education, and partnership
Every visit is part medical care, part teaching. Patients learn how to read their bodies, track meaningful metrics, and make decisions with confidence rather than fear.

Start making a difference in your health care. Health is Wealth. Scheduled your appointment today with Dr. Rodriguez.

https://intakeq.com/booking/wymhje

01/30/2026

Lipedema Warrior Clinic is No Hype, Just Hope.

01/30/2026

What counts as “low carb” is more personal than popular posts make it sound.

Research definitions vary widely. Some studies call under 130 g per day low carb. Ketogenic research often studies 20 to 50 g. Meanwhile, metabolic health, activity level, hormones, and medications all change how someone responds.

Two people can eat the same grams of carbs and see very different blood sugar, satiety, or weight outcomes.

The takeaway
Low carb is not a moral badge or a universal number. It is a metabolic range that should fit your body, your labs, and your goals.

Evidence over trends. Personalization over comparison. That is where sustainable results live.

Let us help you customize exactly what you should be eating based on your body - not everyone else's 🙂

01/29/2026

Why This Research Matters

01/28/2026

A Possible Treatment Being Studied: Sodium Cromoglycate

01/27/2026

For years, my body was telling a story no one could hear.
The pain in my legs that never matched the scale.
The swelling that did not respond to effort or discipline.
The reactions that seemed random.
The joints that slipped, burned, and failed me without warning.
I was told it was,
Stress.
Weight.
Anxiety.
Aging.
It was none of those things.
I live with lipedema, hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and mast cell activation syndrome. Those diagnoses did not arrive quickly. They arrived after years of gaslighting, confusion, loss, and watching my life shrink while I did everything I was told to do.
When I finally had names for what was happening in my body, something shifted.
Not relief.
Clarity.
And clarity is where real healing begins.☯️
What I learned, painfully and slowly, is that these conditions do not exist in isolation.
They are,
Inflammatory.
Neurological.
Hormonal.
Metabolic.
They require time, curiosity, pattern recognition, and care that looks at the whole system, not just a symptom.
That is why we built Lipedema Warrior Clinic.
Not because we wanted to open another clinic.
But because I could not find the care I needed, even with access to physicians.
What we offer is what I wish I had earlier.
📄Data-driven inflammation mapping.
🍎Food sensitivity testing that removes guesswork.
🦠Support for mast cell stabilization, not just avoidance lists.
🦵Joint-protective strategies for hypermobility.
🔓Hormone and metabolic support that respects complexity.
💉GLP-1 therapy used thoughtfully, not as a blunt instrument.
♾️Peptides, CGM support, and longevity-focused care when appropriate.

Most importantly, time.⏰ Listening. Validation.
If you have been told your labs are normal while your life feels anything but.
If your symptoms cross specialties and no one connects the dots.
If you are doing everything “right” and still getting worse.
I see you. I was you.
This clinic exists because women like us deserve better medicine.
Not louder opinions. Not quick fixes.
Better questions. Better data. Better care.
— Angela

Only 9 months between the 1st picture and the second picture, with no dietary changes.
3 years between the second and third picture.
It took me 1 year after starting treatment to achieve the results in picture 3.

01/27/2026

Lipedema Tissue Showed Higher Histamine Levels

01/26/2026

Most women are told: “Eat less. Move more.”
But what if the real problem is that your body is trapped in a biochemical loop?
Here’s the loop I see over and over:
Standard American Diet → insulin spikes → insulin resistance → hormone chaos → thyroid slowdown signals
And then it shows up as:
🟣 swelling that feels unpredictable
🟣 stubborn fat that does not behave like “normal weight”
🟣 fatigue that makes you doubt yourself
🟣 cycles, mood, sleep, and inflammation all feeling louder
Insulin resistance is not only about diabetes.
When insulin stays high, it can lower SHBG, which can increase “free” hormones in the body. That can mean more symptoms and less stability.
Meanwhile, thyroid hormones help regulate metabolism, and thyroid signaling and insulin resistance influence each other. Add inflammation, and the whole system gets noisier.
Now add lipedema to the picture.
Lipedema often flares around hormonal transitions (puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause).
You are not imagining that pattern. Science is catching up.
At Lipedema Warrior Clinic, we do not guess.
We map your inflammation and metabolic signals with real data, then build a plan that fits your body:
• Continuous glucose monitoring support
• Advanced labs and root-cause testing
• Thyroid and hormone evaluation
• Nutrition guidance designed for inflammation control, not punishment
• Telehealth in 47 states or in person with Dr.Rodriguez

If you want, comment “MAP ME” and I’ll tell you the first 2 metrics I look at to see if insulin and hormones are driving your symptoms.

No gaslighting. Just signals, strategy, and steady progress.

01/26/2026

Mast Cells May Play a Role in Lipedema

01/23/2026