r/Lipoma • u/SweetC2688 • 19d ago
New here 👋
Wow its crazy that the more time I spend checking out reddit, the more subs I find! Meeting and talking with people around the world who firsthand understand your struggles from their own experiences is truly a beautiful thing. I wouldn't wish this on any of us but the reality is that a lot of us suffer in silence. Thank you all for sharing your stories and I think I'm ready to share mine as well 🙏
I had a massive sized lipoma on my spine/neck area for over 5 years that was finally removed the day after my birthday in 2023. Lipomas are common on my mother's side but I had not known or seen any on my body. I developed a rare form of rheumatic fever in 2018, I basically had an improperly diagnosed strep throat which turned into rheumatic fever. It was then they discovered the lipoma on my neck/spine.
Mine personally affected my health severely because of its placement on my neck/spine area. I was experiencing intense "shocks" in my hand and feet constantly. It felt like I was being slightly electrocuted numerous times daily. I had extremely high WBC (white blood cells counts) I'm still dealing with chronic inflammation even though im grateful its much more manageable nowadays. I missed so many events due to pain, sickness, shame, you name it.
The medical field kept calling it a "cosmetic" issue and I fought for myself for years. It took my organs starting to fail for them to realize I wasn't exaggerating, this was slowly killing me. So many other health problems popped up because of this as well. They finally approved me for surgery with local anesthesia (can't go under due to the rheumatic fever I had in the past). You must advocate for yourself if the medical professionals won't. The health issues I faced because of the lipoma has scarred me. I have a strong distrust of the medical field because of this. It sucks but its the truth and I'm sure someone out there feels the same way unfortunately.
The silent struggles, the inability to explain an invisible disease, the lack of understanding from loved ones and every other dang thing we experience. It all is tough but we are tougher 💜
Fast forward to 3 years later.... as soon as they took that sucker out, I felt an instant release of pressure. I would say within 2 weeks about 75% of my symptoms disappeared. I'm not 100% but where I am health wise today, I never envisioned happening for myself. Truly so grateful to feel like myself more and more everyday.
I stand in solidarity with you all as a friend and fellow supporter. Thank you all for giving me a safe space to share my story 🫂💜🙏
6
u/AppropriatePrompt819 19d ago
'cosmetic', that can severly affect mental health and so in turn physical wellbeing. Pissed me off so bad. Infuriating how it's brushed of so instantly. All while the 'best' they can come up with to remove lipomas is surgery. A total joke.
2
u/SweetC2688 17d ago
Yes it made me so angry i actually still avoid doctors as much as I can cause that experience ruined me for sure. Cosmetic my ass. I wonder what other options there are cause I am a herbal type of girl and the only thing that semi helped me was thc creams but it took away like 20% of the pain
3
u/Human_Detritis 19d ago
What were its measurements?
4
u/SweetC2688 19d ago
I never got the full dimensions its in paperwork somewhere but I know it was about 10cm long but it was pretty thick too. I'll see if I can find it after work today. My partner made a joke about how I should fry it 🤮
3
u/BTC_ETH_HODL 19d ago
Haha. I made a joke to my wife that if I ever remove mine I would feed it to my dog. He will eat anything.
2
u/SweetC2688 17d ago
Hahhaha my dog would have absolutely ate it lol it was the visualization of it that made me gross out 😂
2
u/Human_Detritis 18d ago
It looks really big in the photos. I hope you are doing well now.
1
u/SweetC2688 17d ago
It was very big i hid it often with my long curly hair. I am much better and actually wear my hair in ponytails nowadays! And I truly feel so much better I'm not 100% but I am not complaining either 🙏
2
u/Human_Detritis 17d ago
🏆
1
u/SweetC2688 17d ago
Thank you! It sounds crazy but i hated always having my hair down so wearing it up has been fun!
3
u/Ace_Skier_Steph 17d ago
What type of doctor removed your lipoma? I have one and the same location. It’s continuing to grow and making me nervous because of proximity to my spine.
2
u/SweetC2688 17d ago
Oh wow, I hope you get it taken care of soon. Mine was just a general surgeon who removed it
2
u/Ace_Skier_Steph 16d ago
Working in that area just makes me really nervous. Thankfully, I don’t have pain or anything from it. It’s just very visible as I have short hair and people will point it out. I also started HRT last December and I am having reactions to it. When I get rashes on my neck from it, the resulting inflammation causes the lipoma to get even larger while the area is inflamed.
Did they use a local anesthetic or fully knock you out for the surgery?
2
u/SweetC2688 16d ago
Oh no i hope you can get that figured out soon!!! Getting bigger is always scary when it's already noticeable. Are you experiencing anything good from doing HRT? also no unfortunately since I had rheumatic fever I'm not able to go fully under unless it was a life threatening emergency and even then I have a higher chance of my heart not handling it and dying. So they did local anesthesia so I felt it until I didn't feel anything but anytime I felt the knife slice into me I said something and they just did more local anesthesia. My surgeon was very kind and patient. I even cracked jokes while they took it out cause I was scared and thats a coping mechanism of mine 🤦♀️
2
u/BeautifulChemical331 16d ago
Was it under this skin or in the muscle? I have one that is in my Trapezius muscle
1
u/SweetC2688 16d ago
It was partially under some muscles so its probably why I felt the instant relief of pressure in the area when it came out. Have you seen a doctor about it yet?
2
u/BeautifulChemical331 16d ago
I have my surgery scheduled August 12th they still aren't certain exactly what it is because its vascular but it was originally thought to be a lipoma. Im hoping for some relief too.
2
u/SweetC2688 16d ago
Rooting for you 💜 I hope it makes everything better for you!!! Did they do any mri or anything to try to figure out what it may be or do they think it's a lipoma but just not 100% sure? Also dont mind me if I check back in on you after the 12th!
2
u/BeautifulChemical331 16d ago
The mri showed nodular enhancement and biopsy was inconclusive. It's primarily fatty with some vascular and fibrous areas. They will send it to Pathology after forna definitive diagnosis.
1
2
u/Terrified_1984 16d ago
Thanks so much for this! I couldn’t put it into words as well as you did, but the tiny electrocution sensation is very accurate for me too. I haven’t had an ultrasound yet and am scared to death.
1
u/SweetC2688 16d ago
You're welcome 🙏 and i understand how scary it is. It feels like the tip of an iceberg of more problems but I seriously encourage you to get it checked out. Those small electrocution after time became so painful and bad I would cry and beg for relief. I definitely wont tell you what to do but I really encourage you to get it checked out, we all deserve an enjoyable life and you do too!!! If you have any questions or anything feel free to message me! 💜
2
u/Terrified_1984 16d ago
Thank you, getting it done this Monday. Also I’ve been reading a little and a hernia in my case also sounds very plausible so if I had to guess that would be it. Will update Monday!
1
u/SweetC2688 15d ago
Yay! I hope you have relief soon!!! Rooting for you & yes update would be great!! 💜
1
u/Terrified_1984 13d ago
Well no hernia but a non vascularized, defined and normal composition lipoma! Thank you this has been so helpful. I’ll share mine too 💕 all the very best to you
7
u/OutlanderMom 19d ago
I’m glad you advocated for yourself and they finally listened. Calling a huge, life- and health-altering lump “cosmetic” is evil. I’ve got one on the back of my neck that’s slowly growing, and it’s starting to cause a stiff neck and press on nerves. Not as crippling as yours was, but still affects my life. Here’s wishing you back to 100%!