The Pain You Can’t See: Lipedema Hurts Like Hell

August 13, 2025

“The pain I carry is real, and I no longer have to carry it in silence." —Donna Piper

How do you explain pain that no one can see? Lipedema isn’t “just extra weight”—it’s burning thighs, unexplained bruises, stabbing aches, and heaviness so dense it changes how you move through the world. This is the reality behind the polite smiles and quiet endurance.

With unflinching honesty, Donna gives language to a pain that millions silently carry. She reveals how her lipedema symptoms were mistaken for lifestyle issues, while the truth was a chronic, progressive illness impacting every part of her life—from digestion to mobility.

If you’ve ever been told you “look fine” while your body feels like a war zone, this conversation is for you. Hit play now to learn the signs, challenge the myths, and find solidarity in a community that sees you.

Connect with Donna:

Website: https://www.donnapiper.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnapiper

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lipedema_donna

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedonnapiper

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thedonnapiper

Episode Highlights:

01:20 Lipedema: The Physical and Emotional Toll

03:43 Acknowledging and Validating Pain

05:14 Creating a Supportive Community

Resources:

🤔Got a question for me? Every month, I do a listener coaching episode—and I’d love to hear from you!

Send your questions, stories, or flare-up confessions to [email protected], and you just might hear your answer on the show.

Pain doesn’t have to look loud to be true. Lipedema is real— and it hurts like hell! In this episode, Donna exposes lipedema’s hidden pain & daily fight. Listen now. #DearBodyImListeningPodcast #Lymphedema #lipedema #MCAS #ChronicIllness #BodyAdvocacy #PainIsReal #PainValidation #HealthEquity #ChronicPain

Quotes:

01:46 “Lipedema pain just isn't uncomfortable. It hurts like hell— and not just sometimes." —Donna Piper

02:16 "The worst part is being told you're fine." —Donna Piper

03:09 "Lipedema is an excruciating, underdiagnosed, soul-bruising condition that deserves better awareness. End of story; full stop." —Donna Piper

03:35 "Chronic pain doesn't always look loud." —Donna Piper

03:46 "We're masters of masking. We smile with pain levels at 7, 8, 9, 10." —Donna Piper

03:59 "Just because someone isn't writhing on the floor doesn't mean their pain isn't real." —Donna Piper

04:04 "Pain doesn't have to be performative to be valid." —Donna Piper

05:01 "The pain I carry is real, and I no longer have to carry it in silence." —Donna Piper

05:22 "You're not crazy, you're not lazy, and you're definitely not alone." —Donna Piper

Meet Your Host:

Donna Piper is a Relationship Coach, Trauma Expert, and Akashic Records Healer dedicated to empowering successful single women to transform their love lives and attract fulfilling partnerships without sacrificing their professional ambitions.

With a holistic approach blending therapeutic coaching, trauma-informed techniques, and Akashic Records wisdom, she guides clients to release limiting beliefs, heal emotional blocks, and cultivate unshakable self-trust. Her work focuses on aligning mind, body, and spirit to create lasting change—helping clients refine communication, deepen self-worth, and build the foundation for healthy, loving relationships.

Donna’s sessions are a safe haven for those ready to break cycles, embrace vulnerability, and design a love life that harmonizes with their thriving careers. For women committed to both personal and professional fulfillment, she offers tailored strategies to unlock their full potential and step into the relationship of their dreams.

Episode Transcript

PODCAST INTRO: Hey, beautiful soul, and welcome to Dear Body, I'm Listening, the podcast for women living with chronic pain, mysterious symptoms and invisible illness. I am your host, Donna Piper, movement therapist, pilates instructor and chronic illness navigator. The space is for the ones who've tried everything, felt dismissed and are still searching for answers. If you've ever felt like your body's speaking a language no one else understands, you are not crazy, and you are not alone. Here we go beyond diagnosis and let you know what diagnosis you try to seek. We talk about swelling, fatigue, brain fog, body shame, nothing is off the table. We explore healing through somatic spirituality, movement and truth telling, because healing isn't linear, and either are we.

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Donna Piper: Hey, love, let's get into it. Today's episode is not wrapped in a bow, it's not polite, it's not sugar coated. It's for the days you feel like you're living in a body that is screaming silently while the world calls you lazy or dramatic. I'm talking about the pain you can't see, the pain of lipedema, and everything that comes with it. The burning, the bruising, the heaviness, the emotional gut punch of being told over and over that everyone has cellulite, or you just need to move more. This one's for the ones living in the war zones. No one sees I see you.

Let's talk in today's Real Talk Recap. Here's the truth. Lipedema pain just isn't uncomfortable. It hurts like hell, and not just sometimes. It's the chronic burning in your thighs when you're just sitting. It's that dull, deep ache in your calves when you're standing too long. It's the random stabbing pains that come out of nowhere. It's waking up bruised without bumping into a single thing. It's a heaviness so dense it feels like someone strapped saddle bags to your limbs. But the worst part, it's being told you're fine. It's crying from pain and being handed a weight loss out. It's the gaslighting from doctors, family, and even yourself.

And it doesn't stop at lipedema. There's the constipation that no one talks about because lymph congestion affects the digestion, the headaches that pulse with hormonal shifts, joint pain from compensating for misaligned weight. And if you have MCs, like most of us do, their flares feel like your body is being allergic to everything, and you're supposed to smile through it to keep going. To explain again and again that you're not just overweight, that your pain is real. This is what they don't see, what they don't believe, but I do. And I'm not afraid to say that Lipedema is an excruciating under diagnosed soul bruising condition that deserves better awareness. End of story, full stop.

Let's bust a myth right now and take a moment to do that. And this bust is a big one. So the myth is, if it really hurts that bad, you'd be crying or in a hospital. You can't possibly be at level 10. Truthfully, chronic pain doesn't always look loud. You adapt, you normalize it. You have to keep living, and you have to keep going. Because what choice do you have? We're masters of masking. We smile with pain levels at 7, 8, 9, 10. We went to the grocery shop at 8. We collapse in silence at 10. Just because someone isn't writhing on the floor doesn't mean their pain isn't real. Pain doesn't have to perform to be valid. Remember that pain doesn't have to be performative to be valid.

Now, let's move into something more positive, the Feel Good Flow. Let's try something gentle today, not to fix the pain, but to acknowledge it. Place one hand over the most tender place in your body right now. The part that feels heavy, or inflamed, or tired now whispers either aloud or in your mind, I know you're hurting. I'm not ignoring you today. Breathe into that space even if it doesn't relieve the pain. Notice how it feels to stop fighting your body, and start witnessing her. Repeat after me. The pain I carry is real, and I no longer have to carry it in silence. The pain I carry is real. I acknowledge her, and I no longer have to carry it in silence.

If you are nodding through tears right now, this episode was for you. If you've ever looked fine while feeling like you're falling apart, this space is for you. You're not crazy, you're not lazy, and you're definitely not alone. Please share this episode if it gives you any language for what you've been carrying, and tag me at Donna Piper, or at lepidima_donna on Instagram. Or you can drop any comment below if it hits home. We're building a world where the pain you can't see finally gets heard because your body isn't lying, and neither are you. I love you. I'm with you. I'm one of you. And I am so damn proud of you for surviving this long without the support you deserved. Let's change that, starting here. See you next week. Thank you. You.

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PODCAST OUTRO: If this episode made you feel even a little more seen, brought you a dose of clarity or pointed you toward your next step, please rate, review and share it with someone who's been quietly carrying the same questions. You can find some more resources, blog posts and healing tools over at donnapiper.com. Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Until next time, Dear Body, I'm listening, and I am so glad you're here.

The Pain You Can’t See: Lipedema Hurts Like Hell

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