'I've had lipoedema 30 years': Cheltenham woman forced to diagnose on Google
There's little research into the incurable condition lipoedema
A Cheltenham woman living with lipoedema since the age of 13 has spoken out about the condition after being diagnosed 30 years later.
Housewife Sarah Pinegar started noticing her legs were growing as a teenager.
But, in the end she was forced to self-diagnose on Google.
She's been telling us her story:
"From being a teenager, my legs started to grow, it was embarrassing, my knees started to get quite big, everyone would always laugh at my knees.
"Everyone would laugh"
"You'd sometimes get mean comments.
"I've always been somebody who is quite active, I really wanted to be slimmer, I used to exercise and diet.
"I probably wasn't mentally very healthy, I probably over exercised and over dieted.
"I took up running for a while, but for the whole time, my knees hurt, in the end I could barely walk.
"Finally, a couple of years ago, I googled "why are my knees fat" and Lipoedema pictures came up.
"I sat looking through this information going "that's me" and it made sense all of a sudden,
"I made an appointment with the GP and I was really nervous because a lot of things I'd read online said GP's didn't know about it.
"But I got really lucky, I got a GP who did know.
"I was seen at the Lymphodema clinic and they prescribed me with compression, which is all they can do at the moment
"My mum possibly has this condition as well, and has gone untreated for years.
"There's no way I'll get treatment on the NHS"
"I gain weight easily and I want to control my weight.
"It's very expensive (for treatment), whilst it's effective, it's not a cure, it's just a treatment.
"You're looking at every few years paying again for treatment.
"It's a massive commitment, and it's scary.
"I just don't have the cash, there's no way I will get treatment on the NHS.