Beauty
‘I Finally Love My Figure After Years Of Fat-Shaming From Trolls’
She has been called ‘fat’ and a whale due to her condition.
Loana Chira has a medical condition that causes women’s legs and buttocks to swell to unusual proportions. She had first noticed her limbs became unusually large when she was a teenager living in Romania and regularly got bullied at school. As a result, Loana wore frumpy dark clothes to cover her growing thighs and calves.
Loana Chira, 28, has an abnormal build-up of fat cells in her legs, thighs, and buttocks.
In 2014, she moved to London, having landed herself a job in finance. At the time, she worked out obsessively and shared photos of her swelling body on the internet to inspire herself and other women. While her stomach kept shrinking as her abdominals became lean, Loana’s legs and bum remained disproportionately large.
And indeed, years of fat-shaming torment have since shattered Ioana’s self-esteem.
Eventually, her shape took on the classic pear-shaped figure. And as Instagram photos made rounds, she started getting millions of followers, which propelled her to the rank of a Plus-Size Influencer. Only two years ago, Loana learned the word lipoedema when one of her fans DM’d her and suggested she might be suffering from the condition.
She had been bullied at school and had to wear frumpy, dark clothes to cover her growing thighs and calves.
“Lipoedema has caused so much pain over the years. When I was a teenager, I was called fat and a whale and horrible things like that. As I got older, I started working out regularly, but I found it impossible to reduce the size of my legs. At one point, my top half was a size 12, but my bottom half was a size 16, and people assumed I had plastic surgery,” Loana told The Sun.
But things took a turn when she began working out obsessively and posting photos of her body online.
She added: “I spent a lot of time trying to convince people that I had not, but they often would not believe me. I always thought I was overweight because my relatives on my father’s side are big. But then one day, this woman got in touch, and as soon as I researched lipoedema, there were no more questions in my mind – it’s what I have.”
It was two years ago she first heard of lipoedema when one of her fans suggested she might have the condition.
Loana revealed she hurriedly went to the doctor, but they had never had lipoedema and got referred to a specialist at St. George hospital. After a long wait of about six months for an appointment, she was finally diagnosed. She cried for about a week but was also relieved because she realized that everything was not her fault.
Loana cried for about a week’ after being diagnosed with the rare condition but was also relieved.
The influencer accepted it was never going to go away and that she was stuck with the chronic condition for the rest of her life. Fortunately, Loana’s belief of being stuck with the condition was met with an antidote. She was offered a radical treatment to see her figure shrink after a top plastic surgeon spotted her case on Sun Online.
The influencer accepted that it would never go away but not until she met with Dr. Amron.
Loana is presently is torn over whether or not to accept Dr. David Amron’s offer, especially as she now feels comfortable in her skin after years of fat-shaming torment shattered her self-esteem. She continued: “I know this surgery will make a huge difference to the way I look, and I need to think carefully about whether it’s the right thing for me.”
Dr. Amron offered Loana a radical treatment to see her figure shrink after reading her story on Sun Online.
“I’ve had body confidence issues my whole life, and it has taken a long time to get to the point where I love my figure just the way it is. I remember the last time I lost weight, I didn’t feel like myself anymore, and I wasn’t happy. I’m grateful to Dr. Amron for what he’s offering, and I want to help spread the message that lipoedema can be treated, but I need to weigh up whether it’s in my best interests to go ahead.”
He informed her she would need two surgeries on her arms and legs as she has early-stage three lipoedema.
At the end of October, Loana eventually flew to LA to meet with Dr. Amron. The duo discussed treatment, and Loana witnessed firsthand as he performed one of his surgeries on a middle-aged American woman. The Beverly-Hills-based claimed his lymphatic sparing tumescent liposuction is so effective that lipoedema rarely comes back as long as patients adopt a healthy lifestyle afterward.
At the moment, Loana is considering having the surgery, but she feels nervous going through such a change.
Dr. Armon’s treatment isn’t cheap, costing between £3000 and £16000 depending on how far the condition has progressed. His website is filled with pics of women who have gone from the classic tree-like disproportion caused by the health condition to a contrast frame. In Loana’s case, Dr. Amron claimed she’s only 28 but already at stage three of lipoedema. He recommended the surgery as there’s a strong risk that the condition will progress and affect mobility.
Dr. Amron has remarkably changed the legs of other lipoedema sufferers, and this photo is proof.
However, Loana revealed she enjoyed her time in Los Angeles and that it was a great trip. In addition to seeing Dr. Amron perform surgery, the influencer got to meet with a lot of incredible people and even learned more about her condition. In all, she needs two surgeries on her arms and legs as she has early-stage three lipoedema. She’s really considering having the surgery, but she feels nervous about going through such a significant change.
Lipoedema affects 370 million people worldwide and is present in 1 in 9 women in Britain.
