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Hot Flashes, Heavy Legs: Lipedema Meets Perimenopause & Menopause

Release Date: 12/25/2025

MCAS vs Histamine Intolerance Why Your Body Reacts to Everything (And You’re Not Crazy)

Dear body, I’m listening

“A reaction is not a moral failure— it's information. Your body is just responding to something, and right now it's giving you signals that it doesn't want that or it needs some extra help.” —Donna Piper When every meal feels like a risk and symptoms seem to come out of nowhere, it can start to feel like the body has turned against us. Many in the chronic illness community are stuck between labels like “histamine intolerance” and “MCAS” while still getting no clear plan or validation. This conversation names what is happening in the body and why it is not “all in...

Rest Without Guilt (When Your Worth Got Tied to Output)

Dear body, I’m listening

“Rest isn't a character flaw. It's what your body needs in order to heal from these invisible illnesses. And for some of us, it's also a grief process, because we're not just resting from task; we’re resting from the version of ourselves who thought we had to earn love through output.” —Donna Piper Ep 36 Shownotes: Podcast Platforms We talk about rest like it is simple, but for many bodies it brings guilt, fear, and shame. When worth gets tied to productivity, stopping can feel dangerous even when the body is breaking down. This conversation meets the tension...

Is It POTS? When Standing Up Feels Like a Trap

Dear body, I’m listening

“You're not making it up. You're not weak, you're not failing. Your body is working hard to keep you upright, and you deserve support that matches the reality of that.” —Donna Piper Standing up should not require strategy, recovery time, or mental math. When heart rate spikes, dizziness hits, and showers wipe us out, the hardest part is not the symptom. It is being told nothing is wrong while our body says otherwise. Donna shares lived experience with POTS, dysautonomia, and multiple comorbidities, blending physiology with trauma-informed insight. Her work is shaped by years...

Traveling with Chronic Illness: Germany Edition

Dear body, I’m listening

“If you're traveling with chronic illness, I want you to hear me. There is nothing wrong with you. You just have to prepare a little bit. You deserve to travel in a way that doesn't punish you, that helps you, that makes you feel good.” —Donna Piper Travel takes more out of the body than most people admit. For those living with chronic illness, the cost shows up before the suitcase is even packed. Energy drains through lines, noise, time pressure, swelling, and the fear of crashing far from home. Donna shares her real-time approach to spending a month in Germany while...

Pack, Move, Fly, Heal: Why I’m Choosing Germany for Lipedema Surgery

Dear body, I’m listening

“Movement and less pain is why I'm doing this and why I've chosen to go to Germany.” —Donna Piper Big life changes rarely wait their turn. When health decisions collide with exhaustion, logistics, and uncertainty, clarity matters more than certainty. Donna shares the personal and medical reasoning behind traveling to Germany for lipedema surgery while managing multiple chronic conditions. This episode traces how lived experience, failed conservative treatments, and the need for long-term care shaped a choice rooted in mobility, pain reduction, and nervous system safety. Press play...

Lipedema Surgery Vs. Non-Surgical Care… Do I Have To Choose?

Dear body, I’m listening

“Anything you choose is not weakness. It's the best for you… Instead of thinking surgery or no surgery, try this question: ‘What would make my next step safer?’... Safety is a step, not a switch.” —Donna Piper Pressure around medical choices can turn care into panic. When the body is complex and money, time, and fear are involved, certainty starts to feel like a deadline. This conversation slows that moment down and gives it room to breathe. In this episode, Donna shares her lived experience navigating lipedema and the long road of conservative care, research, and...

Hot Flashes, Heavy Legs: Lipedema Meets Perimenopause & Menopause

Dear body, I’m listening

“Lipedema is not a willpower issue. Shame is not a treatment plan. Late diagnosis does not mean late reality. It means late recognition. Your best advocate is yourself. There's nothing wrong with you. You've just been navigating a body that hasn't been understood by the medical world yet. Be gentle with your capacity. Meet yourself where you are.” —Donna Piper Bodies can change in ways that do not follow the rules we were taught. Pain, swelling, and heaviness show up, and the explanations never quite fit. Many women carry this quietly for years, assuming it is just weight or age....

How Trauma Rewrites Pain Part 4: Flare or Trauma Response? When the Body’s Signals Get Confusing

Dear body, I’m listening

“Flares and trauma responses often look the same because fascia remembers, the nervous system protects, and the immune system overreacts to help defend itself, and the body is trying to keep you alive, not confused. So your job isn't to decode perfectly. Your job is to offer safety consistently, because when the body feels safe, the symptoms soften, and when the symptoms soften, the story changes, and when the story changes, the healing becomes possible.” —Donna Piper The body can shift from steady to overwhelmed without warning, leaving confusion about what just took over. Pain,...

Transformation Boundaries: Protect Energy And Design A Purposeful Life with Didi Selwa

Dear body, I’m listening

“Move forward, take action. It may happen, it may not, but it's just about putting one step in front of the other— doing that is so important. When you go forward, you realize, ‘oh, that's not for me’, but in the process, you discover what is.” —Didi Selwa Drop the guilt of being stuck and discover a movement that meets your body where it is. Press play to hear how embodiment, faith, and small practical steps shift shame, chronic illness limits, and stalled dreams into forward motion. Didi Selwa went from a 25-year banking career to a Certified Transformational Life...

The Science of Feeling Safe: Gentle Practices to Regulate Chronic Stress with Ann Diment

Dear body, I’m listening

"We are the experts in our well-being and our own bodies, and it's important for us to advocate for ourselves. We're not defined by our past. Our past is gone. It's in the past, and the beliefs we formed about ourselves based on what we've been told by other people or experienced in the past aren't necessarily true." —Ann Diment Some seasons of life push us past our limits, and the body keeps score long before we understand why. Many of us try to outwork the chaos, yet the real shift begins when we finally question the version of resilience we were taught to admire. There is a quieter...

More Episodes

Bodies can change in ways that do not follow the rules we were taught. Pain, swelling, and heaviness show up, and the explanations never quite fit. Many women carry this quietly for years, assuming it is just weight or age.

In this episode, Donna shares lived experience and clinical insight around lipedema, a connective tissue disorder often missed until perimenopause or menopause. She connects personal symptoms, years of dismissal, and emerging research to explain why midlife is often when lipedema finally gets recognized.

Press play for grounded clarity, validation without hype, and language that helps make sense of what has felt confusing for too long.
In this episode, we cover:

What lipedema is and how it differs from typical weight gain
Why perimenopause and menopause can intensify lipedema symptoms
Common signs like pain, tenderness, bruising, and symmetry
The role of estrogen, inflammation, and connective tissue
Why labs can look normal while symptoms worsen
Gentle, supportive movement for lymphatic flow
How to talk to doctors and advocate for a diagnosis
Myths that keep women stuck and misunderstood

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:

01:43 Understanding Lipedema and Its Symptoms

04:44 Defining Perimenopause and Menopause

07:04 Lipedema and Hormonal Connections

10:35 Gentle Supports for Lipedema

13:06 Seeking Diagnosis and Support

16:15 Breathing Techniques and Exercises

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 donna@donnapiper.com, and you just might hear your answer on the show.

📚Research Mentioned

Perimenopause + menopause basics:

• ACOG — The Menopause Years (definition + 12-month marker) https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/the-menopause-years

• Mayo Clinic — Perimenopause: Symptoms and causes (estrogen rises/falls; perimenopause ends after 12 months without a period)

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/perimenopause/symptoms-causes/syc-2035466

Lipedema diagnosis timing + delays:

• Falck et al. (2022) BMC Women’s Health — national survey (diagnosis commonly later; symptom onset often earlier)

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12905-022-02022-3

• Lipedema Foundation Registry — First Look Report (average diagnosis age + delay to seeking care; PDF)

Executive summary: https://lipedema.squarespace.com/s/First-Look-Executive-Focus_2022.pdf

Registry page: https://www.lipedema.org/registry-first-look-report

Lipedema + estrogen / menopause-transition models:

• Katzer et al. (2021) Int J Mol Sci — review on estrogen’s potential role in lipedema

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/21/11720

• Pinto da Costa Viana et al. (2025) Int J Mol Sci — menopause as a “critical turning point” model (ER imbalance + intracrine estrogen concepts) https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/26/15/7074

Lipedema symptoms + patient survey data:

• Aday et al. (2024) Phlebology / PMC — national symptom survey (707 women; symptom patterns; mean age)

PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37844030/

Full text (PMC): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10858625/

You’re not failing at weight loss—your tissue plays by different rules. Hear how lipedema shows up, why hormones turn up the volume in midlife, and how to recognize the signs. Listen in for science, lived experience, and gentle next steps.

#DearBodyImListeningPodcast #lipedemaeducation #perimenopausejourney #womenswellness #chronicpain #healthadvocacy #hormonehealth #perimenopause #menopausehealth

Quotes:

01:37 “If you've never heard the word lipedema, you're not alone. Most women haven't, and that's part of the problem.” —Donna Piper

06:08 “Every time they told me my labs were just fine. And that is also part of lipedema… One of the parts of lipedema is that your labs can look different than what your body is doing and the reality of what your body is going through.” —Donna Piper

08:00 “It doesn't mean that you're failing. You haven't done anything wrong. You're just your tissue is different, the connective tissue that you have and the adipose tissue, and how your lymphatic system works.” —Donna Piper

09:49 “Lipedema symptoms can become more noticeable, not because you did something wrong, but because your internal environment has changed. Then, lipedema arrives. Newer model suggests menopause can act like a turning point in lipedema progression.” —Donna Piper

13:45 “Unfortunately, you have to be your own advocate, and you have to educate your doctors. And fortunately, there's a lot more research out there. There is a lot more support out there.” —Donna Piper

15:03 “Lipedema is not a willpower issue. Shame is not a treatment plan.” —Donna Piper

15:13 “Perimenopause is the fluctuating lead-up. Menopause is the 12-month marker, different seasons, different support.” —Donna Piper

15:24 “Many women have symptoms for years and get diagnosed later, often turning during the perimenopause or menopause phase, because that's when the pattern becomes undeniable. Late diagnosis does not mean late reality. It means late recognition.” —Donna Piper

18:52 “Your best advocate is yourself. There's nothing wrong with you. You've just been navigating a body that hasn't been understood by the medical world yet. Be gentle with your capacity. Meet yourself where you are.” —Donna Piper

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.

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