- You are very tired in the head. And I know it will hurt if I step up, says Lars Carlsson, who lives just outside Sundsvall.
When the disease is at its worst, he lies in bed 18 hours a day.
Inflamed fat tuber- It's better in the summer. Then it gets worse and worse all winter and I gain weight, he says.
Under the skin on the back, back of the thighs and on the arms, Lars Carlsson has painful, inflamed fat bumps. He was 36 when he was suddenly affected by the incurable lymphatic disease. He was carefully examined for several years in various departments at Sundsvall Hospital. He was finally diagnosed with Dercum's disease by a specialist doctor in Umeå.
Regular massage helpsSince then he has been operated on over 30 times, but the tubers and aches come back. The more he exits, the more painful lumps of fat arise. The only treatment that Lars Carlsson thinks has helped him is regular massage of lymph therapists. He got that in a year 2015.
- I was treated two days a week and then I was pain-free for four days.
Too low scientific evidenceRegion Västernorrland believes that the scientific basis is too low, it has not been proven that the treatment has any effect on Dercum's disease. Lars Carlsson is of a different view. He believes that the massage makes him healthier and more vibrant.
- Depending on how often I get, I would be pain-free for a while afterwards. It is an incredible feeling if you have had pain throughout your body since 1993.
In the clip above you can see the fat bumps under the skin and Lars's scarred back after all the surgeries.