I am a 52 year old male. I am very overweight, and I have severe swelling in my legs.

A number of years ago, I damaged a tendon in my right leg. Not realising the extent of the injury, I just hoped it would get better. I began to live with the pain, but the injury slowly started to slow me down, until I was soon living a very inactive life.

I had also got rotator cuff impingements in both shoulders, so this affected my overall flexibility and activity. Pain was now a new partner in my life. 

Covid came along and shut down my business and my marriage started to go through difficulties. I then had to become the primary carer to my 84 year old mother.

This soon led to threats of home repossession and the successful life I had know before was changed completely. 

I now have severe swelling in both legs from the shins to the feet. The front of the shins have unsightly skin damage. I have been to many doctors and specialists and I have to say, I am losing confidence in the medical sector.

Some say, I have eczema, others say I have psoriasis, more psioratic arthritis. One specialist said I was a ‘dead man walking’ in a disturbingly jovial tone and said it was all due to my weight.

One consultant referred me to another consultant for an injection under ultrasound that would fix everything. I went to the referred consultant and she heeled up my leg, put it on the ultrasound and at the last moment said that she had to ‘call it off’ that if she gave me this injection, that it would do more damage than good. When I asked her what was to be done, she just shrugged and said ‘ go back to your consultant’, then snapped her glows off and started talking to her colleagues. I couldnt believe the rudeness and the lack of professionalism, so I left before I said something I’d regret.

When I DID go back to my original consultant he started asking me for explanations as to why she had called off administering the injection. I somewhat exasperatedly told him that I assumed they had spoken, to which he mumbled something incoherent. Eventually he had me fitted for expensive, but mostly ineffective orthotics.

Another specialist in joint pain that I went to recently  recommended a specialised diet that when printed out just said ‘don’t consume ANYTHING with ANY sugar in it, potatoes, rice, pasta, wheat,  bread, milk, alcohol, fruit or veg’. No, I’m neither joking or exaggerating - ALL FRUIT OR VEG. I put it to him that retain veg must surely be ok, broccoli or red peppers meat ..? But he was adamant - protein and fat only, which to be fair I have seen in other diets and recommendations before. 

This doctor suggested that if I failed in this diet, there could possibly be some kind of liposuction operation, which I don’t want to consider. He also said the skin condition can not be fixed - that i should just live with it. I mentioned to him that friends and neighbours have got injections from him that gave them great relief for joint pain - he said that they wouldn’t do me any good and redirected me to the weight issue and the diet - I ttied to make the point that these diets (which I have tried and had some success with over the years) often tend to result in rapid weight gain once they are stopped. He just said ‘not this one’ and looked at his watch. He then directed me out to his receptionist whogave me a bill for €200.

NO ONE has been able to explain the swelling in my legs or how to ease it. NO ONE has been able to give me any form of pain treatment.

Every medical consultant I have gone to has cost over €200.

The pain is now affecting my mind. I’m not sure how much longer I can take the pain, the recriminating looks or the condescending chuckles about mental rigour and losing weight.

I’m beginning to feel that the medical community see an overweight person and confuse our weight gain with some kind of character weakness that requires us to be punished or have pain treatment withheld - like airlines charging more for seats to those who are overweight.

I was once a slim, active man. I want to get better, and I am doing what I can to reduce my weight in the circumstances that I am in. But I need pain relief. It can take a year and a half for me to lose the weight and I can’t believe that there is not SOME kind of joint injection that i could be given. And even if I DO manage to lose something like 70 kilos, is my injury going to disappear? Slim people don’t get ankle injuries? I mean, I’m happy to follow the science, but I’m a believer in logic too.

I’m also worried that the swelling in my legs could be an indicator of cancer, but as far as I’m aware, none of the doctors looked into that. The consultants especially seem to focus more on sending in a junior physio / doctor and they just talk about weight management. THERE IS AN INJURY THERE, HOW CAN THAT NOT BE ADDRESSED!? I’m too fat - therefore I don’t deserve to have valuable injections wasted on me? I even enquired about stem cell treatment and they actually laughed at me as if I had mentioned something I had “just seen on the telly”.

Re-reading all of the above, I know that this just looks like a massive rant where everyone is at fault but me. Sorry if it comes across that way, it’s just that I can feel youth ebbing away and life along with it.

If somebody could advise me on :

- is there any dermatological solution to the skin issue on my shins (it looks like a dark purple burn and the last consultant said it could well turn into ulcers in later life - IF I LIVE THAT LONG)

-practical Edema / Lymphodema recognition and treatment
- pain management solutions / suggestions for damaged ankles

 I’d be very grateful.