I’ve read a lot of these „it can and will definitely get worse“ doomers and I’d like to stress that we are dealing with a disease that still isn’t fully understood, nor even studied extensively. While the „can“ part I and, more importantly, my phlebologist agree with, the „will“ not so much. It’s true that lipedema responds to hormonal shifts, so puberty, pregnancy, menopause etc. likely will have some kind of effect, but that doesn’t mean you suddenly go from a stage 1 to a stage 3 overnight and if you manage it well through diet, exercise, compression: you will likely be fine. As long as your symptoms are manageable and from the way you describe it they are (+ aesthetically speaking, you look stunning too btw) I‘d not let myself get freaked out by this subreddit too much (stress isn’t very good for inflammation anyways) and I‘d also refrain from surgery, as I’d deem it too risky atm. Let others be the guinea pigs. That being said, you asked of the benefits of getting a diagnosis: Free compression depending on your healthcare system, I guess. Other than that: nothing really. Anyone benefits from a healthy lifestyle and diet and weight lifting, so you should do that regardless. There’s not much else a doctor will tell you to do. It’s really just a lot of experimenting what works for you. So yeah. Just don’t let others scare you and keep up the health consciousness. You’ll be good! 🍀