A New Year, A New Chapter
Leaving Oslo behind, arriving in Georgia, and stepping into 2026 with gratitude, intention, and hope for the next egg retrieval journey.
Dear Lipedema Friends,
This is a diary from the past couple of weeks, covering the final days of 2025 and now the first week of 2026. A lot has happened, and I want to share it with you.
We have moved out of our Oslo apartment. Not permanently, but we are renting it out for one year, or longer. The reason is that my partner got a job in Frankfurt, Germany, in March last year, and we have both been travelling back and forth while renting out the apartment on Airbnb. It became exhausting for me, and I realised that hosting on Airbnb in my own home, entirely by myself, was simply too much work and too much stress. As part of managing stress, I want to reduce the things in my life that drain my energy and make my heart rate feel too high. So I decided to speak with my employer to see whether it would be possible for me to work remotely for a year. After some back and forth, we found a good solution, and I can now join my partner so he can work his dream job.
During the holidays, I also worked a lot on content for my Substack, enjoying our old tiled stove from 1884 and our Christmas tree before packing everything away. Our tenant moved in on January 1, so we had to be out by then.
Both my partner and I love the sauna and ice bathing vibe, and we have been doing quite a lot of it lately. For several days, all we did was pack and then drive to the sauna by the ocean. My partner is very focused on the health benefits. He pushes himself for 15 minutes in the sauna and then spends several minutes in the ocean, which is now close to zero degrees in Norway. I am more in it for the feeling, doing what my mind and body want in the moment. I have become used to both the heat and the cold, so it feels natural to challenge myself a bit, but I do not watch the timer and I do not use a watch to track my pulse. I can swim, and while I am in the water, my mind and body feel completely at peace.
Read about contrast therapy with sauna and ice bathing here:
I also published a very interesting article on “The Evolutionary Theory of Lipedema,” which I have been thinking a lot about lately. This is still only a theory, not anchored in solid science, but I do feel there may be something to it. The idea is that those of us with lipedema bodies may, long ago, have been well adapted for storing fat during harsh seasons, potentially supporting both survival and reproduction. Then modern society arrived. Refined sugar, chemicals and pollution, synthetic hormones, food additives, and ultra processed foods.
Think about how we, as girls, have been exposed to so many chemicals over time. I remember being young and using spray tan, lots of perfume, cosmetics from cheap brands, skin care products, shampoo and conditioner, lotions, and hair products that I breathed directly into my lungs while standing there spraying hairspray into my hair and into the air. Cheap nail polish. Plastic clothing directly on my skin, 100 percent polyester. Other chemicals I do not even know the names of. And meanwhile I was also putting my body through years of synthetic hormones from birth control and parabens from creams.
In my twenties, I drank a lot of alcohol, like many people do at that age. I did not really care about sleep. I pushed myself hard at school because my dream back then was to do a PhD. As a young girl, I ate cornflakes with milk and sugar as a meal. As a meal. Think about that. That was considered normal back then. The list goes on. Now think about how different our lives are from our ancestors. Modern society is nothing like the world where fat storage could be a competitive advantage.
Read the evolutionary theory of lipedema here:
I managed to get in my last workout before the next egg retrieval. That matters to me because physical activity supports mitochondrial health, and mitochondrial health plays an important role in embryo development. That is why lifting weights is a key part of the period when your eggs are preparing. A fun fact is that it takes three to six months for an egg to develop. Your choices during that time may affect the outcome, especially if you are on an IVF journey while also having a low ovarian reserve or a low egg count.
Read about part of my journey with egg retrievals here:
On December 31, we had to wake up at 3 am to leave for the airport. After that came a long flight to Tbilisi, Georgia, with a transfer in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Our plan was simple and joyful. We wanted to arrive in time for a wonderful New Year’s dinner at a nice restaurant.
The airport and the aircraft were crowded. Just before landing in Tbilisi, close to 6 pm, the plane moved through dark skies as we descended. During those final moments, someone onboard suffered a heart attack. The person passed away right before we landed on New Year’s Eve. It was deeply unsettling, and it put everything into perspective. Life can change in an instant. It left me with a strong sense of gratitude that I am overall healthy, even as I continue to live with lipedema. It was so tragic, and so surreal. Being that close to death, and then having to continue life right afterwards.
I have lost two of my closest family members, my father and my brother. My father died from cancer only two months after I received my lipedema diagnosis. My brother died in a car accident when I was seven years old, which left me with a great deal of trauma. So I know how devastating it is to lose someone you love. And then I think about the family who lost their loved one on New Year’s Eve, someone who was probably on his way to see family after a long flight. And then, he was gone.
After a calm and cozy New Year’s dinner in Tbilisi, just my partner and me, we went to a spa hotel near the Caucasus mountains. We spent four days swimming, taking saunas, writing content for my Substack, and eating good food.
Now we are back in Tbilisi for my third egg retrieval, which I will share more about later. Egg retrieval involves hormones to stimulate egg growth, or follicles as they are called, and my previous egg retrievals have affected my lipedema quite significantly. I know for a fact that my lipedema is very sensitive to hormones. The last two times, I had to use Yasmin birth control pills, which I knew from experience would worsen my lipedema. This time, I did not use them, and I will be on a much milder hormonal protocol, which I am really looking forward to seeing the results of.
The reason I share this is because it matters to understand that even when you do so much for your lipedema, eating mostly anti inflammatory foods, working out, wearing compression now and then, lowering stress, caring about sleep and breathing, and even undergoing lipedema reduction surgeries, life can still hit you with something that affects your lipedema. And sometimes that something may be even more important to take care of than lipedema. That is part of life. There is no one to blame. You accept it, do your best with what you have, and support yourself through it.
Read an article about synthetic hormones and my lipedema here:
Read about my lipedema changing due to hormonal stimulation here:
Read about hormones and lipedema here:
But let’s also celebrate some good news. In Georgia, it is common to do a breast and thyroid ultrasound, plus an EKG of the heart, before egg retrieval. I had my breasts checked for the second time, and both times they confirmed that everything looked healthy. No fibrosis. I have very fibrotic lipedema with large nodules in my legs and thighs, so this was a huge relief.
Read a new study about breast fibrosis in women with lipedema here:
This will be my year. In 2026, I want to focus on collecting memories. That is one of my top priorities. I also want to protect a steady and healthy mindset throughout the egg retrieval process. I will keep learning about lipedema and stay updated on new knowledge. And I also have personal goals related to my career that I want to move toward with intention.
Happy New Year, Lipedema Friends!
Have you ever had to go through something you knew would affect your lipedema, even though you had no real choice? What was that experience like for you, and what helped you cope?
If you feel comfortable, share your story in the comments. And if this resonated with you, consider subscribing and sharing the post with someone who might need it.
Snakk om å vere tett på livet, på godt og vondt. Viktig å hugse på at vi lever her og no, og at den gode kvardagen er viktigare enn noko anna. Masse lykke til! <3
a beautiful article, carina 🫶🏻