Willow turns the effort you already put in, the measuring, the compression, the appointments, into a record that holds up in a consulting room. Guided leg measurements, a daily log that takes two taps on your worst days, and a doctor-ready PDF containing the documentation insurers commonly ask for.
Because lipedema tissue responds poorly to diet and exercise. Body weight can fall while leg circumference stays flat or increases, which is exactly why "just lose weight" advice fails and why so many women are disbelieved. Willow charts your weight against your own leg measurements so the divergence becomes visible instead of arguable.
You lost the weight. You did the work. The scale moved and your legs did not, and somewhere in that gap you stopped being believed, sometimes including by yourself.
Willow reads body weight from Apple Health, read-only, or you can type it in, and draws it against the circumference numbers you measured yourself. Two lines pulling apart on one chart says in a second what takes ten minutes to explain, and it is your data, not a diagram from a leaflet.
It appears in Appointment Mode, in the doctor visit report and in the evidence packet, because it is the same fact each of those audiences needs.
Policies commonly ask for a clinical diagnosis, three to six months of documented conservative therapy such as compression and manual lymphatic drainage, dated photographs, circumference measurements over time, and evidence of functional impairment. Willow builds that record as you live it and marks plainly what is still missing, rather than hiding the gaps.
The cruel part of this requirement is that it is retroactive. You cannot go back and create six months of dated evidence the week you decide to apply. It has to have been built while you were living, on the days your legs hurt most and logging felt like the last thing worth doing.
So Willow makes it two taps. Wore your compression, felt this heavy. That is the whole daily obligation, and it quietly becomes a compliance record with real dates on it.
When a denial letter arrives, the Decoder reads it on your device, in plain language, and lines the stated reasons up against what you already hold. Willow does not assert medical necessity. That is your clinician's letter to write, and the packet says so.
Measure in the morning before your legs swell through the day, never straight after exercise, at six fixed points per leg: ankle, lower calf, upper calf, knee, mid thigh and upper thigh. Keep the tape snug but not tight, record both legs, and repeat every two to four weeks. Consistency is what turns numbers into a trend.
A measurement is only worth anything if the next one lands on the same spot. Willow animates the exact position for each point, remembers your routine, and keeps a draft if you get interrupted halfway through, which with a tape measure and two legs happens often.
From the pairs it calculates the two numbers clinicians look for and most apps never show: asymmetry between your left and right leg, and a volume estimate from the circumferences.
Photos follow the same logic. The app holds the angle and distance steady with a ghost overlay of your last shot, so the timeline shows change rather than a different camera position. Those photos stay on your phone.
You can find out from your own record. Willow compares the weeks you wore compression longer against the weeks you did not, and reports the difference in your swelling and heaviness scores with a confidence level and the number of weeks behind it. When there is not enough data to say, it says that instead of guessing.
Conservative therapy is expensive in money, time and daily effort. Garments, sessions, the fifteen minutes each morning wrestling something on. Nobody can tell you whether it is working for you specifically, because nobody has your numbers.
Willow does not hand out generic advice. Every insight is drawn from your logs, carries a confidence rating, and names how many weeks it is based on. Thin evidence is labelled thin.
The same engine drives the morning forecast: on days like today, your own history says your swelling usually runs higher. That is a heads-up from your data, not a claim about heat and lymph.
There are not many of us, and the others are made by people who care. Here is an honest read of where each one is strong, so you can pick the right one rather than the loudest one.
| What you need | Willow | Lipedema IQ | Lipobuddy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily symptom tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Guided leg circumference measuring | Six points per leg, guided | Secondary feature | Limited |
| Weight vs leg circumference chart | Yes, the core view | No | No |
| Insurance evidence checklist and packet | Yes, with gaps marked | PDF export | No |
| Denial letter decoder, on device | Yes | No | No |
| Language | English | English | German only |
| Price | Free tier, Pro $6.99/mo or $49.99/yr | Free | Free |
Compiled from each product's public materials in July 2026. If something here is out of date or unfair, write to us and we will correct it.
Leg photos are stored on your device only and excluded from backup. They are never uploaded and never synced to iCloud, not even by us.
No advertising identifiers, no third-party trackers, and nothing about you is sold. Your location is never read; the forecast uses a city name you type in.
Generating an AI report does send aggregated numbers to our server. No name, no raw daily logs, no photos. Everything else works without an account.
Lipedema is a chronic condition in which fat accumulates abnormally, usually symmetrically in the legs and sometimes the arms, often with pain, easy bruising and a feeling of heaviness. It affects women almost exclusively and is frequently mistaken for obesity or lymphedema. Willow is a tracking tool, not a diagnostic one. Diagnosis belongs to a clinician.
Lipedema tissue responds poorly to diet and exercise, which is why body weight can fall while leg circumference stays the same or increases. Willow charts your weight against your own leg measurements so that pattern becomes something you can show, rather than something you have to argue.
Policies commonly ask for a clinical diagnosis, three to six months of documented conservative therapy such as compression and manual lymphatic drainage, dated photographs, circumference measurements over time, and evidence of functional impairment. Willow keeps these in one place and marks what is still missing. It cannot promise any coverage decision, and a letter of medical necessity has to come from your clinician.
Every two to four weeks, in the morning, before your legs swell through the day and not straight after exercise. Measuring daily mostly captures normal fluctuation, which makes trends harder to read, not easier.
No. Leg photos are stored on your device only and are excluded from backup, so they are never uploaded and never synced to iCloud. Generating an AI report does send aggregated numbers to our server, with no name, no raw daily logs and no photos.
The daily log, two measurement points per leg and a watermarked report preview are free. Willow Pro is $6.99 per month or $49.99 per year and adds all six measurement points, volume and asymmetry over time, the photo timeline, every what-is-helping insight, the full evidence packet PDF and the appeal draft. A free trial is available for new subscribers.
Willow is coming soon to the App Store. Leave your email and we'll tell you the day it's live.
Get notified at launchWillow is a personal tracking and documentation tool, not a medical device. It does not diagnose lipedema, does not provide medical advice, and does not determine or influence any insurance decision. Statements of medical necessity must come from your own clinician. Always discuss your symptoms and treatment with a qualified healthcare professional. Read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Related reading: How to Document Lipedema for an Insurance Claim