Weight gain & exhaustion

[NB2014]

Good morning to you all !

Once again I have been up since around 4 am with severe pains in my legs so got up & took some pain relief !

I have had fibromyalgia now for approximately 8years and also suffer with ME , previously I worked as a qualified nurse for 25 years which I loved and miss so much !

As probably the same as many of you I am on numerous medications including pregabalin & amitryptyline , it has came to the point that I am so so down about the weight gain since I am no longer as active as I once was , spend days in bed with exhaustion or if I am up & about everything is at a much slower pace hence I’m finding it so painful and exhausting to do even 15 mins of exercise , I walk my dog twice a day when able but I am still piling the weight on that I feel so down and embarrassed about how I’m looking - I was always around 9 stone whilst working but I must have put around nearly 3 stone on and I know certain meds are contributing to this !

Just wondering if any of you lovely people out there have any other tips or suggestions to try ? I feel like I’m in a viscous circle , as typically when I’m down & exhausted I want to snack on foods high in carbohydrates which I know does not help with my weight at all , they tend to be more a comfort food ! I have never been a fan or salads or certain vegetables 😩

Any suggestions of anything that has helped anyone in trying to loose some weight please ?

Hope you all have a good day and be as pain free as possible!!

Xxx

[Painny]

Hi NB2014

I put it down to medication and also with Fibro we tend to do less. I am hoping for the gym to reopen so that I continue my exercise.

I have started initially with 10 mins and then gradually built it up to 1 hour but at a speed which is different from normal people at the gym. The fact that I sweat means I am burning the calories.

Had to give up work and looking for a magic pill, I don’t take any meds but occasionally use cbd oil

Take care

[D_Alexandra]

Hello lovely!

Reading your weight gain story was like reading my own I’m only 26 and since I got the diagnosis from the rheumatologist saying I had fibromyalgia and IBS I struggled to stop the weight gain too. It was like something had been switched with my metabolism.

Ive spent most my life being underweight so the first stone I gained was actually a bonus and then the second stone I gained was starting to take its toll, I was getting out of breath like you say in your post.

The fibromyalgia attacks my legs the most out of anywhere in my body, if I overdo it by walking, moving or even standing too long it feels like they’re on fire and they just completely give up... so I had to start right back to basics and just aim for a simple 10-15 minute walk every day for two weeks. I wish I had started it sooner to be honest but due to feeling so exhausted and out of breath I didn’t even try. I assumed I would never get fit again. But 6 months on and I’m feeling the best I’ve felt, still have pain but feeling some sort of healthy and fit again and I’ve managed to get the extra stone off.

Long story short I did a realistic diet plan, not starving myself and aimed for a 15 min walk every day.

I soon found I was upping it to half an hour, and now I’m doing 10,000 steps a day.

Downloading a step tracker app on my phone Spurred me on!

I’m on the same medication as you so I sympathise with you there. I’ve found I have to make sure I have little but often meals. Any longer than 3 hours between meals and my symptoms flare up, weird how it’s all connected!

I hope this helps as I totally understand the struggle and how you are feeling.

Feel free to ask me any questions xxx

[NB2014 in reply to D_Alexandra]

Hi Alexandra thanks for replying to me - I know the weight gain is getting me down so much but I struggle some days to even just do basic things but yes I’ve got a Fitbit and I walk my dog every day if I can and my steps on my Fitbit do spur me on on my good days 😊

I hope you are having a good day today , hopefully speak again soon xx

[Mags2101 in reply to D_Alexandra]

What an inspiring message thank you 😊. I have had Fibro for over 10 years and been on pregablin for 3. It controls the pain at night I take 150 and if am in pain during the day I increase the morning dose.bad during the

[Suehad]

Hi, My doctor refered me to Kirklees Well Being. I had so much help from this agency. They got me eating a lot healthier & simple excersises to do from sitting down. They gave me discs to listen to for mediation. The ladie who I saw was very understanding and gave me simple to follow advise. I lost 1.5 stone in 6 weeks & felt so much better for it. Hope you are able to get some support to help you xx

[Catsnoop]

A side effect of amitriptyline is an increase in appetite. I have also struggled with weight gain and the double whammy is that I can’t exercise to help get the weight off. I have found that following a keto diet has not helped lose weight but really helped maintain any weight loss. Going into at least partial Ketosis and stopping the sugar stops those hunger pains. I was also on depo provera to stop my period and the hormonal up and downs, and that was also a weight gain magnet. I came off the depo and did a very low calorie diet (Optifast) for a month and lost 8 kg. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. I’ve done keto to maintain, and that has worked for me. (So far!)