how many of you have noticed weight change whilst living with fibro ?

[bbstport]

[jacksie]

i have but had a very energetic job,i am 57 up until 4 years ago i was very slim and looked fit,i had a slipped disc 4 years ago since then i've been diagnosed as fibro,don't know whether that bought it on or not,anyway having to take 1800mg of gabapentin and 25mg amtriptiline,i am convinced tablets play a role in weight gain.You see the main problem is not being able to exercise because of the pain and tiredness afterwards and during,i can't see a way out medication has to be taken,love jacksiexx

[Hidden]

Gabapentin does put on weight as does amatripiline, what option

Have we got its either pain or weight, as Harry hills would say

Pain or fat.......fight

[ellie172825]

I have put on 7 stone from 10 stone to 17 stone in seven years, and I think the lack of mobility is to blame, I was very active before, hill walking, cycling, a fulltime job, rushing here there and every where, to nothing ! I was retired through illhealth which was devasting for me, but I knew I was no longer capable of doing my job, everything went down hill from there.....

[Extremelygrumpy]

My antidepressants make me hungry put on about a stone, came off them the stone dropped off but I couldn't sleep so decided sleep was more important and went back on with them and promptly gained the stone again

VG x

[fairycazzie]

Definately i have gone from a very petite 7st 4-7st 10 to now being just under 9st !!

quite furious about it as when 1st started on Lyrica i said i got a bit of sweet tooth (not me ) but thats not whats done it. i said am puting on weight..she just replied 'what do you want your health or your weight' i replied thats a bit contradictive as your weight can pose health problems so its 'catch 22' isnt it Dr?! she was a lovley Dr but from that comment turned my views.. she no longer at the surgery. I do prefer to feel the edge taken off with all that nasty tinglying pain it has a transformation.. this merely makes me comfortable in some ways not better by any means i really suffer now aching, burning, stinging my arms, neck, shoulders hand pain and wrists with clumsiness and cannot write .

This is Lyrica i take after trying numerous other meds.

Cannot excercise i was a freak with sit ups (told to stop)!! as i had hernias (this is where the trouble started from the last hernia op) i danced a lot as this is great for fitness i walked a lot , swinging my arms around and jumping about lol

now if i jump i wet my self , if i try swinging my arms it affects me breathing, cannot cough and laugh too hard either yellow legs not good at all . Blooming Tenner lady these days.

squats = cannot get back up, no laid down leg excercises as legs dont wanna do it cos they feel blooming lazy!they think cannot be bothered,

up and down stairs no feet are useless catching on steps and out of breath half way, so forget that ,

what ever i try provokes it all and my neck hanging on a thread so no head banging lol

ohhh the days of swinging round the poles on dance floor and showing myself up have gone in 2 and half years.

couch potatoe that exercises the fingers now and swivels the ankles yep great excercise

Sorry i do go on and on lol xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[pinkblossom]

I hade been a size 6-8 all my life (im 46) within 1yr of being on pregabalin I have gone up to a size14,nearly 2 stone in weight,iv never been this size before and feel very sad and uncomfortable about,I don't exercise for the reasons that we all have,iv thought about coming off them but it would take me back to the same place pain wise as I was a yr ago,I had tried other meds but they just made me feel sick,I was always called a skinny mini so I know its the meds that have done it..xx

[bbstport]

thanks everyone for your replys - i did start to put some on and i am now loosing it !!!! i just have to be different - i am now less than i was when i started all my meds

[ladymoth]

It seems almost universal that fibro sufferers tend to gain weight, and I think the reasons are threefold:

1. Pain considerably limits mobility, exercise and work.

2. Medication often increases appetite.

3. Comfort eating is very common in people with the boredom and stress associated with reduced mobility and chronic pain.

There's no simple answer to these problems, but they can be overcome with a little thought and planning.

It's very difficult to exercise when you're in pain, but nevertheless you have to be persistent in doing what you can. It might be several short walks each day, a swim if you can manage it, a little bit of a boogie to some happy music, or some stretching exercises. Whatever you can cope with, do it frequently and regularly.

Ask your doctor to review your medication. Query whether this might be contributing to your weight gain, and whether it might be practical to change to something else.

Antidepressants are frequently used in the treatment of fibro, and some of them can encourage weight changes.

Be wary tho' that you don't ever stop taking them without medical advice, as you could become very ill indeed

Boredom and comfort eating for me are the worse factors. I could nibble away at sweets and crisps all day, especially when I'm in pain. Chocolate is SOOO comforting, isn't it?.

The only way to deal with this is to find something else to think about.

This will vary according to your abilities, but it won't take a lot of brain power to think of some hobby or interest that you can manage. I like giving myself a manicure and using outrageous colours of nail polish. Then there's reading, handicrafts, gardening - if I can blag a lift, I like going to visit historic houses and gardens, they are particularly helpful to anyone with disability.

I even fit in housework sometimes, but that really is a bit boring!

Anyway, it's up to you - as with exercise, you need to work out something you enjoy and that you can manage to do.

Food is the main consideration.

If you have fibro you need a high quality, nutritious diet, but you don't need too many calories.

There are plenty of diet clubs out there which will point you in the way of healthy eating, so take your choice of the one that works for you.

If you enjoy the company and support of a club, it might be just the thing to lift your mood - if not, then join up online, which I did, 'cos I'm not a clubby sort of person.

Finally, be realistic. It might be difficult for you to manage your weight, but it's not impossible. you might only lose four ounces a week, but it's still in the right direction, and that's a stone in a year. We're all in this for the long haul unfortunately, so these small achievements can mean a lot, and most people will lose faster than that!

Anyway, ladies - after writing all that, I'm off to have my tea. My daughter has kindly done some home-made veggie burgers which she assures me are fairly low calorie - yum yum!

Chubby hugs ... Moffy x

[bbstport in reply to ladymoth]

thanks very much for your input x

[Fermerwill]

I too have put on the pounds since I was put on Gabapentin

[bbstport in reply to Fermerwill]

thank you

[Hidden]

I put on two stone taking Amitriptyline, but since stopping taking it the weight is slowly coming off. Fortunately I am tall and the weight gain isn't too bad, I intend to get back to how I was before Fibro, I want my clothes to feel more comfy again.

Weight gain is definitely med related, inactivity related and also not burning off the foods that we eat, so lack of exercise with perhaps eating too much too.

[bbstport in reply to Hidden]

thanks for that

[vajrayogin1]

Hi I have also gained 2 stone in 2 years from 7 1/2 to 9 1/2!! I am on 25g amytryptaline, was on 50 for a while until I decided it was making me fat. I swim between 30-40 lengths slowly, twice a week, never want to go but always feel better afterwards. My Gp said when I couldn't walk get down on your knees and crawl, never give in to it, I thought he was really mean as it was when I had just been diagnosed, turns out it was good advice just bad timing. One good thing I m enjoying having boobs now!! just wish the belly would go. I have been given a pilates performer machine this week, I thought stretching might help, does anybody know how to use it? it came without exercise dvd and I can,t find one on the web.

[realsorelady]

I was 9 stone before I got ill and after many different meds I was on Gabapentin and co cod 30/500 naproxen vesicare for my water works and loads of other different pain and anti depressants, im currently on duloxtine. I went up to 13 stone and the specialist told me my back was hurting more because of the weight, cant win. But i weaned myself off gabapentin and im still waiting for a nerve pain tablet, I am currently 11 stone and struggling to sift it even though I hardly eat. my Dr wants me to wait until PMP get back to me, erm like they should have done 5 months ago, Im in so much pain that today I.ve cried, feel extra sensitive and the numbness and pins and needles is horrible. I am just having one of them days were I want to go to bed and sleep and NOT wake up!!

[nannyjenno]

Me too.,ive pilled on 7 st in 4 years and im convinced the medication and lack of mobility,are to blame.the doctor took me off gabapentin because i was on too many sedatives. because the stress of appealing and one thing after another my gp put me on antidepressants she said "dont worry you wont put on weight with these" ! i didnt know wether to laugh or cry. why do they prescribe drugs that they know cause weight gain, then tell you that the reason for poor mobility is because youre too fat!!!!

[bbstport in reply to nannyjenno]

i really dont understand doctors myself

[wallflower_fairy]

Hi it's a good question but a very sensitive area for me. I used to be a chubby kid and one day I decided to lose weight aged 15 and did myself proud to start with.

Then I couldn't understand why I was feeling so tired and in pain all the time - I knew it couldn't have been from a poor lifestyle because I was trying to improve things for myself, and could differentiate between 'normal' feeling crap and 'abnormal' feeling crap. Yes, the Fibro had kicked in. :/ Of course convincing others was impossible too.

So things slowed down for me and I failed to lose as much as I wanted (due to tiredness etc.). It's not the weight change that's bothered me - more the lack of it. I stabalised from losing the initial amount and stayed the same for a while which is good - starting to get my confidence up. Then recently it starting creeping up again (my fault probably) and I didn't feel like me anymore (because before this happened I had been diagnosed and come to terms with the Fibro.) So I'm keeping an eye on it. Things have improved and I seem pretty stable now. But after the effort and onset of Fibro it doesn't feel like enough - though this is probably my bad mood talking.

The only way to solve that is try again now - well keep trying - but this time be a bit more realistic about what I can achieve - because I can't go back to being that chubby kid again. Sorry for being depressing. I have Fibro mildly compared to some people (although the recent stresses have flared it up) and I'm just coping without any Meds right now. So that's something. Yeah.. thinking about it I am in with a fighting chance just at this moment I'm exhausted.. it gets me down when people talk about how great their lives where when they were young because I'm young right now myself and feel like I'm missing out, I'm 18. Sorry. Sensitive area and down day. My blogs are usually a lot happier than this. But I can't lie.

xxxx

[bbstport in reply to wallflower_fairy]

well on reading this i am proud of you and you should be proud of what you have achieved. hear what you say about people saying how great their lives were however this could have many variants and it depends what is important to you. I also fall into that bracket however it was work and family that made me happy. i am now 54 and yes i have slowed right down i only stopped working this year and i miss that a lot and i am blessed that i have my dad who is now 85 and visit him daily and i have a brother who is 59 and he visits dad twice a day also. i have found different ways of coping with this horrible Fibro along with arthritis and a couple of other things but i see it as a challenge as i used to see things as a challenge when i worked and if i am knocked down i get back up and fight agin - i cannot let it get the better of me - i look after my dad he lives 6 miles from me. i do have some very bad days but i still fight it - weight for me is weird as most people have gained but i lost almost 7 poounds in ten days when i was ill a couple of weeks ago i cannot really afford to loose weight - i am back to 8 stone 4lbs now but all my life i have been between 8st 7lbs and 9st 2lbs mind i one went to 10 stone about 10 years ago. i am only 5ft 2 inch so for me between 8 and 9 is good. i hope you feel a little better soon.

Belinda xx

[demdike]

I am sorry for everyone who as gained weight, but i thank you all for talking about it. I have had fibro since 2004 and i used to be 9st 7lb but now i am 13st and i have tried every diet and i gain more weight than lose it. I thought it was just me, but now i know its the fibro and tabs we take.

Its bad really the more weight we gain the more discomfort we have ,yet if we don't take tabs we hurt. I wish everyone a very merry Christmas. x.