New- looking for supportive people

melonie4life

I am new to mfp, looking for supportive people that are trying to better their lives. I am starting over again to try and regain some form of health. I have approximately 140lbs till I reach my goal. I am also disabled, and suffer from many chronic illnesses. Most of which are going to make this an even harder challenge. I am an aspiring artist, I love arts and crafts, and sadly food. I am also currently recovering from a c5-7 spinal fusion. I would love to find people in similar situations. Thanks for reading.

divinelyfitgoddess

Hi Melonie! Congratulations for having the courage to take the initial steps to begin again. That seemed to be the hardest part for me due to my pain levels but it once I began moving more my body was somewhat looser in my joints and muscles. I am proud of you Sister! It is truly hard when you are recovering from surgery plus have other chronic illness that multiplies the pain.
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2010 which changed my life forever. Before then I had been in the gym every day of my life for the past 20 years, a veteran police officer, body builder and fitness and figure competitor and very active outdoors. I hurt my back and went in for a spinal fusion to insert some screws and rods and when i came out I just couldn’t heal from the surgery. i felt something was very wrong and kept telling them and went to several other surgeons and finally they realized i had broken another vertebrae and at that time my surgeon asked me if i had low back pain frequently before my last injury that required the surgery and i told him yes but i thought it was from my gun belt since it weighs so much and i sit in the car with my handcuffs in the back but he told me he believed i have Anklosing Spondylitis and sent me for blood work and he tested me for lyme disease and everything under the sun. He referred me to a rheumatologist (finally bc i had been asking my primary dr to refer me for several years due to my fibromyalgia but she kept telling me no) and the surgeon also diagnosed me with Degenerative Disk Disease, Anklosing Spondylitis and i had a new broken vertebrae just above where the old fusion is at L5 S1. He told me he thinks he misdiagnosed me on the very beginning. So i’m not exactly sure what he meant by that but it seems like all of these issues awoke due to my surgery but they were going to happen anyways bc for 1 i have the AS gene anc for 2 it runs in my family and for 3 i was already experiencing mild symptoms but i just didn’t know what it was related to.

Sorry for such a long post but u were looking for people to identify with😊

Fast forward to a year later, the rheumatologist diagnosed me with rheumatoid arthritis which had hit me like a ton of bricks and i have it really bad in my hands and then the AS terribly bad in my SI joints and hips. I am on a walker 40% and a cane the rest of the time and i wd give anything to just be able to walk normal again without any pain. but i still walk my two 85 and 90 pound dogs 1-3 times a day depending on the weather. granted they are short walls but it gets me out of the house and them too. at first i was doing bc i HAD to lol 😂 bc my yard was solid mud and they cdnt even walk in it to potty from all the rain we got but then i discovered it made me feel better so i have continued it. i do have days when i can’t move at all and can’t get out of bed due to extensive muscle cramping and joint locking.
recently i hurt my middle back and was diagnosed with 3 bulging disks and stenosis all along my thoracic area. so there is definitely major surgery in my future in the next month or so before the end of the year.
that was my goal is to lose weight before this surgery bc i gained 25 pounds since the surgery but 60 pounds since the original injury. I have lost 30 lbs of that the past 5 months (slow but it takes forever for me to lose) . Oh the other thing i love to do is yoga which i found really does help so much but i can’t do it with my injuries so i’m having withdrawal lol!

in conclusion, i’m excited i found u on here bc that’s exactly what i was looking for too was someone in the same boat as me who can understand how i’m feeling. know what i’m going thru. Bc of my history in the fitness world i feel i can help u in any way u need plus if u need a little inspiration or motivation or advice i would love you to give me a chat. i have used my fitness pal so long even before it was called my fitness pal and went by another name. i’m used to tracking my food bc back in the day i had to be fanatical about every single little thing i put in my body. but this is the first time i have posted in the community or looked at it really. so i’m not sure how this works. so i guess let me know if u are interested in being support pals. 🤗🤗🤗
PS i also make jewelry in my spare time and a crazy dog person. my dogs are my life!
Best wishes in your recovery!