Hey..new here...any success stories while dealing with chonic pain?

meltonlegacy

Hey all,
I have about 200lbs to lose, but I can barely walk because my sciatica.....this has cost me two jobs and I literally can barely get out of bed some days. When I do get up I get to the pool as soon as I can as cold water seems to help. Any advice on how to lose weight with chronic pain?

CoffeenSquats

Have you seen a chiropractor? They will put you on an inversion table and that will help to take pressure off of your sciatic nerves. Better yet, purchase one for your home and use it every day. You literally just lay there. Play on your phone, watch tv. My fiancee also has sciatica as well as degenerated discs in his back and he swears by this! Best of luck to you

THS2HASPASSED

I started at 472lbs almost 4 years ago. I had pain issues as well. swimming was a big part in my loss in the beginning so stay with that as much as possible. good luck and you got this!

concordancia

Degenerative disc disease here, mixed results, just recently got started again.

Weight loss comes from controlling the calories you eat. The real issue with chronic pain isn't that you can't exercise, it is that so many of us turn to food for comfort when we are in pain, frustrated, maybe even bored because we can't get out and do things... Therefore, it is important to find other coping mechanisms. For sciatica, you have probably had stretches recommended. Add just a little bit of activity on to each stretching session to use up more of your time. ie, a common stretch for sciatica is to sit on a chair and twist slowly each direction (please check with your own medical team, I am just mentioning common, not necessarily indicate for you). after you twist, you could also swing your arms around a bit or do some seated shadow boxing. There are a few more minutes that you aren't bored and reaching for food. That's also one reason these forums can be great: just a way to pass your time.

Back_4_more

I have several herniated disks. Been dealing w/ it for 25 years. I lose more weight through clean eating alone than combined w/ exercise. But that is just me. I lost 50lbs in 3 months. Took 3 more to lose 15lbs while exercising.

meltonlegacy

Has your weight loss helped lower your pain levels any?

RAinWA

meltonlegacy wrote: »

Has your weight loss helped lower your pain levels any?

I've had multiple spinal surgeries and have issues with sciatica as well. Losing weight was the best thing I ever did for the pain levels. Not only did getting the weight (125+ pounds) off help, but I am able to be more active and actually do exercise that helps with the pain. I wish I had started working with a physical therapist and personal trainer while I was losing instead of after I'd lost the majority of my weight. Probably would have helped retain more muscle which is a lot of work to regain.

I hope you can see a physical therapist to give you some exercises to do while you are losing, but I think you will be amazed at how much just getting your weight to a healthy level will help.

DawnOfTheDead_Lift

meltonlegacy wrote: »

Has your weight loss helped lower your pain levels any?

I used to have chronic back and hip pain as well as health markers tending towards needing medication. Losing weight and exercising fixed all of these problems and by no means did I eat 'healthy'. I would say eating healthy makes these goals little bit easier to manage long term I have found.

meltonlegacy

Thank you, everyone! I really appreciate your feedback!

So far I see a chiropractor twice a week...she helps a lot! And it’s manageable most days with St Johns Wort. But when it flares up at first 😩😩 I’m almost crippled. Like tonight....I’m torn between just laying in bed or getting to the pool.