Trying to lose weight with fibromyalgia

doingitforjesus

I joined a long time ago and fell away as my fibromyalgia got worse. At the time I didn't know I had the illness just knew I was in a lot of daily pain and fatigue, as well as other things, that just kept getting worse. I finally got diagnosed about 6 weeks ago and no longer feel like I am just crazy after so much testing and everything coming back negative. I know that it may take me longer now to lose weight as I can only do so much exercise wise. I am slowly doing what I can each day and am making changes in my diet that my doctor said may help, such as going gluten free and removing a few other things. If there is anyone else out there who deals with the daily pain of fibro and still been successful at losing weight I am open to all advice and tips. Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

dejavuohlala

i ahev this condition but i am not sure that it prevents weight loss, apart from the pain of course, feel free to add me as a fried but please note that i only offer mutual support as support is a 2 way thing


good luck with your journey

LosingItWithGod

I have not been diagnosed with your condition but I am in pain all the time and suffer many issues. I just started on this path to become healthy, so if you need a friend add me

Rushgirl82

Also not diagnosed. But I'm 31 female and I deal with chronic pain. It gets the best of me at times. Many tests and still no answers.
Its hard to workout. And I can't do a lot of workouts. I can't even do push ups because both my shoulders are so bad. But I'm determined to push through this as sitting around isn't helping either. Add me if you'd like. It'd be nice to have friends who also deal with pain issues as I feel alone with it most times.
Amanda

nancybuss

I do not have it but a friend does. She had a lot of pain. She now works out daily and feels a ton better, and she's in the process of adopting 3 kids to go with her two. She is truly non stop. She use to have a lot of pain.

There is hope!! One day at a time!

doingitforjesus

Thank you all for your support it is so appreciated. Dealing with daily pain and fatigue among many other symptoms can become so overwhelming. I am determined to take control of this all and push through. Thank you all for the friendship

decgirl63

Good Morning. I also suffer with fibromyalgia. Trust me working out helps. I have good days as well as bad ones. Don't give up. I have a friend who has fibromyalgia, she was the one who got me to workout. Now I will tell you, I cant work out as hard as other members, but what i do does help. My Doc says stay on elliptical less pounding on your joints. I've been working out since January 6, 2014. Im praying for you. Just take one day @ a time. U can add me to your friend list.

clairejoknee

Add me, I have me/cfs, it's very similar, good luck x

aylajane

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia after a long time of worsening aches and pains, headaches, fatigue, weight gain (from not moving as much as I was) , etc. and tons of negative tests ruled out everything else. A year later I was reading a web site about the side effects of splenda and realized I had almost every symptom.... When splenda (sucralose) first came out I was thrilled, it tasted wonderful (I hated nutrasweet and that was the only real option), so I treated it like a free food - I put **9** packets in my 4 bowls of oatmeal daily, and it was in my fruit water, my salad dressing etc. The more weight I gained, the more I switched things to splenda in order to cut calories, which made me worse so I couldnt move and gained more! I cut out splenda entirely and it took a few months but I was completely back to normal (except still had the extra weight). Granted, I overdosed completely, but i did *not* have fibromyalgia. Years later, I am able to use splenda in moderation now (alternating with regular sugar and other sweeteners like monk fruit), but I am very careful not to let it snowball. And I have to really check labels - sucralose is in a LOT of things now.

I also had a friend diagnosed with lupus, who turned out to have a gluten allergy instead. As soon as she cut out gluten, she felt better and with exercise her weight came off and all her lupus symptoms got better and/or disappeared.

There are a lot of studies showing artificial sweeteners can cause autoimmune type symptoms, and some suggest that many cases of fibro, lupus, multiple sclerosis, etc. could actually be "allergies" or sensitivity from some of these sweeteners. In any case, whether they are right or not, what you eat can definitely cause or worsen some of your symptoms. I tried switching to stevia, since it is "natural" and found that it is great for diabetics because it lowers blood sugar but if you have low blood sugar already it can tank it! Mine is always low, and it took me a month to figure out why I was seeing stars and getting dizzy every day after lunch (when I drink my tea with stevia!).

It is totally worth at least trying an elimination type diet (google it) where you go back to very simple basic foods, then add in one thing at a time and wait to see what it does. Whether you actually have fibro or not, it is very possible it is at least worsening your symptoms. It is certainly worth the effort to try it! Evalutate your diet and look for common ingredients you get a lot of (some added colorings can even cause issues for some people).

I hope it gets better for you!! Good luck.

ETA: if you drink any kind of diet soda, try a few weeks without it (enough time to get over withdrawal type symtoms) as many people drink so much it is the main source of artificial sweeteners. You may not have to give it up forever, but this will be a big clue as to whether it is part of your problem... just be careful what you sub it with!

EllieB_5

I was originally diagnosed with fibro and given the ole "there's not much we can do" speech. After fighting with health care I have now been diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome, central sensitization, arthritis, Willis-Ekbom disease (which now I find out might actually be depleted iron stores) and of course degenerated discs. I like to tell all fibro patients to not stop with fibro as you may actually have something else that is more treatable.

Anyway, I obviously deal with a ton of chronic pain and the fatigue that goes with it. The best I can manage right now is a 30 min walk at a moderate pace, on a good day. Most days I don't leave the couch. Weight loss with any kind of chronic pain is difficult but doable. I tried and failed at every single diet except the one I'm currently on (I'm only entering month 3, let's see if we can keep up the trend). Sometimes losing weight when you can't exercise a whole lot is more about finding a diet that works for you vs trying to exercise when you can't. Just don't stop moving, it will make you worse. One of my pain specialists says to push yourself as hard as you can if it's not injurious pain, but really, if all you can manage is stretches, then please do so. Yoga might be really good for you. Or Pilates.

I'm rambling Add me if you like, I accept all FR.

trochelwoman

Add me. I have fibro, arthritis and a torn rotator. I have about 80-100 lbs. to lose. Physical fitness will help tremendously. Any effort will help. Just keep going at it. But on a day when things hurt too much, give yourself a break. Don't be in a rush to do too much at one time. It's also good to do this for Jesus. I agree. But Jesus wants you to do this for yourself first and foremost. He kind of loves us all and wants us to be happy. We are his children after all.

doingitforjesus

You all are so awesome. Thank you so much for all the encouragement and support. I have been tested for lupus, MS and some other autoimmune diseases, had MRI's and every blood test t seems and everything has come back negative that is how the rheumatologist came to the fibromyalgia diagnosis. I just started a gluten free way of eating and see if that helps. Also taking Lyrica and Effexor as well as vitamins and supplements. I just got diagnosed 6 weeks ago so we are in the beginning stages of seeing what works for me. I appreciate al of you for your support of offers of friendship :happy:

aylajane

Yes keep looking! Fibro is not a "diagnosable" disease... it is diagnosed based on symptoms and elimination of other diseases. Basically, my doctor said sometimes they do it just to give the person a name for what is going on with them (because it makes the person feel like they are not crazy after all) and since they cant figure out anything else. So dont necessarily accept a "diagnosis" of fibro. Keep a good journal of your symptoms, food, activity and look for patterns! Its amazing what kind of things affect your body in weird ways.

crescentkelly

OP, Effexor may help with the fibro pain a bit. However, I was on it for a few years and it completed destroyed my sex drive, made it hard to loose weight and other side effects. If you ever try to go off it expect insane withdrawal symptoms: nightmares, electric shock sensations, anxiety, rage, etc. I've been off of it for about a month and took a long time to taper off as the symptoms were very severe with me (my fiance thought i was dying the first night because my heart rate was crazy high). Please be careful with it.

As far as weight loss with FMS, it's a struggle to stay moving when in pain but keep with it. I fall victim to the pain and fatigue and it gets depressing. Going gluten free help lots for me and also getting treated for sleep apnea helped. Apparently 80% of FMS patients have sleep apnea. I wasn't heavy enough or have a large enough neck for doctors to think I had it so I had to push to get tested. I've found most people with FMS have different experiences but learning from each other helps. Feel free to add me as a friend. I've had it about 10 years and my routine has evolved.