Looking for some help please

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I have looked many places for information to help me and am kind of hitting a wall. I am going to run down what has happened to me real fast and post where I am at. Any suggestions made I of course will speak to my doctors about so feel free to speak up. First I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis when I turned 20. Over years things got worse and I was very limited on the foods I could eat safely and most of the time I ignored that. UC is a genetic disease that triggers in early 20s or early 60s most of the time. My father had is trigger 2 years after my UC almost killed me in his early 60s. During my battle with UC I had doctor totally miss a DVT and threw a couple of blood clots to the lungs. Survived that with no longer term damage. My UC worsened and I had to have my large intestine totally removed. After the surgery of my large intestine removal I woke up with no pain medication screaming because the pharmacy sent the wrong pain meds and I was not allowed to be given those. I passed out from shock. After that I have been forced to live with an ilostemy. I worked out and was doing well on my recovery over 2 years and then I sneezed and my intestines burst through my abs and twisted in a knot forcing another emergency surgery. The hospital messed up again, but at least I had some pain meds in my system just too low a dose and it felt like my chest was on fire when I woke up, and then passed out again from pain. After this PTSD and panic attacks set in. I sought mental help, but have found just finally began to recover from all of this in the last few months (after years of looking for the right therapy). Then the chest pains began 23 days ago. During this time of depression, fear and panic, I shut myself away and became extremely sedentary. I shot up to 375 lbs on a 5'7 male frame. The chest pains concerned me and so should have my weight, no excuses I just did not care anymore, I had given up. 2 years ago I had a stress test on my heart and I was fine, but in those 2 years I gained 100lbs and at my 375 lb weight I had a new stress test done. The ejection fraction of blood pumped out of my heart is now around 47%. From my research and doctors they say 50-65% is normal, but it is how you feel. I feel like crap and have a hard time moving or even getting up. I can only stand for about 2-3 mins and my heart is pounding in my chest (the ER did tests and said I have not had a heart attack). The cardiologist has put me on multiple medications to reduce the stress on my heart and done an echo on my heart, that looked good, but the ejection fraction is still low at 47%. I was told to take my meds and change my lifestyle, with no other information. From the research I have done I need to lose weight and exercise, which is an obvious answer. Being able to stand for 2- 3 mins before feeling like I am going to pass out and cannot breath means adapting to new forms of exercise. Going up and down stairs and treadmills are out of the question for me right now. Barely getting out of bed is stressful. I have been trying to just move / lift my arms and legs using their own weight while laying down (just started today). My heart seemed to handle this ok without chest pain. I am attempting stretching exercises to loosen the muscles as they spasm and cramp very easily. The muscles in my chest cramp so bad it takes valium / muscle relaxers to get them to release otherwise I feel like I cannot breath. I have been to the ER 3 times for this in the last month. Diet is cleaned up completely. Everything is low sodium. I am focused on fish, lean meats in proper portions, veggies, some fruits, limited dairy. I have lost 15 lbs so far and now weight 360 lbs. My chest still hurts every day, but I am unsure of what the pain is. Is it just muscles and a build up of lactic acid over a long period of non use and muscle shorteiing due to sedentary life, am I having real chest pains, or is it all in my head from the PTSD and how I now react to doctors and medical situations? (I am not really asking for an answer to this as I know no one can give me a straight one safely.)

ACTUAL QUESTION: What low impact exercises are good for morbidly obese people while sitting or laying down. I was considering using very light weights and trying to do leg raises in a seated position as well as working my arms and stretching my chest. Any ideas about safe exercises in a laying or seated position is what I am here looking for. Right now I am just guessing and the doctors only answers are some out of date 20 year old print out of movements from a bad health textbook.

I am the first to agree that I should never have allowed myself to reach this point. I am not here for sympathy or to just whine about my life. I really do want to recover and honestly I don't want to die. I have the diet and nutrition down now, as I am limited on sodium content and some acid reflux. I am looking for either someone that has been morbidly obese and begun to recover and what kind of exercises they did to start out? or any professionals that are members that have some ideas or links to websites or videos I could do.

On a side note: 3 weeks ago I was up and moving around just fine. I was using a Recumbent bicycle for 20 mins 3 times a week. (not enough or maybe too much for my current condition). I was also doing basic moves from DDP Yoga to try and stretch my muscles. I do not understand how I could go from feeling out of shape and working out to not being able to barely stand up in only 23 days, without a major cardiac incident that I am being told I did not have yet.

Thank you for any helpful information offered and again I will not do anything without checking with a doctor, even if the doctor is tired of returning my messages on questions about my health.

Replies

  • bluecat145
    bluecat145 Posts: 144 Member
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    I've never been morbidly obese, nor am I a professional, so don't take my comment as medical advice. Like you said, check with a doctor.
    I would recommend focusing mostly on diet. Eat at an appropriate deficit (not to low, unless under doctor supervision). Start with light excercise. Light weights and stretching sound good, maybe even some light cardio could be good, just make sure your heart is in check. Do not push yourself too far. Know your limits. You will lose weight, even if it is slow. As the weight comes down, increase your exercise to what you are able to do. It will take time. Remember, lots of people have come down from a high weight, even with medical conditions. A lot of them are on this site. You will get there if you work for it, and try not to fall into bold habits when you are.
    I'm not sure how viable this advice is, but have you thought about weight loss surgey. You may not be the healthiest for it, but hopefully your doctor will be aware of it and not do anything detrimental. It may be one option.
    I'm sorry all that happened to you; I can't imagine. I struggle with an IBD, albeit nowhere nearly as severe. I want to keep up with how your doing.
    I'm sorry I don't really have much advice (you probably already know everything I just told you).
  • Darksky602
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    I grabbed a walker and a cane and that seems to let me move around a bit better. They take some of the pressure off my legs because when those are forced to engage the entire weight of my body my heart rate spikes and I feel like I must sit down. Also just in case I get light headed from the medications they put me on it is nice to have something to hold onto. This will allow me to get some cardio in or at least be able to walk up and down my hallway. One step at a time literally

    Thanks for the info, I have never really considered the weight loss surgery seriously, but doctors have mentioned the idea. (personally I was offended at the time, but it really should have been more of a wake up call.) I have still elected not to risk the surgery. I did forget to mention I have factor V genetic mutation as well, thick blood. That is where the blood clots came from. My mother has it as well, but we did not know until after the PEs hit my lungs. Basically this means I have to be on lifetime blood thinners, though there are different schools of thought with that, all surgeries have a higher risk of a possible complication due to the blood disorder. So I am going to only use weight loss surgery as a last option. They could probably make it safe for me to do, but that would involve installing a temporary filter in my veins.

    Today I am sticking with the basic exercising in bed and going to do some light weights sitting up this afternoon. Diet is still good and only have healthy foods in the house, no way for me to even get near junk food. Diet has been the one thing I know I can control so I have focused a lot in that area.

    Thank you for responding :)
  • Cryptonomnomicon
    Cryptonomnomicon Posts: 848 Member
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    I would love to help but I am at a loss beyond recommending you seek professional help concerning what you are capable of doing without putting yourself at risk. No doubt there will be some answers as the condition you are in and aliments you suffer from are not unique sadly. Hang in there bro, you have done some of the hardest work which is seek help.

    I know you were not fishing for sympathies and the such but my heart goes out to you as you obviously have had a hard time of it and want to improve your quality of life but are facing some quite staggering obstacles.

    I have seen YouTube videos where individuals have come back from seemingly insurmountable odds, both concerning weight and health problems...so I believe you are capable of getting through this.

    Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

    Here is a link to a vid of a person's amazing transformation that defied odds...

    Short version...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448

    Longer version...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIXOo8D9Qsc

    ETA: I would maybe contact Cybered312, he is both a successful MFP patron and mod but has an amazing transformation story and might be able to give you some insight or at the very least some inspiration.

    This is a link to his story...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1103164-3-yrs-312lbs-lost-1yr-from-bodylift-and-maintenance
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    It's great that you are continuing to do what you can to help lose weight in your current state, but for now it might be better if you give your body a bit of time before getting back into regular exercise. As long as you eat at a deficit from what your body needs to maintain weight, then you will lose weight. It might be easier for you to focus on your eating patterns/habits if you aren't spending time trying to figure out how to safely and comfortably work out.

    As you lose weight, it will be easier for you to start doing light exercise to help improve your health overall, but you don't need to look towards exercise to help you lose weight. Your body and mind have been through a whole lot, try to take it easy for a while! Since you are quite heavy, you might find that weight loss happens pretty quickly for a while, even without exercise.

    I would recommend that you check out a website like health-calc to see what your estimated caloric needs would be to maintain your current weight, and then subtract 20% from it - although at your current state, 25-30% until you get to a point where you have better mobility might be worth considering if it doesn't leave you feeling hungry and unhappy - and compare that number to what you have as a goal on here. You don't want to eat too low for your weight, as you don't want to impact your metabolism too much. Take diet breaks as needed where you eat closer to your maintenance needs, maybe every other week on the weekend. It won't derail your progress but will probably help you stay on track better for the long haul. You don't want to get too aggressive with your weight loss, even though you are morbidly obese, because you want to do as much as possible to ensure that all the weight you lose is something that will stay off. So many people return here posting about their yo-yo weight gains and losses, and it's usually due to fad diets or severely under-eating.

    http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

    another good website is exrx.net, but it does estimate lower. You could do an average of the two if you'd like, or choose the lower one, it really doesn't matter as long as you are just making sure you log your food in a consistent manner (measuring and/or weighing, using correct entries - e.g. don't use raw steak info if you're measuring it cooked!), and just try to be patient. I also think that it will be a good idea to not be too restrictive with foods, but I can understand if restricting junk food right now helps you reach your goals more consistently. But if you get to the point where you feel like you want to eat everything, make it a maintenance-calories day. Or if you're really craving a chocolate bar, allow that for yourself and go back to eating normally again afterwards. You want to make sure that whatever you are doing to lose weight will keep you sane, so listen to your body and your mind. For me, restriction doesn't work but I'm also in a different position than you are, so you do what works for you. You might be able to reintroduce junk food when you're no longer morbidly obese, or maybe not until you're only overweight.. who knows.

    Other than that, if you're relying on your doctor throughout the journey, find one who will be supportive. I used to go to a terrible GP growing up, once I switched over to a new clinic and doctor I actually liked, my experiences were much better. So there's no shame in ditching your current doctor. You could try Googling to see if there are any doctors in your area who specialize in working with obese people or people trying to lose weight.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    If you're having chest pains and can't breathe, go to the emergency room. Especially if you have a bad heart and Factor V with a history of pulmonary emboli...but, really, anyone with chest pains and trouble breathing should visit the ER.

    In the future, I'd use those out of date printouts from the bad textbook. If the doctors are recommending that you do those exercises, DO THOSE EXERCISES. Don't skip them because you think they aren't good enough. Don't do something else because you got advice from a person whose main qualification for giving it is that he's "some guy on the Internet." This is your life that you're playing with.

    Do what the doctors tell you!

    I hope you're feeling better soon and will say a prayer for you.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Tell the doctor to get you some physical therapy for exercising in bed. Also some professional help for the PTSD.
    For now, keep working on diet -- you are doing well by eating less.
    This might sound "crazy: "Is there any chance that the current chest pains are anxiety/side effect? Especially if you got a change in one or two of your medications lately?
  • alexsondra34
    alexsondra34 Posts: 57 Member
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    hello, your strength is a source of inspiration! i can not advice you form experience on being morbidly obese, but it's not about weight is about what you can do, i weight a lot less but i'm terribly unfit so i just start with what i can manage and make sure i try to push it juat enough so i feel some effort being done but not so much that i'll be sore next day and then when i'm finding that easy i increase the time or intensity.

    It occurs to me that water exercise would be perfect as you'll be lighter in water and it will be easier on your joints, not necessarily swimming but just moving your arms and legs.

    Also here's some videos in youtube with light exercise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w-Dp2tUqGQ
    follow the links on the side for more videos.

    I wish you all the best, where there's a will there's a way.
  • 365andstillalive
    365andstillalive Posts: 663 Member
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    Tell the doctor to get you some physical therapy for exercising in bed.

    This was my immediate first though too. A physical therapist is going to be able to access your needs directly and work you through the various stages you're in and find exercises that are safe for you to do, give you a routine to work with, and would give you someone that at least 1-2 times a week would be completely available to you to ask questions and continue working forward. Many insurance programs cover it, but some don't. Its certainly an option to look into.

    A caloric deficit is really the best thing that you can do though, and it sounds like you're completely on top of that. I want to applaud you for making the decision to change your life and putting in the immense effort you have been so far, because unfortunately there will be much more effort to come. I have complete faith that since you have the right attitude, you will be able to accomplish your goals and get down to a much healthier size.

    Please keep listening to your doctors and I wish you well :)
  • 1mommycamp
    1mommycamp Posts: 9 Member
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    The only thing that I can tell you is that a very inspirational and helpful book is EAT TO LIVE. I am sorry I do not know how the dietary plan will work with your digestive conditions, but please please please read the book. I honestly believe it will help you. What a hand you have been dealing with. I wish you all the luck in the world, that you can be graced with some positive. Take care of yourself as best as you can. I am so glad that you are trying
  • Darksky602
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    Thank you for all the advice and support. I will check out those links and am working on getting a 2nd opinion doctor's appointment set up today. I need a cardiologist that will communicate with me and see me regularly. Day 24 of this and I have been up and moving more now that I have the cane and walker, my heart isn't pounding as much and my body is slowly adapting to the meds they put me on. These meds tank my blood pressure, which amazingly was always very very near 120 over 80. I have devices to monitor my blood pressure, SPO2 stats and of course heart rate at home. I use these frequently to make sure every thing is in order or close to in order. I don't freak out if I get a odd reading, but I look for trends and document them. Did my laying down exercises this morning and some more weight is coming off. I just keep thinking each pound is one less my heart has to deal with. I am doing the exercises from the handout the doctors have given me, basically. Arm stretches , leg raises, stretching the muscles in my chest seems to be helping. I am not running a marathon anytime soon, but maybe one day. I have spoken to my doctor about exercise and he cleared me to, "Do whatever you are capable of doing." They have not put me on exercise restriction or any restrictions, but again I REALLY need a cardiologist that will communicate with me, so I will find one. My main goal is to be one of those people that has been through hell and made it back. I have the been through hell part down... now I just have to make it back. I know I can do this and I vow I will never get this way again.

    As for chest pains: (yes anyone that has them go to the ER I completely agree)

    I on the other hand have been there 3 times in the last 2 days for them and no heart attack, and blood work looks good and no signs of ever having one. If I get chest pains different from the ones I have been getting I will dial 911 and have nitro at home.

    Reasons I think I am having chest pains.

    1. Short tightened chest muscles that don't want to release due to inactivity

    (When I was at the ER I felt like an elephant was on my chest, hence why I went to the ER, the 2nd doctor pushed really hard on that chest muscle and it hurt like hell. He did it few times and eventually the muscle released and I could take a deep breath. I now massage those muscles the same way each day to loosen them up.)

    2. The sharp jumping random chest pains may be due to acid reflux or an undiagnosed hiatal hernia.

    (I have medication for this though it does not seem to be a total solution to the issue. Combined with Tums after meals I am slowly seeing a difference in the occurrence for these chest pains.)

    3. My heart is weak, that I know because they have tested it twice. (stress test and Echo) The low EF of 47% does not mean I am going to die, but it is a concern. 47% is still "below average" but not heart failure and I have found many instances of people fixing this with diet and exercise.

    (I have had all the blood testing, EKGs, Echos and meds to protect my heart, that I can have done now. I would like a heart CT but the hospital told me I am too heavy and you must have a BMI of 40 or they won't do it even though the doctor ordered it. I am looking into Cleveland Clinic and seeing if they have a way to do one for a person my size, but my local hospital refuses. The next step is a heart cath which is slightly more serious as I have to stop my bloodthiners for them to go in and find out what is wrong, but the doctor has not ordered one leaving me to conclude I don't need one at this point. Again I need a cardiologist that will actually communicate with me and tell me that.

    So on I go, eat right, light exercise, being careful, one day and one step at a time.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    Eat your healthy foods. Eat a normal amount of them, which shouldn't be too hard, since it is difficult to overeat when you eat that stuff. It does suck at first, but you will find after a month or two that you feel better. Do not get sucked into eating things that are bad for you if someone here suggests that it's okay or that you will fail to lose your weight if you don't. It's not okay. You will be better if you don't. That's what got you into this mess and you know it. Listen to the doctors. They know what they're talking about.

    Do what you can. Lift your arms and legs. Get little five pound hand weights and use those. Squeeze your butt muscles, one at a time. Use all your muscles, however you can. Walk. Walk as much as you can without having too much trouble breathing. They make exercise tapes for people who can't get out of bed or a chair. But if you can get up, do that. Walk and move. Do as much as you can, every day. Don't get lazy.

    Swimming is fantastic exercise for anyone. It's really the best. It's great for fat people because it requires little effort and is very low-impact. Most YMCAs have swimming pools and will let you pay on a sliding scale (possibly free) if you need it because your doctor has said you need it. Colleges that have pools have to let you use it if they are taking state or federal funds. They don't like to do that and will lie their *kitten* off and tell you you cannot use it, but you can. A simple phone call from a lawyer will get them to back down. Some hospitals have swimming pools - even small ones - that they allow the cardiac patients to use.

    Swimming gives you cardio and resistance in a very easy way. You don't feel hot and sweaty. Your fat won't get in the way. It's the best thing for you, really. Give it a shot. If you can't swim, get in the shallow end - walk around in it, drag your hands through the water. Consider learning. The hardest part of learning to swim is getting over yourself and your fear - the idea that you can't. That's the hardest part! Really.

    Get your second opinion. It's always a good idea. Get it from the Cleveland Clinic if you want. They have an outstanding record for heart problems. If they aren't the single best place for a heart patient, they're damn close. If you live near it, go there, by all means. Believe what you're told. The heart and cardiovascular system are not the mystery so many parts of the body are. They know a lot about it. So much.

    Stop your research. You cannot learn enough in a year to know more than the doctors and you sure as hell can't learn it from WebMD or fitness gurus. The gyms are full of fitness gurus. If they advise you, smile and thank them, but in one ear and out the other. Listen to the doctors.

    You can lose this weight if you're dedicated. Hang in there. Let us know how you do.

    Keep seeing the therapist. It is possible that some of your problems are caused by some mental problems. Don't rule that out. It would be great if they were and working with the therapist could help. Don't ignore actual problems and put them down as craziness, but don't rule out the fact that you might have a problem with your brain that causes some of this.

    Take it day by day. Dream big, work small. Just do your best on an hourly basis.

    I wish you the best of luck on your weight loss journey. I think you can do it. It's so much work, but it's doable! Doable by you. :)