Calling All People With Disabilities

Hey, I did a search for 'disabled' and it brought up this thread so I thought I'd pop in and say hi, even though it's a bit old if I bump it I might find other disabled dieters out there.

I have Hypermobility type Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Autonomic Dysfunction and IBS or something similar and a few other conditions as well. I am bed-bound for a lot of the time, when I do manage to be up and around I am often in a wheelchair, when I do manage to walk I am on crutches or a walking stick. As you can imagine, this makes exercise pretty much impossible. The smallest exertion exhausts me and leaves me in great pain. All I can do at the minute is my physiotherapy and a small bit of hydrotherapy, although I'm not even able to do that at the minute because I have had suspected swine flu for the past 2 weeks and this has really floored me.

It's really frustrating knowing I have so much weight to lose and not being able to exercise to try and help it along. Excess weight also causes more strain on my joints which makes my HEDS problems worse. I rely on my husband to do all the cooking but so far he has been really good about helping me hitting my calorie goals. As I have to do all of this through diet it's going to be a long, slow road but I am determined to do it this time. Too many times I've started a diet, lost a few pounds and then given up. I weigh more now than I ever have and I hate myself for that. 8 years ago I weighed at my lowest 118 pounds. I have no illusions about getting anywhere near that again - I was able to exercise a little in those days as well - but I started at 161 and I would like to get down to around 133.

Hi CaptainJim!

Still struggling to get over the swine flu, but have been faithfully logging everything I eat and so far have been coming under my calorie goals or just a smidge over. Hoping to lose at least another half pound when I weigh again on Saturday, but I'm never confident when it comes to weigh day! Have actually struggled a few times to get my calories over the 1200 mark but will usually have a glass of milk or something to try and bump them up a bit and not go into starvation mode. I think this was one of my problems before I joined MFP, I would go for long periods where I hardly ate anything and I was bound to have been in starvation mode but then suddenly it was like a switch would flip and I would want to gorge myself, just for a short time, but my body must have grabbed on to every single bit of fat it could from that ready for the next starvation. It's the only thing I can think of as to why I gained so much weight - at least up until I got put on medication that caused more weight gain, my weight went crazy after that. I'm still on that medication so I'm having to work against that the entire time.

Hi all, I'm sarina and i've been cursed my whole life with learning disabilities. My journey has been ****y because i grew up in the chicago public school system and there they decided i was LD because i failed every test and homework assignment. But yet they never refered me to a special doctor, just put me in special classes with behavior kids. AHHH. I was so scared. All i can say is that it takes me forever to learn new things. I was 12 by the time i learned how to tie my shoes and ride a bike without training wheels. This has effected my whole life socially as well because half the time i don't know what anyone is saying. My big word was WHAT. And that made me appear to be a moron to my piers. My family could never afford to get me tested and i have been looking for a long time for goverment assistance. Its ridiculous how long it takes me to learn anything and i can make another person very frustrated very fast. This sucks. Its like my brain is on a different frequency. Job Situation forget it, they think i lie about this. But i do relate with people who have disabilities and i understand the pain it cause. Believe me, i've had a communication crisis my whole life.

My son has all the same issues. He can't hold down a job because he is so ADD also. He is one of the most giving caring people I know... Ok that is not just because I'm Mom. I always just told him his brain just misfires and some of the signals get
lost.
You just do the best you can to enjoy your life. From your post you are communicating just fine.

I've had an insanely bad day, but I haven't turned to chocolate like I normally would. I have allowed myself a bottle of lucozade which has taken me over my calorie intake for the day, but it's the only thing that settles my stomach when I get stressy sick like I am today, so I guess I shouldn't beat myself up too much over it, I've got enough going on, lol!

Thanks Captain! :bigsmile: Still struggling a little bit and this has led to a few poor food choices, but oh well, it's the start of a new week now, bring it on :ohwell:

Hey Cathy, great to meet you

Hi everyone - I'm really struggling with pain at the minute, and my appetite isn't great because of that, I've been having trouble meeting my calorie goals. That could be why I only lost half a pound this week. Have been living on painkillers instead of food, lol!!

*hugs*

No change in weight for me this week, but I have been mainlining Lucozade so it's not really a surprise.

Well I guess this is the thread for me. I have IIH (Idiopathic intracranial hypertension) was diagnosed in july 2010 so pretty new to this. Still trying to work out how to cope with the problems it causes. If you have any questions about my illness of me your more than welcome to ask.

Sorry to read all of the other posts, but it is very comforting that i'm not alone. Looking forward to getting to know you all better.

Cheers Chicky

Welcome Stephy... I also have fibro and understand about the working out. I have worked with my rheumatologist for a Month or so now to get mine back under control. I have a back injury and it makes it harder to work out at all. But i've discovered that I can't really push myself too much. My doctor recommended to work out atleast 20 minutes every day. Even if it is just walking is all you can do that day. I have to say this really helps. He truly believes that you have to do 3 things to feel better.
1. Sleep good. take sleeping meds if you need to but sleep every night..
2. Exercise atleast 20 minutes every day. As light or as hard as you can with out over doing it.
3. Minimize stress.

So far these have helped. Good Luck to you.,.

Hi there. So glad to see this post. I have a neuro muscular disease in that mostly affects my legs below my knee. They do not have a specific name for it. I even went to the Mayo clinic in 1990. I was diagnosed in 1987. Lucklily for me I have no pain at all. Only when I trip and fall, which happens often. Though there are many things I can not do, like run or walk very fast I do the best I can. My calf muscles do not work at all and I can not even move my toes. Thank goodness I wear braces on both legs. The drawback is the things I can wear. I am also an avid golfer with an 11 handicap. At times my balance is not the best, but I am so glad I can play the game of golf. I always walk 18 holes and push my clubs. In the warmer weather, I have ankle braces I can wear that give my the stability I need to walk around the house and golf course.

When I walk on the treadmill, I feel I am working as hard as the person next to me. But when you walk with a limp, it takes a lot more energy to get around. My walking at 3.0 is the max I can do, and I get a great workout.

I always have to remember to be happy with what I can do, and not dwell on what I can not do. Just do the best I can at all times.

Thank you