Chronic Illness

Hi Sally, I had 2 car accidents about 13 years ago and have fibromyalgia and 2 surgeries on my spine in the last year, I find it very hard to exercise and do all the things I see other people doing on here. I have been on every drug out there for nerve pain and depression and lord knows what else. I no longer take any of them. I try to stay as natural as possible and take 5-htp at night to help w/ my sleeping and depression and that seems to help. My motivation is to not feel horrible anymore. Every pound I put on is another nail in my coffin, makes me feel horrible and makes me feel older than I am. I just started 2 weeks ago and try to do something every day even if it's just a 10 minute walk....hope you feel better and this website helps you stay on track

My wife has worked as an engineer in Iraq and Afghanistan for the past 8 years. She was very active until 2 years ago when she developed Guillain-Barre's syndrome. She was close to being medevaced to Dubai, but managed to hide the worst symptoms and slowly recover. She read somewhere online that if she wasn't in an iron lung by week 3 she had a mild case. Yeah, mild case, right. She still limps if she walks more than 3 miles in a day and still has trouble feeling a keyboard with one of her hands (lots of computer work). She has had to cut her calorie intake from about 2000 per day to about 1200 and still struggles to keep her weight under 160 at 5'6". She sets work, education and physical goals and keeps at them. Some days are harder than others, but she doesn't let herself hide in bed more than a day every couple months. As Stephanielynne says, set small reasonable achievable physical goals, and keep learning about your body and nutritional needs.

Hi everyone. Can I start by saying chronic illnesses suck. ... b12 deficiency, bronchiectasis, hypothyroid, hypoglycaemia, chronic sinusitis, brain lesions. ... meaning frequently tired and sick. Just coming out of a severe respiratory infection/flu ... and still overweight!

How much everyone like/need to lose?
Is planning the key when dealing with chronic illnesses?

This recent episode has left me very down. Worst ever. I do not want to be sick!

I did however watch on YouTube a BBC Horizon Special on What Diet works best. Very useful.

Anyone a member of a gym?

Hi Sally, I also have SLE and have had it for a very long time. I have good times and bad times. Right now, I am in a good phase - although I take prednisone 5mg a day and plaque nil 200mg twice a day. I told myself I'd never be on long term steroids due to the side effects but you've got to do what you have to do to function and that and the plaquenil has been the best thing I've ever done at this point. I exercise almost every day but I'm careful not to exercise too hard or I pay for it for too long. I think you have to find the exercise that works for you. I love yoga and biking and have kind of found my sweet spot with them. One of the best things I've done has been to really limit my sugar intake - too much sugar produces inflammation in the body and already have enough of that with the lupus, also feel so much more energy without it. Another thing for me has been going to bed fairly early - this is a hard one but it helps my body recover and conserves energy. That being said, I had a point where I gave in to the fatigue and slept way too much which just made it worse, so now I'm careful about not giving in to that so much. Anyway, I think you have to find your "sweet spot" with exercise, diet, meds, and rest with lupus. Also, trying not to beat yourself up when you can't do everything that healthy people can do. Sorry so long, I just don't get to talk to anyone with same condition too often. Good luck in your journey.

I'm sorry that you have that horrible disease. I was diagnosed with RA 5 years ago. My rheumatologist then said I had underlying Lupus that just hadn't reared it's ugly head yet which is why she wouldn't prescribe me biologics. My new dr. Labeled me as having mixed connective tissue disease. Either way it all boils down to me hurting all the time. Mainly in my knees which will both be replaced this year hopefully. I find this app to be very helpful when tracking my calories and exercise. I actually look foward to seeing how many calories I have left at the end of the day. I try to keep calories down to 1100 or less for the day. I use an stationary bike to exercise which doesn't have any impact on my knees. I've nearly quit all fast food and soda. I drink my green tea everyday and stick to a high protein diet with lots of vegetables. Since may of last year I've lost 50 pounds the last 13 with MFP. I still have another 62 pounds to go to reach my goal. It's just a day by day process. Don't give up. You'll get discouraged, you'll feel like you're failing, but just get up the next day and try again. Feel free to add me as a friend and good luck!!

Sally, you are not alone. Many of us suffer from chronic pain or illness. What we have to do is work within our boundaries to improve ourselves. I too have an auto-immune disorder as well as chronic joint pain especially in my hips. I have a plate and many screws in my ankle as well but I have found a way. Eating healthy is the key to almost everything. It helps your body function as well as get the weight off. As for exercise, do what you can. Because I have hip pain and back pain, I found an Aero Pilates machine and have fallen in love with it. It helps to stretch and build my muscles without impact. It has done amazing things for me and im able to do more now. Yoga is also great. Just try new things and see what works for you. \

Feel free to friend me if you like

Hi @sallylou88‌ - I've had ME/CFS for 25 years, and it's only been the last 2 years I've had some consistent success with weight loss. Frankly it's hard, and that's for a bloke with a decent calorie allowance. My advice, be patient with yourself, learn as much as you can about what works in terms of both the pattern of eating and the content - for you.