Losing weight with a chronic illness.

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I've been back and forward on here for a few years, but weight keeps going up due to medications that slow down my metabolism and make me hungry. I have fibromyalgia, and now about to go to a rheumatologist for suspected rheumatoid arthritis. I'm dreading having to go on anymore weight gaining meds. The lyrica and cortisone shots have given an extra 15 kilos since starting them. Flair ups leave me in no condition to exercise or concentrate on eating properly. It's not uncommon for me to gain a kilo or two in a week long flair up then have to work on losing it again. I'd love to make friends with others in my situation so we can support each other through our extra difficulties.

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  • silvara7
    silvara7 Posts: 2 Member
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    I totally understand! Lyrica made me gain 10 lbs in a month so my Dr put me on Cymbalta instead. It's hard for others to understand that overdoing it one day will put us in a flare for a week or more. It's taken me months to work up to walking in our neighborhood for 30 min every few days. At one time I could only totter around a large home improvement store with a cart to hold my purse and keep me from falling over as my exercise.

    Hoping we can get healthier here!
  • Acdclements212
    Acdclements212 Posts: 2 Member
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    I was diagnosed right out of college, having been an athlete my entire life. I was always diagnosed with what they thought was tendinitis because of the amount of practice I did each week. Once I finished college and was able to create my own workout routine, I realized none of the pain was going away. I was diagnosed at age 22 and have struggled on and off ever since. I was taken off of Cymbalta to try Lyrica but had awful side effects, so I had to withdraw from Lyrica and be placed back on Cymbalta. This past year, I have absolutely fell in love with heated yoga. This is totally different from "hot yoga" or Birkham yoga where the room is well over 100*F. I do power yoga in a heated room that doesn't go over 90* but it is warm enough to ease my joint pains and has allowed me to regain my flexibility and strength.

    On a side note, since there are so many symptoms that are lumped in with fibromyalgia, doctors dismissed my extreme fatigue for years as just another symptom. This summer, I completed two sleep studies and was diagnosed with ideopathic hypersomnia, a subcategory of narcolepsy. As it turns out, I get almost no restful sleep at night, which exacerbated my symptoms greatly. Just an FYI that I wish I had thought about a long time ago.
  • CaraHeather
    CaraHeather Posts: 20 Member
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    Sending fr. I have fibro as well.