[stampinlady]

Hi, I've been lurking around this site for about a month while preparing myself mentally for the next stage in my weight loss journey.

I've been slightly fat most of my life except for the ages 25 to 38, when I managed my weight through exercise and healthy eating. A little over 5 years ago I fell and damaged my knee so that I cannot exercise without pain. Needless to say, I gained about 30 lbs. This may not seem like much to some but I'm short and almost all the extra weight is in my stomach and breasts. Having such heavy breasts has caused me all kinds of upper back pain to go along with my low back, hip and knee pain. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by it all. The chronic pain has changed me both physically and mentally...I seem to be a raging ***** most of the time now.

Over these years I have trained myself to reach for food as a relief and distrataction from the pain. Now I am trying to train myself to comfort myself without food....petting my animals, going for a short walk, stamping, watching movies.

I find it hard to connect with other people--partly because of my mood disorders, and partly because the pain isolates me. Also, I'm SO different from the majority---I'm 48, never married, no kids, no close family. I'm not religous at all, am more educated that most others around here (rural Washington state) am not comfortable in social situations where I don't know anyone.

I'd love to find a buddy about my age with pain/and or mental health issues. I've found over the past 5 years that it is hard for me to really connect with people unless they too have experienced the **** of chronic pain.

I chose this site over the south beach diet site because I tend to find posts by men really irritating...the ones on the SBD board I used to frequent tend to be know-it-alls and a bit more self-rightous than most (as am I). I never made the connection that that is why I stopped going to that site until recently when a man started posting on an online stamping community site that I visit several times a day (I'm a stamping fanatic). I found myself getting annoyed at alomost every post he made. Finally I just put him on my ignore list and am much happier .

So anyways, after my last knee surgery (March 3) I finally had that "a-ha" moment when my doc said there was extrensive arthritis and not much he could for me expect trim the 2 torn meniscus (meniscii?), which will lead to more arthritis. I realized that it was all up to me (although isn't it always up to us) to manage my pain. I realized how much my extra weight was causing me pain. In the 5.5 years of dealing with this damaged knee, not one doctor suggested that I lose weight. That's no excuse because I knew and know that I have to lose weight and strengthen my leg muscles.\

I joined a gym 1 month before the surgery and just went back for my first workout after clearance from my doc. Today my knee hurts a lot from the workout, but I'm not going to use food to dull my pain.

Sorry to ramble on so long. Victoria

[SoulBliss]

That's not too long, it's good to let us know as much about you as you can!

Be careful with the workouts while you are healing and listen to your body.

[Lovely]

Hi Victoria!

Thanks for letting us know about you You may want to check out the 40-something's group, the Dieting with Obstacles area, or the South Beach Diet area to start. But, please feel free to post wherever you're comfortable!

Best of success!!!

[BlzMaxGnrCCJkMly]

[OnlyMeantWell]

Hi Victoria!

I'm a little younger than you, but I know all about chronic back pain. If you need to talk about your pain ever you can PM me and I'll listen (or actually read )

I hope you're not pushing yourself too hard at the gym. You don't want that knee to get damaged more than it already is, so be careful! Have you tried exercising in the pool? I love the pool and I find when I have an injury and can't workout the water is very easy on the joints, aches, and pains.

Good luck!

-Liz.

[stampinlady]

Thanks everyone for the welcome. What a great site!

I am taking it easy at the gym...20 min. on low resistance on recumbent bike, some light weights on the machines. My knee is fine but I REALLY overdid on my triceps. There is an indoor pool at the gym but I'm too sensitive to the chlorine and other chemicals to stay in there.

Happy day everyone!

[stampinlady]

Hi Liz, Thanks so much for replying to my intro post. Isn't constant pain awful? I read an article on a chronic pain website that researchers have determined that chronic pain actually can cause physical brain damage. The theory is that in a normal person when you are using one side of the brain, the other sort of shuts down to keep an equilibrium. As your brain works the 2 sides activate and shut down in tandum. With chronic pain, the front part of the brain never shuts down so you never have a balance. The result is that neurons can actually burn themselves out and damage the surrounding tissues.

Also research has shown that pain triggers your fight or flight response and releases cortisol, which causes weight gain, among other unpleasant symptoms.

I feel like I am a different person after 5.5 years of almost constant pain. My personality is different, my coping skills reduced, etc. The pain I experience is rarely intense....it's more like a constant nagging pain.

So now it's up to me to do what I can by losing weight.

What do you study? Are you married? Have pets?

I have a dog and 2 cats (my third cat disappeared last week. I'm in the country so most likely a coyote got her and I miss her so much).

Well, take care and thanks for you response.

victoria

(I don't have enough posts to send a PM)