Multiple Health Problems
 

Well to start, I am an emotional eater, and for the past few months I have been dealing with something personal that has caused me to be in a severe depression, but on top of that I have ailments that are an issue but cause depression as well because they are debilitating

Fibromyalgia/CFS
Spinal Stenosis
Sciatica
Keratoconus (diagnosed last year, not happy because I'm a photographer and artist)
Migraine Headaches
Occipital Neuralgia
Anemia
Reproductive problems (had surgery three weeks ago to remove fibroids)
Major Depression
Anxiety Disorder

This is enough to cause emotional eating. I've done Weight Watchers twice, lost a lot of weight, but when things go bad, I eat and gain it right back, so I definitely know that I have to deal with the inner first this time, but I just don't feel like it.

Does anyone else or has anyone else felt this way, and overcame it and got back into the weight loss process.

If so what helped to motivate you back into your focus to lose weight because right now, I just honestly don't care about anything, and food is the only thing that makes me feel good, however if I don't lose this weight I could get really sick. I'm 5'2 and 250 lbs. I'm feeling the affects now with chest pains all the time

Being honest

I wish I could give you the answers you are looking for, but unfortunately, I too am dealing with multiple health issues which seem to be fighting my weight loss efforts.

As for me:
Hypothyroidism / Hashimoto's
Insulin Resistance
Suspected Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Constant, undiagnosed aches and pains

I have gained 30 lb. in the past 2-3 years, and it doesn't seem to matter what I do, it's not budging. In fact, it seems the more I diet, the more the number on the scale creeps up. I have been trying to exercise, but then I hurt so much the next day, I feel like I have been on the losing end with a prize fighter.

I know I shouldn't complain... I have great kids, and an amazing, supportive husband, who I met a few years ago, and we married about a year and a half ago. He tells me all the time he finds me attractive... But I can't help but worry... what if I can't stop this weight gain? I have never been what I would call skinny, but I was comfortable with myself when we met. Now, I can't even bring myself to look in the mirror at this stranger in the reflection.

He got us a gym membership, but then I had to buy clothes to even be able to go. Nothing fits me anymore. I went last night, but cried all the way home after being surrounded by all the perfect little sized 2 women around me. I feel like a fish out of water, and that I will never feel good again. I feel hopeless, because I worry that once again, this will not make any difference, and today I sit here feeling like I have been hit by a bus. My health is not good, and my body seems to fight me when I try to help.

Sorry to whine. I'm not in a good place, and since moving out of state a few years ago, I have no real friends to talk to. My heart is heavy, along with the rest of me. I am hoping someone may jump on this thread with some advice from experience.... how to turn hopelessness to hope?

Hoping to help
 

Originally Posted by FattyPattiW2BT:
I wish I could give you the answers you are looking for, but unfortunately, I too am dealing with multiple health issues which seem to be fighting my weight loss efforts.

As for me:
Hypothyroidism / Hashimoto's
Insulin Resistance
Suspected Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Constant, undiagnosed aches and pains

I have gained 30 lb. in the past 2-3 years, and it doesn't seem to matter what I do, it's not budging. In fact, it seems the more I diet, the more the number on the scale creeps up. I have been trying to exercise, but then I hurt so much the next day, I feel like I have been on the losing end with a prize fighter.

I know I shouldn't complain... I have great kids, and an amazing, supportive husband, who I met a few years ago, and we married about a year and a half ago. He tells me all the time he finds me attractive... But I can't help but worry... what if I can't stop this weight gain? I have never been what I would call skinny, but I was comfortable with myself when we met. Now, I can't even bring myself to look in the mirror at this stranger in the reflection.

He got us a gym membership, but then I had to buy clothes to even be able to go. Nothing fits me anymore. I went last night, but cried all the way home after being surrounded by all the perfect little sized 2 women around me. I feel like a fish out of water, and that I will never feel good again. I feel hopeless, because I worry that once again, this will not make any difference, and today I sit here feeling like I have been hit by a bus. My health is not good, and my body seems to fight me when I try to help.

Sorry to whine. I'm not in a good place, and since moving out of state a few years ago, I have no real friends to talk to. My heart is heavy, along with the rest of me. I am hoping someone may jump on this thread with some advice from experience.... how to turn hopelessness to hope?

So Patty I really hope I can help you find a glimmer of hope. I have suffered with anxiety/depression/FM for about 8-10 years. I also have hypothyroidism. About 7 years ago I moved from my home in Ca. To Arizona and new next to no one. I had no motivation to get out of bed and with the pain I was in it was a viscous cycle. Since my back injury/FM diagnosis I have gained about 80 lbs. when I moved back to Ca about 18 months ago I was really bad. I still have my issues but I do find that I get out of bed daily and I have a better outlook on life. I am ready to try losing weight and I am choosing crack the fat loss code because I tried it for a short time before and it seemed like a good fit for my low metabolism. I really felt a connection with your story so I wanted to respond. We r told that. A size 0 is perfect and if we aren't we r flawed. It is not true. U sound like a wonderful person and u need to embrace yourself and who you are. My recommendation is to find a job or hobby or something where u can meet people and get out of the house. I have found the worst thing was laying around all day. It was making my pain worse. Now that I get up I take less pain meds. Also when u do exercise you need to take it easy. Don't over do. It. This has been the hardest point for me because when I feel good I want to go out and exercise hard but then I hurt for 3 days. I have found 15-40 min is my max at a slow to moderate pace. I can work up to more but I have to start much slower. Also don't forget to stretch. It does help reduce thT post exercise soreness. I get cold and stiffen up so I try. And keep warm or take a shower when I'm done to reduce this. Walking nod swimming nd yoga work best for me.
I really hope this helps. Don't give up. We r all individuals and our size does not dictate who we are.
Please excuse all of my punctuation and spelling errors. I was typing quickly on my iPad and trying not to lose my train of thought. Hope you understand

Hoping to help
 

Originally Posted by FattyPattiW2BT:
I wish I could give you the answers you are looking for, but unfortunately, I too am dealing with multiple health issues which seem to be fighting my weight loss efforts.

As for me:
Hypothyroidism / Hashimoto's
Insulin Resistance
Suspected Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Constant, undiagnosed aches and pains

I have gained 30 lb. in the past 2-3 years, and it doesn't seem to matter what I do, it's not budging. In fact, it seems the more I diet, the more the number on the scale creeps up. I have been trying to exercise, but then I hurt so much the next day, I feel like I have been on the losing end with a prize fighter.

I know I shouldn't complain... I have great kids, and an amazing, supportive husband, who I met a few years ago, and we married about a year and a half ago. He tells me all the time he finds me attractive... But I can't help but worry... what if I can't stop this weight gain? I have never been what I would call skinny, but I was comfortable with myself when we met. Now, I can't even bring myself to look in the mirror at this stranger in the reflection.

He got us a gym membership, but then I had to buy clothes to even be able to go. Nothing fits me anymore. I went last night, but cried all the way home after being surrounded by all the perfect little sized 2 women around me. I feel like a fish out of water, and that I will never feel good again. I feel hopeless, because I worry that once again, this will not make any difference, and today I sit here feeling like I have been hit by a bus. My health is not good, and my body seems to fight me when I try to help.

Sorry to whine. I'm not in a good place, and since moving out of state a few years ago, I have no real friends to talk to. My heart is heavy, along with the rest of me. I am hoping someone may jump on this thread with some advice from experience.... how to turn hopelessness to hope?

So Patty I really hope I can help you find a glimmer of hope. I have suffered with anxiety/depression/FM for about 8-10 years. I also have hypothyroidism. About 7 years ago I moved from my home in Ca. To Arizona and new next to no one. I had no motivation to get out of bed and with the pain I was in it was a viscous cycle. Since my back injury/FM diagnosis I have gained about 80 lbs. when I moved back to Ca about 18 months ago I was really bad. I still have my issues but I do find that I get out of bed daily and I have a better outlook on life. I am ready to try losing weight and I am choosing crack the fat loss code because I tried it for a short time before and it seemed like a good fit for my low metabolism. I really felt a connection with your story so I wanted to respond. We r told that. A size 0 is perfect and if we aren't we r flawed. It is not true. U sound like a wonderful person and u need to embrace yourself and who you are. My recommendation is to find a job or hobby or something where u can meet people and get out of the house. I have found the worst thing was laying around all day. It was making my pain worse. Now that I get up I take less pain meds. Also when u do exercise you need to take it easy. Don't over do. It. This has been the hardest point for me because when I feel good I want to go out and exercise hard but then I hurt for 3 days. I have found 15-40 min is my max at a slow to moderate pace. I can work up to more but I have to start much slower. Also don't forget to stretch. It does help reduce thT post exercise soreness. I get cold and stiffen up so I try. And keep warm or take a shower when I'm done to reduce this. Walking nod swimming nd yoga work best for me.
I really hope this helps. Don't give up. We r all individuals and our size does not dictate who we are.

Hi ladies. My sister has fibromyalgia, and low dose Naltrexone has really helped her symptoms immensely. You can google low dose Naltrexone and Stanford. There is a study to back up the claims with low dose Naltrexone. Good luck.

Hi Sparklez! You've got a lot going on there! Just wanted to tell you you are not alone and too offer some suggestions that have helped me.

I also have keratoconus and anxiety and had chronic widespread pain. Not much to do about the eye thing - although my doc did suggest vitamin C supplement, which I have been taking and my eyes have been stable for the past 18 months or so.
As for anxiety, I find that exercise helps A LOT. I really make an effort to at least get on my recumbent bike every day, even if it is just 10 minutes of easy pedaling. I usually do more, but some days, you know, 10 minutes is almost more than I can manage. The other thing is that I have found I cannot tolerate any artificial sweeteners - they are a panic attack trigger for me.
Regarding the widespread pain - I suffered for years. I had back pain, chest pain, and my elbow joints were sore. I went for massages, had steroid injections, tried muscle relaxers and pain medicines. You know what helped? I stopped eating most grains, wheat in particular. Over the past year, my anxiety has lessened, and my pain is gone. No more elbow joint pain, no chest pains, no back pains! If I eat wheat containing products more than once a week or so, the pain comes back - in my elbows first. I know it sounds weird, but I've tested it several times, and there really seems to be a link there for me at least.
I didn't replace wheat/grains with special gluten free substitutes though, because those usually have a lot of added sugars and unhealthy fats. I just eliminated things like sandwiches and wheat pasta, etc., from my regular diet.
My weightloss is very slow. I get frustrated when it takes so long for the scale to move down, and don't even talk to me about when it goes up for no good reason! I just try to remind myself every time that I am healthier than I was and if I keep making good choices, I will continue to make progress, slow as it may be.
Hang in there, and good luck to you :)
I hope something that helped me might help you.

OP posted 9 months ago and hasn't logged on since - I don't think we're likely to hear back.

As for the pain being better with no wheat it doesn't sound weird at all. There are a bunch of things out there with the paleo diet that it helps with inflammatory conditions. I have just begun the no wheat thing. I am going to try it for 1 month. Also the artificial sweetener thing, I am a huge diet coke drinker and have made an agreement with my kids that we all eat no wheat for a month and I will quit diet coke for a month. I have 5 left before my month starts. Since I drink about 6 a day I am a little stressed but I know they r trying to help me and it is better for me. Wish me luck