Sara,
One of the posts in this thread talked about birth control. I have been getting “Depo” shots every 3 months for well over 10 years and there is no weight gain side effects. I have suffered from endometriosis from a young age and in Canada, this Depo shot is a means of keeping the monthly suffering in check. Meaning no more Mr. Monthly and no more debilitating pain. I asked my doctor about the side effects of being on this medication and she said bone density loss was the only possibility. I’m 45 and my bone density is still at normal levels. This shot is not for everyone as there is no way to reverse it once it is in your system and if you plan on having kids, you need to be off the shots for over a year to ensure no side effects during pregnancy. I never wanted children so it is great for my situation. I watched my mother suffer through her 30’s and 40’s and now my younger sister is considering having a hysterectomy due to all the pain she is going through. I thoroughly recommend this option to anyone who suffers from extreme monthly pain and is not considering having kids in the near future.
When I started medications with my FM, I started on Lyrica. I gained 30 pounds in 2 months. Cymbalta just gave me bad dreams. I then went on Savella and gained another 5. Today, I am off all FM meds (listed here) and feel no worse off. The pain is the same. I have found a FM specialist in Houston, Texas who has hundreds of FM patients. She checked my blood and found my glutathione and ATP levels were very low. I now have started ATP/B12 shots weekly. We will see if it helps with my fatigue and lowers my weight.
Kas
I understand your frustration with weight. My body acts like I sit on a couch and drink Pepsi and eat bags of Cheetos all day. This could not be further from reality. I eat healthy, only have one cup of coffee a day, and no soda of any kind. I never eat out so I control how my food is prepared. I drag myself out of bed everyday and go to work. I move around quite a bit but this level of activity is simply not enough to burn the weight I have gained. Since I am currently suffering from migraines on a daily basis, it makes it that much harder when I get home to do anything else. Sorry I cannot be of more help but I wanted you to know that you are not alone.
I have had the same experience with water helping my pain level. If I become even slightly dehydrated my pain increases but I have never read a theory about why it works. Thanks for the info.
I have 2 tips that I use...
1. If there is a mall nearby, drive there and plan for an hour of walking. Then allow yourself to do as much (or as little) as you can... The reason for the mall is - there are regular intervals built in. experiencing pain or fatigue, just push yourself until you reach the next bench, then sit down, take a break and evaluate - is this pain new/different? maybe you need to be done for the day. Is it a "normal" pain that you'll have whether you take a break or keep walking? then maybe you can push yourself to the next bench and re-evaluate again there. It's also climate controlled so you don't have to worry about humidity, etc affecting you. If you can, take a long a supportive friend and tell him/her your plan so they can encourage you to make it to the next bench, and they can help calm you down if you are hurting - I know for me when I start hurting and am out in public, I tend to get a bit panicky. This really does work, I promise and some days you'll be able to do a lot more than you think. other days you'll be done in 15 minutes. but at least you got out and moved. that is key.
my other tip:
2. anti-inflamatory foods. Google it - there really are such things. I try to add bok choy into EVERYTHING i possibly can - even home made chicken noodle soup. It's fairly tasteless, but I can tell the next day when I've eaten it. it makes my joints ache less, therefor I am more inclined to walk more, do more.
I hope some of this helps. Hang in there!
Hello Kas,
Thanks for the reply. Just simply knowing that I am not alone and drawing strength from all the support and experiences is of great help! : ) It feels like we have to do 2x the activites/workout to get any results because of the medications, diagnosis, symptoms. And who has the energy to workout? Talk to you soon.
Sara
Hi JustRed,
Thank you for the advice. I might try the mall idea. Although I love to shop (when I can) so I might get distracted lol It is a long walk in from the parking lot at my work to the building I work in. It is a large business campus. I find that sometimes I get halfway there and my legs feel like they want to give out already...I'm like, really legs?? The lactic acid that builds up in the muscle burns too. I'm going to try to make an active effort to get out there and move, at least around my office building if it is raining. We get a lot of rain in WA.
Thanks and talk to you soon,
Sara