Weight Loss when one has chronic pain

Despite having fibromyalgia, I lost over 100 lbs. I struggle daily with pain and joined this community to find out how other people deal with having this sometimes crippling disease. I don't have stomach problems which made losing weight easier, I can see how that might be a problem.

Thank you for your response. Your weight loss is a wonderful thing.

Maybe I gained weight because I do take several different medications but all at relatively low doses; Celexa, Ambien and an old drug called meprobamate. I don't recommend the drug route if you can avoid it. I miss Ibuprofen but taking it even once would give me stomach pain for months.

It's possible the Ambien has caused the greatest weight gain but I'm betting it was stress and hormone related. My hormone balance has always been off but I started having sugar cravings when I turned 40 among having other stress related problems.

I do know that you have to be careful about massage but very, very gentle rubdowns can help. I think gentle water therapy is great even if it's just warm/cold in your own bathtub. I have gotten trigger point injections for back pain. It's a constant, expensive struggle but what is the alternative?

I am about to turn 50 and I can barely maintain a regular walking schedule because my feet, legs and lower back hurt so much. I need to lose 40-50 lbs.

On one bright note, I'm walking more this summer than I have in years. I can do 1/2 mile and one section of that is a good uphill stretch but the humid weather and trigger point pain has put a "cramp" in my routine. I'm going to keep at it.

I wish I could keep to 1500 calories but I feel that I get genuinely hungry. I don't know if it is physiological or emotional.

Whenever you are ready or just need to tell someone that your pain is bad, just send me an email.

Thank you for the encouragement. I too am going to turn 50 this year. It really has been a tough year, but I plug on. I lost my weight through a program, and did not have to even exercise, but decided that it might be a good way to help my fibromyalgia. My husband and I have just commited to walking 3 times a week whether I have a flare-up or not. Good for you commiting to it as well. It is so difficult at times to get motivated when you don't have pain, let alone when you do!

Unfortunately I have already gone the drug route, and am now looking for a way to come off the drugs and look for more a more natural route. I too have done trigger point injections, but have never heard of gentle water therapy. I'm definately going to try it. Massage therapy was getting very expensive, with little results, so I cut that out a few months ago. 3 times a week at 50$ a pop adds up pretty quickly!

I know my pain started out as work related, but now it is aggravated by stress or when I don't get enough sleep etc. I tried to get WCB, but of course who can prove fibromyalgia started out as an ergonimic problem?! So frustrating.

I have found in the last few months, that having a peace about the future and not worrying about it has made a big difference in my anxiety level. My faith has gotten me through some tough times. (That's not to say I don't struggle with the pain or get discouraged, but trusting that God has my best interests at heart, makes a difference in my outlook that's for sure).

Counting calories is a tough one, especially when you are still hungy. I still look at calories, but mostly I still follow the guide lines set out in my program. It was based on getting my metabulism going. So eating was three meals a day, nothing more, no snacks etc. You have to eat at least 5 hours apart. You also had to have one apple daily with which ever meal you wanted, and you also had to have certain nuts once a day and also protein with every meal (along with vegetables or fruit). They gave me a list of what foods I was allowed (which they said was based on the blood work they took from me). I don't know if I believe that the blood work was important or not, but I do know that this is the first program that was not difficult to stick to, and find that it is not hard to keep the weight off either. I started last September and had lost all my weight by February, and can stay within five lbs no problem.

Well, I have rattled on long enough. I appreciate your feed back and like you said, anytime you need to chat, or just want to vent - feel free to email me!

Take care,
R