Weight gain and MS, where did my strength go?? :(

[LATW]

Hello,
I am so discouraged by the amount of weight I have put on over the past 10 months since my first episode of ON.  

I can only assume I was having a MS flare at that time because nothing was working right.  I felt like a zombie and totally went off of my diet.  I can't even call it a diet.  I had been eating low carb for several years.

I had lost 40 pounds and was maintaining it really well.  Then this all hit me like a ton of bricks.  While I was going through the flare my husband had to have major surgery on his foot. He was in a case for 8 weeks and off of work for 4 months.  

It was more than I could take.  I started eating my old comfort foods.  Which are all high carb products.  I decided last night that I HAVE to get back on my low carb way of eating.  I am starting to feel a little better.  My vision is improving.  I think I am handling my Avonex ok.  I am ready to get my life back under control.

Did any one else feel like they lost control of their lives when MS made an appearance?  I know I had symptoms here and there over the years but last summer was a major turning point for me with Optic Neuritis for the first time and an abnormal MRI.

So, anyway......I am trying to work up the energy and dig deep inside of myself to find the strength I used to have.  Has anyone else had any luck with lower carb?  Anyone else gain a lot of weight during the diagnostic process of MS?

LA

[LATW]

I agree.  I felt so much better.  I think I deal with the heat better at a lower weight also.

LA

[doublevision1]

I think you are right on the mark when you talk about keeping weight down with MS.  Mobility is a big concern, and we never know how our disease will progress.  It is easier to move around with less excess weight at the best of times; I'm sure even more so as one may become less "able bodied" so to speak.

When I was having trouble rolling over in bed with the wicked MS Hug, I felt certain that if I was a bit slimmer, it would not be so difficult.

My guess is that generally speaking, people who are fit and at an ideal weight are better equipped to deal with the negative aspects than might otherwise be the case.  

If I can lose that 20 lbs I gained recently, I'm sure I'll be feeling a lot better.  Another 10 lbs and I would be exactly where I need to be, just like you!

db1

[LATW]

I have this crazy idea that if my MS gets bad I need to be thin so it does not take a crane to move me. HAHAHA!!!! I think it is funny, but maybe it isn't.

30 pounds will get me to my ideal weight and I would be so much more comfortable.

One of the big problems I had with low carb was I go so tired of meat.  I can hardly stand a hamburger even now!  I think I should try peanuts or something.  

One of the problems I had before low carb was reflux.  I am starting to have a lot of trouble with reflux again.  

I have always been a little over weight.  I have never been obese, but always a little over my idea weight. I WAS a very fat baby though!


LA

[gollie]

Hi La

For starters McB brings up a good point about the serorids.
the last time I used predisone, I gainded 20 pounds. grrr.

This was before I knew about the MS, then I gained another
20 as I got very inactive, from pain all the time. so 40 all together.

I leanred about ceiliac disease because that is what my old ruemy
thought I had. I was not so sure as most people loose weight with
it. At anyrate, back then I started a glutenfree diet (No wheat products)
period. that left me salad meat potatoes some cheese eggs fruit and
any veggies..(no bluecheese, dressings alot of condomints
have processed glutents.)
I used a ton of chicken breast, to be careful of cholestrol.  
I never went hungary, always felt full.  I lost all 40 lbs in 6 months.
the first 25 lbs dropped off within the first 2 months. the last 10
or so took abit longer.  
I have always been on the thin side till then and it feels good to be back
there. I did not do a ton of excersise, but was always busy when not in
pain.
The first few weeks of eating just the natural basic food  groups took some
ajusting too, but it really worked for me. I got pretty creative with spices
and now crave for some of the same dishes even now.
I am off that now, and Just carefut to watch my portions now and of course
I stay away from the goodies as much as possible. just a treat once in awhile.
I am really being careful
Especially now with knowing about the MS, so I have some room to play
with if I have to use steroids, or start getting to many pain days and cant
be active.     I hate to put it back on after all that effort.

Hope this will be of help         Gollie

[LATW]

Thanks,
I am sorry to hear you are having these issues too but glad to know I am not alone.  I think I have the age thing going against me now too as I turned 45 this past Saturday.

I also had a hysterctomy this past fall and I am sure I am still bloating a bit because of it.  Somedays I feel like a balloon and others I feel normal.  

I have had my best luck on low carb with meats and veggies too.  I am not a fruit eater at all.  I have huge problems with grains.  Corn makes me swell.  Wheat causes me tummy troubles.  I have been tested for Celiac but am negitive every time.

I also have food allergies that further complicates my life.  I do love chocolate!  I also love to cook!  I should check out the South Beach diet and see if that might work into my life better than Atkins.  I lost the 40 pounds on Atkins and really felt good.  My bp dropped low enough I was able to go off of my meds!!

But I have had to take them again because my bp went up with all of this stress and weight gain. :(  So, I need to get busy and start watching what goes into my mouth!!

LA

[doublevision1]

OMG, I can SO relate.  I've gained 20 lbs since last Sept!!!!  I understand everything you are saying about comfort foods, etc.  I've been off work now for 6 months.  I love to cook and bake and have done a lot more of this since I have been off work.  Due to my low energy, some days it may take me all day to cook a meal or bake a cake, but I do it to keep me busy and feel marginally productive, and so that I can do something nice for my husband in return for all he does for me.  The problem is that the things I like to make are usually hight fat AND high carb, and of course after cooking all day I want to eat what I have made.  To further add to the problem, tt the moment there is a lot of Easter chocolate lying around the house and I find it very hard to resist!

I have had much success in the past with low carb.  I like it because I don't feel hungry when I'm doing it and feel more energized.  I did best with meats low in saturated fat, and lots of vegetables.  I did have complex carbs, just avoided the bad ones.  I stuck with it for a long time and do think it is sustainable.  

I try to get some exercise, but my fatigue has been so bad the past couple of weeks I have not done any.  Normally I try to get on the treadmill, 4 to 5 times per week, and do 5 - 8 kms of jogging or brisk walking.  I try to stretch every day and do some mild strength training a few days a week.  I definitely have to step it up in order to lose the weight I have put on.  I'm sure this would go a long way to making me feel better physically.

When I am exercising and eating better, I feel much more in control, which is so important for one's mind, when other aspects of one's health are so out of control.  It is so tempting for me to give up out of sheer frustration, but I can't blame everything on MS and know I have to take responsibility for what I can control.

The MS dx just has totally put me off track in so many ways.  I recently looked at a photo of myself from last summer, then looked in the mirror, and it was a bit shocking.  I looked vibrant and healthy (and happy) in the photo, and much younger than my then-age of 39.  I turned 40 recently and think that I feel and look ten years older.  In six short months, life has taken a 180 degree turn for me.  I know I have to persevere and only I can get things back on track again.  I'm frustrated by the weight gain, but optimistic in  knowing that I can get it off.

Good luck to you!

db1

[MCBCON]

I think it is almost impossible not to gain weight when taking steroids.

[jensequitur]

Oh, and I wouldn't do the low carb Atkins thing, if I were you.  If you're going to follow any diet, the Swank diet is pretty good, and the South Beach diet isn't too bad.  A diet that limits the categories of foods you eat isn't a healthy one.  You need a balance of all foods, including carbs.  I recommend staying away from processed carbohydrates, and sticking with beans and potatoes and whole grains.

[jensequitur]

I gained about twenty pounds while I was going through my flare and taking oral steroids.  Part of it was that I didn't have the concentration necessary to count calories, but part of it was that I was sure I was gonna die... so why count?  Much to my relief, I wasn't going to die, but now I have these twenty pounds...

So I've gone back on my diet, which is basically just count calories, and stop eating when I get to 1500.  i try to eat as many vegetables as i can cram in, but it's not easy to get fresh vegetables every day.  I'm also exercising two-three days a week.  However, I didn't see the pounds start to go until I started running again.  I can't run as much as i used to - I can do about twenty minutes, then I have to slow it down.  But it's definitely helping.  I'm down five pounds and have fifteen more pounds to go.