This med
I feel like I'm 12 months pregnant. lol, Well I do. I cannot eat like normal people so usually keep meals small and so very healthy so that I can feel 8 months prego instead. Gastro doc says all is normal. Hmmm, I still wonder about that. I told Mary the other day, "I don't need my stomach stapled I just need to find out what their diet is and eat like them", she says "you already do!". She says I should lose a couple pounds a week the way I eat. I do agree. I gained another 4 lbs in the last couple weeks. Neurontin is pissing me off!!! I am cutting back from 2400 mgs a day to 2100. Not an easy task ahead of me as I suffer such severe pain and could use an increase in the med but I will NOT tolerate this crap any longer. So, if I start acting weird like really grumpy or whatever, do forgive me. Sherry
Replies
Sorry you\'re having such rough time, Sherry...I can imagine your pain is horrific- I wish I could say something to help you get some relief! But you could look @it one way: think how much Christ suffered on the cross...and that one day we all will BE FREE becuz of that!! May God give you the strength you need...luv, Christine
Take care, sweetie. I hope you find relief, now and then, hopefully, now! :-)
Thanks ladies, I assumed everyone could read my mind lol, the problem is the med has caused me to gain over 40 lbs and I cannot take anymore weight gain at all. Might just switch to a new med to replace it but that is always kind of a scary thing to do. New med might have worse side effects or not relieve any pain and such thoughts like these enter my mind.
Christine, I really, really, really look forward to the day I cross over and have no more pain.
Hi Sherry, You sound excatly like me. I can\'t eat like \"Normal People\" either, because I have 30 pages worth of Food Allergies. My portions are small, my food is bland, and boring, and simple. I should have been skinny 5 years ago. No Wheat, No Dairy, No Eggs...go figure. I hope you drop those pounds like mad!! I\'m right behind you! LOL
i\'ll love you grumpy and all! yuou\'re handling it all so well, i think if i was in pain alot of the time, i\'d b not a happy camper! will you always hav to follow a diet like you do? hope you havea goodwekend. hug to you.
I wish we could poor energy and healing into your body and free you from this monster. You are always in our prayers and I\'m sending you lots of good thoughts.
Hello Ms. SHerry,
I looked at your picture and you didn\'t look 40lbs. overweight then! Has it been this past you that you have gained?
I am sooooooooo blessed as I have been on tons of prednisone for years now and I never gained weight or got what they call a moon face. Our outer appearances can certainly wear on us, can\'t they? My parents soooooo judged us kids by our outer appearance..........I think that\'s where the \"shame\" comes in that I feel at times.......It\'s not so much the RA; it\'s a matter of being physically imperfect.....My partents were outwardly beautiful and their 8 children were to be the same......anything less that that was not acceptable......I\'m finding my way past this by lots and lots of introspection....My next journal is going to be about the \"good\" that has come to me from these disease\'s.
Well, I love you for your heart, your interior, not your exterior!
I think the weight issue may be coming from \"ALL THE HOPE\" you are carrying around! LOL We need to get busy and shed this (HOPE) and not keep it self-contained!
Hopefully today is good!
Multitudes of BLessings, Vicki
Yes, it is very frustrating, gaining the weight, and feeling completely out of control. Some of it may be hormonal level, thyroid issues, and lack of sleep. Who the hell knows what else!
I feel for ya, cuz I got the same damned problem. Now it\'s gotten to the point, that I can\'t help but notice everyone else\'s stomach, and side profile. lol
That\'s the pits, when you don\'t see hardly anyone that has a huge protruding stomach, unless they are obese. It is scary. Sorry, but get more sleep, they say it does help maintain weight or make you lose a little!
Good luck!
Thanks for all your replies. The pic in my profile here was taken like 14 months ago and that was a year after the unexplained weight gain began so had gained over 20 lbs at that time. I carry weight well. I look great a little chubby at 170. Add 42 lbs to 172 and you will know what this medication has done. Fat is uncomfortable and cannot wear my clothes anymore all while on a bird diet. I have to eat this way or I get more of the severe nausea and last night the 12 mos. pregnant feeling was major bloating. I am hypersensitive and intolerant to many foods, that is part of Fibro too. Respect our diets are much the same bland, boring, cavewoman diet. Frustrating! Especially with this diet it is just not right to gain 2 to 4 lbs every time I see my doc and get weighed, once a month. I don\'t look to be skinny, never liked skinny or super slim. : )
FYI, any time you take a drug that affects the brain, like Neurotin, it affects the appetite, and the way you gain/lose weight. Prednisone is the worst, and any antipsychotic will cause you to gain, even if you eat the same. Wellbutrin an AD, for some reason also causes weight lose initially, although it hasn\'t helped lately. Another drug that causes weight lose is Topamax, but losing your memory is not worth it.
You didn\'t say whether you exercise or not. I work out 6 days a week, despite having Rheumatoid Arthritis, and while I don\'t lose weight from it, my muscles are strong, and I do look better, even though I am still 20 lbs overweight. I lost 80 lbs 3 years ago, and regained 20, and it seems to be a battle to lose it. Probably because I admit I do overeat at night. It seems like a weird eating disorder.
So my advice is to work out. Start slowly, even walking if you are able will help. The other issue is do weight training and lots of stretches. It will help your fibro, because if the muscles are strong, they hold everything in place, and you won\'t get as much strain. Just work at it slowly, and get some training if necessary, from someone who understands your physical limitations.
if you focus on the stuff you can\'t control, it will infuriate you, i totally know firsthand, because i\'ve been dealing with lupus since 1992, been on prednisone that made me gain as much as 1 pounds ina week, and i DID get the moon face all 3 times, and it made my hair fall out. totally infuriating.
the 3rd time on prednisone, i went on the candida diet and lost a bunch of weight, while still on prednisone. i had yeast overgrowth (thrush- so gross). sometimes that explains bloating.
these days, off prednisone and trying to get my health back in order while staying off meds, i am on a gluten-free dairy free vegan diet. more for health than weight loss; i want to stop the disease process naturally.\'
anyhow when things have been really bad for me in the past, i set really small goals for myself, like walking 100 yards, then 200 the next day and so on (I had a stroke and had ot start really small). I also spent a lot of time doing creative stuff, which for me meant writing songs. and that took my mind off my troubles, even though i was usually writing about my troubles!
i found swimming to be great exercise, and spent time with my friends who don\'t judge me. and looked for things that were funny so i could laugh.
hugs
PS i\'ve been on neurontin as well- it was a godsend because nothing else was touching the pain- when you cut back on it, you will briefly experience discomfort (withdrawal) as with any drug. if you still hurt after 3 days, go abck up to the orignial dose. that\'s my strategy for coming off pills.
Thanks for the comments. I cannot exercise. Just a few years ago I made myself walk a brisk mile 3 times a week, worked out with light weights, stretching, at home PT exercises and a little bit of aerobic exercise a couple times a week. That was with Fibro full body pain and chronic back/neck pain. I am much worse off now and will not list all the additional problems here but I hardly have range of motion now, do have severe Neuralgia/Sciatica in back/butt/legs/feet and peripheral edema big time. Even the last time I had aquatic therapy it began to hurt my joints and cause nerve pain flares big time also. I really cannot work out lol, I have a cane, a walker and use the motor scooters at the stores. I cannot stand for longer than 3 minutes. Just so ya know. I could not lie there crying last night in bed with pain growing so got up and took that 300 mg Neurontin and half a percocet and went to sleep then. I do not know how I am going to wean down or get off this med but I hate what it is doing to my body. Thank You Everyone! : )
You have a bunch of friends Sherry! I take Nuerontin and it hasn\'t made me gain weight. Of course I only take 400mg. I hope you can find the right balance and take off those pounds. You are a superhero in my book!
Hey Steve and you are one of my precious friends. The weight thing didn\'t start until Neurontin was increased from 1800 mgs a day to 2400. So if I could cut down to 1800 mgs a day maybe, just maybe this massive weight gaining will stop. You are Mr. Hopes and Inspiration in my book. : )