Any RSDers currently on a diet that is working for them? - Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Message Board

palarin · 07-08-2006, 08:12 PM

Hi Everyone!

My depression is bad enough with the amount of pain from RSD day in and day out. However, when the doctors start switching around your pain meds and your weight starts climbing and doesn't seem to stop, it just makes things even worse.

I'm currently on Effexor XR 200mg and between it and the Neurotin I was on, I have gained about 50 lbs. I have systemic RSD, which means it has spread through out all of my limbs and body. It also attacks my organs periodically as well. Therefore, I like many of you cannot exercise but I would really like to work on loosing some weight by watching my diet.

If your currently on a diet, please share your input with me such as; if it's helping you to lose weight or if there is no change maybe due to the medication you are on, or maybe your trying something totally different to lose weight that has helped you (like adding an appetite suppressant before each meal), etc....

Any help would be appreciated. A fellow RSDer in pain every day, very depressed about a lot of different things, and bigger than I've ever been in my entire life.

Marie

sharon1030 · 07-09-2006, 05:44 PM

Hi Marie,

I know how depressing it is to gain weight and how good you feel when you just lose a few pounds. I'll tell you what's helped me to lose weight. First of all, I've had Type 1 diabetes since I was 12 so that kind of forces me to watch what I eat. When I was very depressed, I kind of stopped eating and gained a lot of weight because of that. My metabolism slowed down because my body thought it was starving. As soon as I decided to take control of the situation, I started eating small meals throughout the day and I started losing weight. I count carbs because I have to do that to know how much insulin to take, but that has also helped me. Writing down what I eat also helps because it keeps you accountable

. I also drink a lot of water. I've lost about 40 pounds in the last year or so by doing this. Good luck.

Sharon

pattihabs · 07-10-2006, 08:16 PM

hi marie

i am, it's called eat whenever i want

. i quit smoking in nov when i had my surgury and have since agined about 20+ lbs

. i know the meds arn't helping any. my hubby is dieting but i am tooo depressed to worry about that right now. my family is going on a cruise and i would like to lose about 30 lbs by then

. so far, i'm not feeling like it's possible. thats why i'd like to get off some of the meds, honestly though, my eating habits have not changed, just the lack of exercise since the rsd. very depressed and i have NO motivation. i stay in bed way too much. to make mattersworse, we just got a new mattress and it is soooo comfy i don't want to get out of bed...

oh well, i'll keep trying, patti

eunie'sflame · 07-13-2006, 03:44 AM

Hi Marie, this is so hard being struck with RSD and unable to move around like we use to and having all these med putting this extra weight on us and not able to work it off like we use too!! Boo Hooo!! I quit smoking a yr and a half ago and of course put on the extra pounds with that too. Being a Workman Comp case I knew my Drs were going to stay hounding me about my weight so my partner Kellie and I started a "lifestyle change" Basically we still eat every thing we like we just cut back on the amount of it..We cook all our meat on our George Forman grill that we love and we mostly eat chicken breasts. We love our milk and cookies at night!! instead of 4 or 5 cookies with a full glass of milk like we use to have hmmmm we now just have 2 cookies with less than a half a glass of milk..it's a little hard at first but you get use to it! We love bread!! we just don't eat it as much anymore!! no more butter on our veggies..we only eat frozen veggies lots of them..and lots of water!! When you have cereal in the morning only have a cup with enough milk to cover your cereal..when you have hamburgers..forget the bun grill up some onions and enjoy..When Kellie and I go out to dinner one of us will order a hambuger and the other a salad and we'll ask them to cut it in halves which they don't mind at all to do and we spilit it that way..little things like that make such a differences and then you can still share that fudge choclate cake after dinner!! yummo!! hope this helps Marie..I lost about 35 pounds
eunie