What do you weigh Today

It seems like everyone is always complaining about their weight.  America has always been weight conscious and thin is in.  People in chronic pain struggle with weight just like everybody else.  The only difference is that we often have outside influences that play a major role in whether we lose or gain weight.

Some of the medications that we take to control our pain have some interesting side effects.  Sometimes a medication will make you ravenous and you cannot seem to get enough to eat.  You find that you crave certain foods, like sweets, and you cannot seem to stop eating.  Nothing that you do seems to help; you keep eating and eating and eating. Other times the medications take away your appetite.  I find that I will cook dinner only to pick at it and then either save it for later or throw it away.  I will eat breakfast at 6:00 am, usually 2 toaster streudel and a bowl of fruit, and then eat a small dinner at about 8:00pm. 

Sometimes medications are not the issue at all.  The issue is swelling or edema.   Edema is defined as;

“Edema is the medical term for swelling. It is a general response of the

 body to injury or inflammation. Edema can be isolated to a small area or

affect the entire body. Infections, pregnancy, medications and many

medical problems can cause edema.  Edema results whenever small blood

vessels become "leaky" and release fluid into nearby tissues. The extra

fluid accumulates, causing the tissue to swell.  Numerous medications can

cause edema, including:

·         NSAIDs (naproxen, ibuprofen)

·         Calcium channel blockers

·         Corticosteroids (Prednisone,Methylprednisolone)

·         Pramiprexole  “

The loss of potassium in your body can also cause edema.  Edema can be related to all sorts of medical conditions and there are a variety of types.  Check with your doctor if you have any type of swelling that is accompanied by pain or that is not relieved using ice and elevation.

The traditional treatment for edema is to elevate your legs above your heart and diuretics.  I was hospitalized twice because the potassium had disappeared from my body and I swelled to enormous proportions.  One night in the hospital with iv potassium and I was back to my regular swollen self.  The doctor tried putting me on diuretics to help me lose the fluid.  I thought that diuretics were going to be my godsend because I thought that I would lose the water weight but no such luck.  All I got were numerous trips to the bathroom. 

So, now I have 3 sets of clothes; normal, puffy and fat, and three sizes of shoes: 7.5, 9 and 11 and my dreams of weighing 130 or less are in the dust.  I just have to learn to live with my weight and the yo-yoing.  It’s a hard thing to accept and I am not there yet but, I will keep trying to like my new body; regular, medium, or supersized.