Sunday, July 5, 2009

Struggling To Lose Weight With MS

You would think that with all the times my wife is sick from eating that she would not have any problems losing weight. She has struggled her whole life to lose weight, and her Multiple Sclerosis only seems to make it more difficult. She was at her slimmest when on the Swank MS diet and is the biggest she has been right now. She has tried different things through the years to lose weight, and is struggling now to shed a few pounds. As a man, it seems to be pretty easy to lose weight but for her, it is a slow, frustrating process.

A few years ago she began a workout program and was lifting and running 3-4 times per week. My wife was a gymnast as a teen so she can build muscle without any problem. When she started working out she was feeling great, but after a few months she started having MS problems. Even more frustrating for her was that she was not losing weight or size. She was doing all of the right things but she was not seeing a difference in the mirror or on the scale. She eventually worked her body into an MS attack and went numb for a month. That is when our search for a naturopathic treatment for MS began.

I know other MS patients that workout regularly and take breaks as their MS flairs or has problems. I know other MS patients that will immediately have issues from short physical exertions, and Multiple Sclerosis is so strange how it affects no two people the same. I know that Dr Swank didn't recommend any physical exercise for years after my wife started the diet, so that her body could use all of it's resources to regain health. After she had shown a good track record, he recommended short workouts and lots of rest. She has done some of that through the years, but after the big attack a few years ago, she has been very nervous about working out too much and over exerting herself.

My wife is an all or nothing person. MS has not stopped her from being all or nothing, just caused her more frustration when it starts to give her problems. It doesn't make a lot of sense that she becomes sick so often after meals, and she still gains weight, but we are going to try something a little different this time. The Naturopath told us one time that women will gain weight in their stomach areas due to poor digestion and parasite problems. So, we are going to go about this totally different than we have before and see if she has better luck losing weight this time. We are going to start with a cleansing process and then work our way into stretching, yoga and other low impact workouts until she can start to handle more.

We need to get her gut clean first though, because we feel like a lot of the weight gain is from poor digestion and her body not utilizing nutrition properly. This seems to be common among patients with auto immune diseases, so we are going to try and document more about how this process works for her. My wife has a huge desire to help other MS patients lose weight, gain strength and flexibility and just gain overall health. As we have in the past, we are going to begin to listen to her body, try different things, and find a way for her to live life the way she wants, not the way Multiple Sclerosis would have her live.

13 comments:

Mad Mom said...

I just stumbled upon your blog during a search for answers. Your words seem to describe me in everway. I have been having some symptoms of MS for about two years now and I have been getting the run around from doctors. They say my extreme exhaustion, clumsiness, arm pain/tingling, and lack of focus is just stress. The stress treatments don't help. I'm desparate for some help. I don't want to have the disease, but I want to be proactive in ruling it out, but everyone else just wants to dance around it. Do you have any suggestions?

Diane said...

I will be curious to see what your findings are as I have similar weight problems and issues with pushing my body to work out.

Do keep us posted.

Unknown said...

Mad Mom, thanks for the comment. I understand your frustration and my wife went through the same mess of appointments and empty doctor visits. I really feel like I could offer more if I knew more about your situation, and if I could share some specifics about what we have done. You can email me at cory@bcdesignteam.com or leave an email address on this blog where I can contact you.

nessy said...

since 2001 i knew something was wrong. I was joking with cousins doing the running man dance and i just fell for no reason, like an invincable leg kicked mine out from under me. since then i cant run, walk with pain, can bearly lift my blow dryer. Legs are heavy, pray i can get on the sidewalk, vision gets bad a times, brain fog. its so sad, ill never run again. I am getting so fat its frustrating, i wanna go to the gym and do what i know my body can handle, but its hard when the personal trainers try to bug you, i dont feel i have to tell them what im going thru, they should respect that we might seem like we are capable , sadly we are not

Kat said...

Please share how you did a detox. I am struggling to lose anymore weight and I know that I have stomach problems. You are an inspiration that you care so much about your wife.

Unknown said...

Hey Kat, sorry it took me so long to post your comment. I posted quite a few days of our detox starting with this post - http://mywifehasms.blogspot.com/2012/01/day-1-juice-cleanse-with-multiple.html. Let me know if you have any questions.

nikki said...

I am a newly diagnosed with ms and I hurt all day when I try to walk or do other work outs my body hurts. I feel my muscles being very tight and it hurts to even do little things. I still work which gives me some satisfaction because I love what I do. My body is so tight what are the best things to do? I use to stretch dail before being diagnosed two years ago. Now it hurts or excerpts me.


Unknown said...

Hey Nikki, thanks for the comment. Sorry to hear about your issues. I know for my wife that she has had vitamin issues that have caused her pain and muscle tightness. When she is low on Potassium, her body can physically ache, so we are very aware of what she eats and what she is deficient in. There are a few things that have worked for her like Potassium supplements, Magnesium supplements and a product called Natural Calm that we buy at the local natural food store. I hope this helps you to know what has worked for us. Let me know what you try and if it works.

Anonymous said...

Hi. So glad that I'm not the only one that has issues with weight. I have had stomach issues in the past, before I knew I had MS. I have a certain weight that I can get to, and cannot get past it. I am having a hard time dealing with this, depression, self esteem issues, etc. I will definitely be talking to my doctor about this, and see if there's anything wrong health wise, or if I just can't lose weight. lol. I have struggled with weight my whole life, but have never had these kinds of issues losing weight. I'm so frustrated, and this gave me a glimmer of hope. Thank you so much!!

Unknown said...

OMG!, Im going through the same exact thing. My MS wont let me lose weight even though I do max interval training everydayand burn around 700 calories, I am 50lbs overweight, It is very frustrating and depressing, sometimes I even get numb for weeks from so much working out. If I knew I would get diagnosed with MS. I would have taken care of my weight more but children happen and you gain weight, so I guess i'll be overweight for the rest of my life.

here's my email if anybody ever finds an explanation to this melcarpe2@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Hi Melanie,
Thanks for the comment. My wife truly understands your frustration. She has also exercised herself into numbness. The main thing she has learned is for her the diet she eats is the most important thing for weight loss. When she changed her eating habits and focused on portion control and not snacking, she lost over 20 pounds last spring. She's starting to do the same thing again and slowly starting to lose weight with minimal exercising. The bad eating habits and snacking have been her downfall with weight gain, but she has learned how to adjust and lose weight. Good luck in reaching your goals!

CJ said...

I kind of want to cry right now. I don't even know if I have MS. Symptoms come and go, I've had tons of blood work that bring back some deficiencies in vitamins which I have been taking. I can't tell if it works though cause the symptoms cone and go. But today it was a little warmer than is has been over the past few days and I'm a dog walker. The same route I took yesterday made me want to curl up in bed today afterwards. It's been 3 hours and I still feel overheated and exhausted even after a cool shower. Do you have any suggestions I'm frustrated and I'm pretty sure my doctor thinks I'm a hypochondriac....

Unknown said...

CJ, I'm sorry you are struggling so much right now. The heat is very rough for my wife too. It was extremely hot here today along with high humidity and my wife had to lay down for awhile this afternoon to cool down and feel better. I wish I had the answer for you because heat and MS don't seem to mix. I think the corner turned for us when we decided to go to a Naturopath and find treatments that worked for my wife. That's the main suggestion I would have at this point is study, learn and listen. Try different things like diet changes, supplements, Chiropractic and other things you feel might help. Take control of your treatment by listening to your body and learning. If you have any specific questions please let me know.