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loosing weight with limited exercise

R

RoseMcnose

New Member
Went to the specialist yesterday for my mri results. Turns out, I have not been making the back pain up!!!! Two discs degenerated and bulging into my spinal cord, two vertebrae showing significant wear and changes present. Told to limit movement and exercise.

Big blow to my plans.
 
Goodness, at least you have a diagnosis and an understanding of what is going on - is there anything that they are able to do in terms of guidance for exercise? Swimming? Low impact things?
 
Specifically asked about swimming and its a no no. Swimming face in water, front crawl is a maybe but as I find that painful he said no then. As is walking at any pace that would be any use from a cardio and weight loss perspective. I obviously can walk to get around. Basically anything that exacerbates it is no a no bias it is causing more wear on the already damaged vertebrae.

I do reformer Pilates and he is ok for me to continue that as long as I do not do any exercise that exacerbates it. Pretty much everything makes it worse so sadly I think that may have to go soon too.

Feeling a bit glum. I really thought my weight loss was going to sort it out.
 
Poor u Rosie! Sorry to hear that.

What about a vibro plate? Would that be any good? I think u would have to try it to see if it causes pain. But u can just stand on it and not move. I don't know how it would feel for u.
What about water aerobics? Would that be too much for u?
Can anything be done for it?
I hope ur sorted soon xx
 
No, can't use vibro plate. Options are epi injection first off. Then next stop is fusion.
 
Can sympathise Rose I also have degenerative disc disease( pretty much 3/4 of all discs are bulging & crumbling :sigh:). The only exercise that i can do is face down swimming as lifting neck high in the water is a nono. When i did go swimming i would don earplugs, goggles and nasal clips .. not pretty but at least it allowed me to swim face down doing the breaststroke. The crawl /butterfly is a nono. Gentle walking with proper shoes is good too .. no pounding though. I love walking along the tide line of a beach as it offers the best surface. Not too hard not too soft.. I was only offered pain relief and put on a pain managment class as treatment. To be honest I think this was because of my size. Dont know what will happen once I start shrinking but dont fancy the fusion at all from personal family experiance of this surgery. Good Luck Rose x
 
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Meant to add Rosie that all weight loss is good for the back and joints. I have lost 4 stone and even though im still MobOb I cant put into words the difference that this loss has made already. I can get out of my chair now without assistance and stairs are a whole lot easier. Yeah it still hurts but its come down the pain scale quite a bit. So all Weight Loss is good ;)
 
Rosie how about a balance ball? Would sitting on it be good for ur back and it engages the core muscles as a result would strengthen ur back.
If u just sat on it while watching telly or something?
 
Cb4, it's not related to core strength. I have good core strength according to the consultant yesterday. Sitting is bad as it puts upward pressure on the area. Just spoke to a physio and they have agreed that epidural injection is the best course of action and agrees exercise is a no no.

Thanks femfrankie. I know my weight is exacerbating the pain and I will be focusing on my weight loss but I am just disappointed I won't get my fit self back.
 
Ah. That's terrible hard for ye. But get yer self better then worrie about the fitness.
Hope u get the injections soon.
 
You will still lose weight. There is a lady here who has ms and cannot exercise an she has done very well
 
Yvessa said:
You will still lose weight. There is a lady here who has ms and cannot exercise an she has done very well
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Thanks I am sure I will but its not just the weight loss for me, it was getting my life back, hiking, horse riding etc.
 
I understand what you mean. But you may be surprised how much more you can do without pain.
 
Yvessa said:
I understand what you mean. But you may be surprised how much more you can do without pain.
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Thanks. I am sure as energy levels improve, I will do more. I am in constant pain at the moment. Maybe I will get moments of relief.

Thanks for the support.

Xxx
 
RoseMcnose said:
Thanks I am sure I will but its not just the weight loss for me, it was getting my life back, hiking, horse riding etc.
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And you will to a certain extent hun as the weight comes off. You are still feeling raw at the news ...I know I was when the doc started to list what discs were damaged and then after years of being denied painkillers due to asthma I was issued a script for tramadol. All I could think of was well that's that then no more long walks no more cycling and gardening is a nono ...everything that I love. But you do put adjustments in place. Okay cycling is probably not going to happen for me ever again but as I said earlier I discovered that I enjoyed beach walking. My garden is slowly evolving as we put raised beds in to make it easier for me... And hubby through my DDD discovered he has green fingers!
You learn your limitations & develop coping skills. I walk with two sticks but it took me a few debilitating years to get over my embarrassment to use them. I realised how ridiculous this was after going shopping with hubby. I had a TENSmachine strapped around my back and turned up to its highest setting in a failed effort to mask the pain:eek: Hubby and I had a massive fallout that day and he bluntly told me how beep beep stupid I was being. I started using my crutches thereafter and yes he was right I had been b****y minded and stupid by denying myself this walking aid as I could walk ten times the distance with them!
Rose, take everything that is offered to you .. If asked to do something that you don't think your back is going to cope with say NO! It's just not worth a flare up! xx
 
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I had a spinal fusion 8 years ago which went a little wrong and I now have nerve damage to my left leg, however it was far better than the problems I had before.
I was walking with 2 sticks and using a scooter as my mobility had dropped so much. I had to face up to the fact that I was never going to be able to do lots of exercise or get back what I had but I hoped that my bypass would buy back some time and stop some of the pain.

I am on permanent fentanyl as well as other pain killers and anti inflammatory's. I was really hoping to reduce the medication but that has not happened. I had my by pass May 2012 and have lost over 8 stone, now a size 10. I no longer use a stick to walk most if the time and have much more energy but pain has not dropped. I suffer from fybromyalgia which I know will effect this.

My bypass has given me my legs back, I love it for that, the rest was going to happen anyway.

I had joint facet injections before my fusion, they were the worst thing I ever did, that was about 10 years ago though. I hope they are better now. A fusion may be radical but I can honestly say, even with the complications it has been my saviour. Good luck
 
Wow femfrankie!!! That's hard going. Sounds like u have been fighting hard and adapted quite well. God love ye. Can't imagine how hard that is to deal with and yet your so positive.
Hugs n kisses xx
 
Sar257. You have had it tough too. So sad:(

But great weight loss!!!! Well done. Hope things get easier for yous.
I suffer with the dreaded Fybro too! But what can ye do! Don't think there is many healthy people out there.
:) xx
 
cb4, never known so many sufferers in one place before!
 
cb4 said:
Wow femfrankie!!! That's hard going. Sounds like u have been fighting hard and adapted quite well. God love ye. Can't imagine how hard that is to deal with and yet your so positive.
Hugs n kisses xx
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Thanks cb4 ... What can I say? .... Life goes on... No point moaning about it because it drags everybody down with you... Keep taking the tablets which I don't btw because I know what those things can do to you! I have to be at screaming point first! Does anything get me down? .. Yes the thought of landing in a wheelchair, that is how I have ended up on this WLS pilapha because that dread was fast becoming a reality!

I have endured this for 45yrs now. So for me it is a way of life. It is my normal. Not being pathetic just reached acceptance ;) x
 
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