grrr, weight gain!
 

WELL, after being home for ten weeks, I've gained weight... I am frustrated, and incredibly unhappy, and I cannot exactly go and exercise... I posted before that my thyroid is now hypo (TSH was at 4.44) and I am pretty sure it was due to the hit....

SO - I am looking for ways to help shed some weight... I am a bored eater, so all this staying home, and no reading intensely, is really hitting my **** hard! Any ideas or advice would be TRULY appreciated!

Also, I need to be careful about what supplements I take because we are actively TTC (so the progesterone I am on for that likely isn't doing me any favours either!).

I gained 50 lbs. as a result of the concussion I sustained *and* all my muscles atrophied (I had to be on almost 6 months of bed rest due to a rare complication from the concussion); so I completely understand your frustration! And in the past year, I've lost a lot of girth but no actual weight, so I'm still 50 lbs. heavier than I was before the accident I was in even though I'm several sizes smaller now! (At least I was still 50lbs. heavier the last time I was weighted at the Dr.'s office; I'm hopeful that next time I go, I'll actually see some results on the scale... it's at least helpful that I actually see results on my waist.)

My Dr. recommended low impact exercises designed for seniors once I was able to sit up again. I purchased some DVDs, like Chair Salsa and other chair sitting exercise programs.

You can also consider doing Tai Chi, Chi Gong and gentle yoga moves to help.

My boyfriend bought me some strappable 3lb. weights for my ankles and hand weights too so I can lift them while I'm sitting.

A researcher recently recommended that I try sit-ups.

My head is too dizzy for activity since my recent set back, but I hope to start taking gentle walks again after I'm able to.

Swimming is recommended by some professionals too. But, as we read in the latest blog posted from SpaceCadet, "Fight PCS", swimming might not work for everyone recovering from PCS.

Just try to keep "busy", or at least occupied or distracted as much as possible, so you don't eat as much. Or eat things that are super healthy and low-calorie, like celery sticks and air-popped popcorn.

My PCP advised me to not eat any fruit, the last time I saw her, but to instead eat only vegetables to cut down on unnecessary carbs. And my neurologist recommended that I only take the B Complex Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays because I eat so healthy already she thinks I get most of the B's I need already. She said I need to continue to take B12 sublingually every day though to continue to give my brain as much of it as possible to help it heal. She said that will help me to lose weight. Make sure your PCP and/or neuro agree with this regimen before changing anything they've recommended though.

I've recently been eating soup instead of some "real meals" (3 course meals) in an effort to help me lose weight too.

There are two low impact exercises that may help.

I would walk about a mile in a lap pool. A local health club had a lap pool that I would walk/lung for about 45 minutes to an hour. It was refreshing work without the windedness from other exercises. The reduced weight from the flotation makes it so the steps do not send impacts to your head.

You can also buy a chair based bicycle pedal system. You sit in a chair and pedal to your hearts content. They are $20 to $40. Some have a counter to track how many rotations you have done. Here is an Amazon link to the one my mother has. http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Medical-...=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

thanks. We have a membership to a gym with a pool, so perhaps I should try that... My concern now is insurance, and the appearance of doing too much!

I have Chromium as a way of balancing insulin in the blood... do you think it would be ok for my head to take that?

Please don't worry about the appearance of doing too much. If you're dealing with symptoms and you're trying to get better, that's what it is. I sustained the injury I'm recovering from in an auto accident and the whole court thing has freaked me the hell out since my dad first twisted my arm to hire an attorney, more than a month after the accident - and that was almost two years ago now! My dad has reminded me on several occasions that my getting better is more important than anything else that might be involved here. And your getting better is more important than anything else too!

The guy who caused the accident I was in was only covered for $20,000 which I think will only cover a small portion of the medical bills that are a result of what happened to me. C'est le vie. I just need to get better so I can work again, like I used to. And enjoy my life again. That's what's most important.

Talk to your attorney if you're worried about it though. If they're a good attorney, they should be able to tell you truthfully whatever you need to hear so that you don't worry about it being an issue. And if you don't have an attorney, please find one - preferably one who knows how to deal with mTBI cases.

Thanks.... I'll be hitting a the pool next week in an attempt to start getting this weight off. I am also glad that I now have an appointment with an endocrinologist... Hopefully they can help get my hormones in order so that I can actually stop gaining and start losing!

an older thread about exercise/pool
 

Hello camyam,

Just thought you might benefit from this previous thread. Hope you enjoy the pool!

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...=exercise+pool

Also, I highly recommend that you read this book:

Yoga for Pain Relief: Simple Practices to Calm Your Mind and Heal Your Pain
By Kelly McGonigal, PhD.

http://yogaforpainrelief.com/.

It helped me gain a better perspective of my headaches and general feelings of crappiness:) It also teaches relaxation techniques. There are parts where the vocabulary can be yoga/ new-agey but there are great parts that were worth it. Best wishes!

That's perfect, Thank you so much! Planning on starting this weekend hopefully, or Monday at the latest.

Try not to worry about the weight too much. Lots of us here have put on weight, as the symptoms make you too tired to exercise, and make you depressed and unable to do much else that is fun but still able to eat.

I also feel that my brain is less able to tolerate being low on blood sugar, so if I get hungry I am completely unable to function. So I have to eat whenever I get a bit hungry, whereas before it didn't bother me and I would keep going without food for longer. It's good to eat healthily (esp lots of fruit and veg) but there's no point stressing about the amounts.

The health of your brain is much more important than your weight so give yourself a break for a while. Once you reach a certain stage of recovery when you are able to exercise without ill-effects this exercise is actually really good for your brain, so you will be able to do a lot of it and this will handily bring your weight back down again.

If you haven't reached that point yet then be kind to yourself and try not to worry about it. You are suffering from a serious health problem and eating is one of the few comforts left to you, so not looking your best for a while is ok :)

Klaus- I noticed the blood sugar thing too ! I thought it was just in my head..good to know that others are dealing with the same issue!


It has been incredibly hard keeping weight off and although I haven't gained any, my muscles, especially in my stomach, are gone cause situps make me dizzy still after 5 months.

I will check out the links...

-k.-:)

Yes, my cognitive functioning degrades when I get hungry too.

My doctor recommends high protein, low fat snacks to help the brain to recover. Interestingly enough, I was craving protein like never before since the accident I was in!

I've found that they helped me the most in the first 20 months or so. I'm craving less protein now, and I take that as a sign that my brain doesn't need it as much as it did in the first 20 months - which is a great sign to me.

Beef Jerky, Turkey Jerky, unsalted roasted cashews and other nuts, salami, summer sausage, pepperoni, etc.

All those quick proteins sound great, but I can only do the nuts portion.... I eat fish and seafood but no meat.

My accident was in early Feb. I was in bed for the first month, unable to walk by myself. Now I am walking more, yet struggle to walk to the end of our driveway (about a city block). It is frustrating because before the accident I was running at least 3 miles a day and working out for an additional hour each day...Muscle atrophy and Weight gain!!

Anyway, what the docs told me I will repeat, focus on getting your brain better. Weight does not matter right now.

Oh, and yes, I notice the low blood sugar thing now too!

Yes, me too... I find I am constantly hungry, like ALL the time! I'm trying to make better choices, but it's difficult since DH (whose metabolism is better than mine, esp now!) has a huge sweet tooth!

I totally hear you on this one! I was running 2 miles a day for the police academy and now I also am just barely surviving a gentle 15 minute walk. SO hard...it is good to know that it is not in my head (ha ha what a contradiction, right?). Going up 2 sizes in 5 months is not fun. I didn't gain weight, per se, but going up the sizes baffles me. Guess I'm not as toned. GRRR. anyway, I wish you continued luck! :hug:
-K.-

Oh...quick question, how do you get your history at the bottom of each of your posts? I would like to do that! thanks!

My Dr. gave me the same advice for about the first 18 months; that I needed my brain to recover more than my body for the time being. Then after I started showing more cognitive improvement - that's when I got the advice I posted above about trying to keep the weight down. It's a fine line, because I wasn't able to be active and it still can give me a major setback, like it did just about ten days ago, but I definitely need to lose weight.

And I was very active before the injury I sustained too - so I have a proclivity to push myself when I am being just a little active. It was really hard to remember to pull back and pace myself after experiencing 33 years of pushing very hard while dealing with so many cognitive deficits. I still have trouble with it sometimes, but my cognitive functioning is better and with practice and the reminder of so many awful setbacks, it's easier
to remember now than it was.

I guess everything is getting easier for me than it's been since the accident; but it's all still so hard when compared to how easy it was before the accident!