Does anyone else use food to "feel better"? Since my pain has gotten to the untolerable stage and I am no longer unable to exercise, I am caught up in a terrible cycle of bad habits.

1. Pain
2. Pain Pills
3. Over Eat
4. Withdrawals
5. Repeat

I don't even want to discuss how much weight I have gained over the last year. For some reason, when the pain pill "high" kicks in, I get hungry. Atleast I think in my head that I am hungry. Then, being a past intense excercisor and now unable to, I am getting FAT, FAT, FAT! Most people I talk to say that they have less of an appetite when having pain and taking pain medication.

What I have noticed most is that I clench my teeth constantly because of my pain. I try not to take pain meds unless I absolutely have to. When I catch myself clenching my teeth, I grab a snack to work my jaw loose-which is not too good. I drink a lot of tea and water, maybe a gallon or more a day. Maybe that is what helps me keep the weight off. In fact, I have lost over 30 lbs. in the last 8 months. I read somewhere once that most snack urges are curbed by drinking water. Maybe, maybe not.

Good luck.

Patrick

I feel for you, brother! I also have gained weight since my disc rupture, mostly due to decreased ability to exercise. The fact that Walker is losing weight is probably a good thing, as anyone wanting to undergo ADR should be at optimum weight for best chance of good results.

I can confirm that drinking lots of water will help, for a number of reasons. Helping to flush out your body and decreasing the desire to snack so much are just two. Since the first time I went to Weight Watchers with my wife several years ago I have kept a large plastic juice container on the kitchen counter right where I go by it all the time. This jar is the right size to ensure that, if I drink it all each day, I've drunk enough water. As a general rule, maybe something like a half gallon (for most people of average size) would be about right, although you can certainly research this and figure out a correct amount for yourself.

The other thing to bear in mind is what you eat. If you're hungry a lot and go for celery, carrots, apples, etc., you're not going to hurt your body at all and you will likely lose weight. If you really want to be proactive, spend a few minutes every couple days washing and cutting up these good snack foods into edible portions you store in ziplocs and grab from the fridge whenever the urge hits you. These foods plus granola/bars will help also because they take a fair amount of mastication and satisfy the urge to eat/chew something.

Something else that may help is a healthy intake of milk or milk products each day. Milk will not only help to curb your desire for too much food, but before bedtime it will help you ease into sleep.

On the other hand, although chocolate hasn't been proven to reinflate a degenerated disc (yet), it sure makes me feel good! ;-) I'd go for the good stuff; Belgian dark chocolate or Godiva. If you treat yourself well once in a while you'll feel a lot better about the situation you're in.

Hi folks,
I am always interested in conversations like this and there's no doubt about it that we all do "comfort eating" when we have problems.

I have put weight on since my ADR and have gone on to a sort of "Hay diet" I'm just eating all my proteins at one meal and my carbohydrates at another. In eight weeks I've lost over a stone -- -- -- that's 14 pounds my waist size has gone down by over 4 inches.

It's extremely hard to lose weight if you are not mobile and cannot exercise and I recommend this to you all who are in this position
Best,
Alastair http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...icon_smile.gif

PS this is not in the FAQs -- -- --lol

Patrick, I'm having a similar problem, albeit of much less intensity. I can still excercise, but not at the level that I would like, so, the weight is becoming a problem. If you're still on med's and need them to control the pain, you might want to speak to your doc about ones which do not have weight gain as a side effect. Back before my ADR I was on Neurontin and gained about five pounds. Last year I tried Zonegram for some lingering leg-hip pain and lost nearly ten pounds. Later I found out that Zonegram is being marketed as a weight loss drug. The point is, there are so many different analgesic med's out there with so many different side effects, it might be possible to find some the are at least neutral from a weight gain-loss standpoint, and maybe some that will help you lose some weight. Another suggestion is to do all the excercise you can. I make the mistake of telling myself if I can't go to the gym and really push thing, then I'll just stay on the couch and snack - WRONG! If all we can do is walk around the block, or water-walk at the pool, or do some floor yoga, then we should do it. Any excercise, however mild, will give you a feeling of mental well being and remind you that you still have some control over your life. This could help reduce depression-related eating (I get this bad). If you want, you can even take a positive approach and say that you're "training" for a future restorative spine surgery. New things are being developed all the time, and the better shape you stay in, the better chance you'll be able to take advantage of one of them - even if there is nothing available to help you right now.

Good luck and please keep posting.

Laura

I know the feeling too well, especially when you can't exercise and be active like you used to. I would add that eating a lot of fiber helps also. Fiber and protein take longer for your body to digest and help you feeling hungry so soon. Not to mention, fiber helps with the problem of constipation (something I certainly need!). I usually have Benefiber and whey protein mixed with 1% milk for breakfast and at night. It keeps me full for a long time-and it actually tastes really good! Also, watch your portion size. It adds up much faster than you would think. If you are dying for some Doritos, then you should count out the number of chips in 1 serving, close up the bag and put it away (far away). Then go in another room and enjoy each chip. Never sit down with the bag. That is what I do and it seems to have helped. I've actually lost about 20 pounds. It's easier than counting carbs or calories or any other fanatical diets. I tried ading up the calories, carbs, etc and was surprised at how fast they add up, even when you're not eating bad stuff. Sometimes when I'm really hungry and shouldn't be, I'll gulp down a bottle of water first. It helps fill me up. You're not alone. Hang in there. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. I don't know who said that, but if you start making changes in the way you eat, it will begin your journey towards better health.

So it is not just me?

Laura,

You have hit the nail on the head. I am eating because of the depression of my situation and it gives me a short feeling of satisfaction. I also feel that if I can't go to the club and drench my shirt in sweat, then my exercise is not helpful. It is just difficult when a casual 10 minute walk around the block turns into the need for another pain pill.

After a terrible day yesterday in the pain pill abuse department, today I am going to try and make some changes. Would it hurt me to maybe cut a couple pain pills in half today...NO! Would it be helpful to take a 5 minute walk a few times a day rather than just just getting in the recliner and saying "I give up"...YES! Is it that hard to say no to "Mr. Sugar" once in a while...NO! As all of you have stated, I will start to drink alot more water too.

Some of these things seem so easy to do but when the medication, pain, and depression set in, everything appears to be a bigger struggle than it is. You would think after being approved for ADR in this new study that my depression would go away...not hardly. I guess until I wake up one day and realize that the pain is gone and I don't need all these pain pills, I will always feel depressed to some degree.

I will get off my soap box now and cut the pity party crap, LOL! I will give you an update with my progress. I have to start doing something or I don't feel I have the strength to survive back surgery.

Do you suffer from B.A.G.S? You may not think you do, but read on!

When pain enters our lives we go through many changes and experience many different thoughts and emotions. Even many years down the line, having mostly come to terms with our pain, we can still be prone to periods of 'BAGS', especially if the pain flares up unexpectedly.

BAGS is uncomfortable, unpleasant and gets us nowhere, it's...

Bitterness
Anger
Guilt
Self-pity

To explain:

Bitterness that we cannot do the things we used to do.
Anger that someone or something let us down.
Guilt that we are letting others down.
Self-pity - that dreadful, depressing, self-defeating emotion that REALLY drags us down.

These negative feelings block us from helping ourselves and actually cause us even more pain than we need suffer, both emotionally and physically. This is because negative feelings cause physical tension which, in turn, causes more pain. So BAGS can become a vicious circle of -

Pain > BAGS > pain > BAGS > pain > ...

And the way through this?

To change your attitude - if the part of you that hurts was a small child or a pet animal you wouldn't feel any of the 'BAGS' emotions. You wouldn't hate or resent it, you would comfort it and find ways to help it.

You need and deserve nurturing too - and your pain is something that is just part of you. So instead of hating part of yourself, think instead,

"Part of me hurts. I need to take care of that part. What can I do to take care of that pain-part of me?"

By doing this you will begin to find your own power to take control of the situation and you will start to feel more positive and life will begin to improve. You will soon find the best way forward towards feeling happy again.

You can take care of your 'pain-part' in some of the following ways:

- No. 1 is Relaxation! If you don't already do so, DO take this as a 'wake-up call' to start now! If you need further ideas or advice, ask me, or try a relaxation tape - deep relaxation really does relieve pain! Try my own successful 'Natural Pain Relief' relaxation tape or CD. It accompanies my book of the same name, but can be used independently of the book. Write to me for more details (regret UK only).

- Deep and relaxed breathing.

- Pace your activities so you don't overdo things. Do things 'little and often'. Again, you can ask me for further details of how to go about this practically.

- Set goals and find new activities that you can do, even if only a little at a time.

- Exercise appropriate for your condition.

- Find a good support team - doctors, complementary therapists, family, friends, on-line groups.

- SMILE! Yes, we can still smile - and a little smile goes a long way. It makes you feel more peaceful and happy, it encourages others to smile back and everyone benefits from the inner chemical production of 'happy hormones' produced by the simple act of smiling. Even if you don't feel like smiling, 'fake it till you make it' - your subconscious will still react in the same way and you will gradually feel better.

Thanks, Alastair! That was a great post. Having a relatively positive frame of mind most of the time it was difficult for me to identify with Patrick's mental state closely enough to formulate any sort of meaningful response to his closed-loop thought process. I guess it takes someone who has been there and come back from "the abyss" to really speak to this issue effectively.

Your response really enlightened me and I hope a lot of the long-time sufferers here manage to read and benefit from it. I can now see the issue isn't really about pain, drugs or weight gain, it's about depression. Would you consider posting your response as an FAQ, titled "Dealing With Your Depression"?

Hi Rein,
as requested, I have but a slightly bigger version in the FAQs. The author is
Jan at PainSupport
www.painsupport.co.uk

You can visit this pain site at any time, I help out there as well, and post most of the monthly letters on here with the permission of the site owner
Best,
Alastair http://adrsupport.org/groupee_common...icon_smile.gif