LymeNet Flash: Weigh gain! cant get it off!

This is topic Weigh gain! cant get it off! in forum Medical Questions at LymeNet Flash.

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Posted by pattiecake (Member # 6424) on :

SInce getting lyme i have gained 15 pounds. I have recently been feeling well enough to start going to Curves 5 days a week and cant loose a pound! Im very frustrated. I know this isnt the worst of all symptoms that I have had but it is frustrating none the less. Any suggestions? is it the lyme or the ABX? Im on Zyth and Doxy.
Pattiecake

Posted by treepatrol (Member # 4117) on :

I gained over 100lbs your lucky if you dont put more on now that Iam off abxs I have another long road to travel.

I wouldnt try to lose weight while in treatment its just so hard while I was in treatment I went on low carb Atkins thing and lost 79 pounds just to see it come back after I lightened up on the strictly 20% carbs went up to about 30% and it all came back.Its just to many battles on to many fronts.

Sugestion maintain what you have now weight wise and when your better from lyme then attack it.

Good Luck

ps Before lyme took me apart I used to be 210lbs of inshape lean muscled ateries showing over them tight sixpack 500 situps every other day and walked 5to6 miles 3 times a week for maintenance because I have been on the heavy side all my life.
Now I start all over at 46yrs old so maintenance is the key if you can do it just maintain the gain you have now.

[This message has been edited by treepatrol (edited 21 January 2005).]

Posted by mountainmoma (Member # 6503) on :

It is scary to gain wheight, but I think worse is knowing it can keep continuing. He's right, just keeping it from going up is a good first step. Excercise is not enough, you need to watch what you'rw eating. No premade junk food, lots of fresh food especially vegetables, start adding good food to your diet. The atibiotics do not cause you to gain or keep on weight. Good luck

Posted by fish (Member # 4096) on :

I gained some weight too during lyme and I can see, looking back, that it coincided with my thyroid function going down down down. I used to be a stable normal weight, never gaining or losing more than 5 pounds for the first 32 years of my life. I even lost the weight after both pregnancies in a reasonable time.

Then, I started to really notice symptoms of hypothyroid and was tested. Was borderline high on TSH (indicating low thyroid) I certainly wasn't metabolizing well at all. Gained 20 pounds that 1 year, even panic-dieted through it and I didn't stop gaining. Then I just had to give a rest. I gave up cause I was just to sick to try any longer.

Now, with treatment, my thyroid is (luckily) more in the normal range again after 5 years of being sluggish.

I agree with treepatrol, it's too much for most of us to get well and undertake dieting, especially if your thyroid has been affected by lyme like I believe mine was. I tried to diet and even exercise when I was the symptomatic, but I just gave up after one year of that madness because nothing was happening (weight loss) Yes, it was demoralizing!! I felt so out of control in all areas.

Now that I'm feeling great, I'm on an mild exercise program, on a reasonable diet and actually losing, although VERY SLOWLY, much slower than before being lymed. But at least it's something. The weight gain is bigger than I've ever had to deal with before so I can't crash diet it away; I'm trying to convince myself to take it very slowly.

Unfortunately, weight gain is a problem for many of us...I've seen lots of threads like your over the last 20 months.

Have you had your thyroid checked? Make sure you check more than TSH, but also the others like T3, T4, free T3 etc. to get a better picture of what's going on. Also you may want to check thyroid for thyroid antibodies to make sure nothing like that is happening (Hashimoto's I think it's called - autoimmune problem)