I am in SO much pain. Surely this can't just be because I am fat?

[herewegoroundthebastardbush]

This is really a question either for the medical or for my fellow fatties - I'm 5'6, about 14 stone (😬) and 39. I used to be around 10 stone. put on a lot of weight very rapidly about 5 years ago when my mum died, and ever since then have struggled with binge eating and the weight has continued to creep up.

So the past 6 months or so, I'm in horrible physical pain much of the time. It started with my knees, which have never been great since I went through a phase of running to work on concrete in my 20s (idiot). But now it's not just the odd twinge, I'll be literally limping and whimpering and climbing the stairs is murder. I've also developed a horrible permanent pain in my right foot which the internet tells me is plantar fasciitis. And I can't ever seem to get comfortable in bed as whichever way I lie seems to pull the base of my spine out of alignment and it feels strained.

I have a busy life, two small kids and one is at nursery and the other at school, so every day after work I have to do a very brisk march march up the road to nursery and then turn and walk very fast back to school to get the eldest (about 40mins fast walking - or jogging if im late!) all told. I've started to dread it with a mortal fear as I am in SO much pain - some days I'm literally limping and gasping with it, but I can't stop because obvs then no-one would pick up my kids (partner has the car as works in a different city). That's the low point of my day, but just getting out of bed and standing up in the morning is horrendous too, it hurts so much and I literally limp like a comedy pirate for the first 20 mins of the day my foots so bad.

The one time I went to the GP about my knees, she did the head tilt and talked to me about my weight (didn't even examine my knees), and that aches and pains are more frequent as we age so its important to take care of our weight to reduce that. I agree I am too fat and need to lose weight. I am trying. But I see people far fatter and older than me who don't seem to be in total agony as they walk around!? So is this normal and fixable by losing some weight? Or is there something I should be worried about?

I'm 5'7", and was 14 stone 5 at my heaviest- have managed to get down to a normal BMI for the last few years. I remember how much more effort it was to walk up the steep hill from work to home then, as compared to now. I now feel a lot better in my body.

So, weight may not be the whole problem- but I reckon it's a big contributory factor.

Please don't. You may joke about dependency, but it's horrific, and can happen DBS more quickly than people realise.

I'm sorry you think I'm being hostile.

I'm not. I really feel for you and want you to get help.

I just think it would be far better to use the morning trying to sort a GP appt than spending it here, listing all the reasons why you can't.

The only way forward is to see your GP or change to another if they are unhelpful.

I'm not fat but IMO it makes no logical sense for doctors to just cry "fat" and not even investigate / eliminate other possibilities. It's not like cancer and other issues ONLY affect thin people?

Yes, you can lose the weight just to make sure, but what if the illness has spread in those few months or years it took to lose the weight? A few follow-up questions and scans take less than an hour.

I agree with the other poster why on earth aren’t you taking some sort of painkiller. I have had to take cocodamol in the mornings just to get moving. Even if you only took them an hour or so before the walk to school in the mornings that would help. Have you tried paracetamol? No way would I be suffering that much. It will help you get moving more and help with the weight loss. Also you need to seek help for your binge eating. There is no shame in asking for help from your GP. Good luck

Not been on the pill for probably 8 years, periods have been like a clock except during pregnancies (obviously) and after both pregnancies even though have breastfed both past 2 (am still bf the youngest now and she's 3 in Feb) my periods have come back before 6 months both times, strong and regular.

Hormone wise I have suffered with terrible, mind-altering PMT since my last pregnancy, in a way I've never suffered before with it. I don't know if this is incipient menopause or a side effect of pregnancy. I do know it affects me more than any other issue I suffer from, even the physical pain. I have been able to manage it, initially with part use of citalopram and now with self-awareness and mindfulness (whenever I start feeling unexpectedly furious/suicidal I check my app and if it's in the fortnight before my period I just try to sit with it for a bit instead of reacting to it). But it's awful.

Osteopathy is a pseudoscience.

Do you eat a lot of wheat based products? Your body is inflamed which is causing the pain. I had some of the same issues and gave up wheat totally, within 7 days I was pain free. Have a look at which foods can cause inflammation and start to avoid them. You will find that with your pain lessening you will be able to exercise more and focussing on foods that will help heal your body will make such a difference

I'm a long time PF sufferer and in my case it tracks back to an SI problem I have in my lower back. I recently had knee pain on one side (new and not fun symptom) and it turned out to be yet another side effect of the back issue (via tight glutes).

I really recommend saving up to see a physio as well as changing GP as I agree with the posters who say you need blood tests for immune markers as well as common deficiencies (vit D, thyroid, iron, hormones). Osteopaths are good for debilitating pain from backs etc but I think physios are better when you need someone to look at you all over, plus once they've given you exercises doing them doesn't cost.

While I was getting my knee looked at, I noticed they had "Mummy MOTs" which makes me think - you could also have post-childbirth musculoskeletal issues? Plus pregnancy can mask autoimmune symptoms so that's another reason to ask for tests.

Pilates is good but ideally you'd do a supervised session first.

I think the idea of a bike and swimming is good - you need non weight bearing exercise.

Skechers are my favourite PF shoe (or Decathlon's trainers are excellent and very cheap).

Your pain does seem disproportionate to your overweightness but I think you have to tackle this from every angle.

• Really, properly commit to losing weight. It will be contributing to your pain and is a barrier to your GP taking you seriously
• Get properly bolshie with your GP and insist on more investigations. Take someone with you if it helps, or write down your symptoms and how it is affecting your life. Mention your family history
• Keep a journal to identify things that increase your pain levels
• Stretch regularly. Test your range of movements and identify any areas of tightness or imbalance. If you have knee pain or plantar fasciitis it's likely your body is compensating in other ways which can cause hip and back pain. Try gentle stretch/mobility exercises.

Good luck.

I think from what youve said its down to your shoes, look at trainers designed for walking with arch support.
If our feet are not properly cared for it will give us knee pain, hip pain and back pain, (which you have) you then tend (unconsciously) to favour your good side. By putting more pressure on the good side will create more aches and pains.
There are exercises you can find on line, a tennis ball is a good one, roll it around under your foot while sitting down, hurts a tiny bit but it will help.

It's recognised by the NHS as an allied health profession alongside podiatry and radiography, amongst others. It is unregulated in some other countries.

When exploring whether the foot pain was PF I did notice al my shoes have worn really unevenly deeply at the middle heel - which is apparently a classic sign of overpronation!

Your latest post makes it sound like your hormones do need checking.

I reckon if you find a nicer GP that will help a lot.

I changed our GP about 10 years ago as the practice were so disorganised and rude. The new ones are fantastic - busy like everywhere but great people and always try to help.

I’d see Gp again. If your mum has rheumatoid arthritis it might well be that it does have hereditary element.
Every 1lb overweight is 4lb on your knees or something like that apparently.
Realistically you need to prioritise yourself and losing some weight. It’s easy to get caught up in looking after children but if you don’t prioritise you now you won’t be able to care for them eg get to school.

I have foot pain too, the only thing that helps is wearing supportive trainers. Converse etc made it much worse. The problem is that if you have pain you will then distribute your weight through your hips differently to try and lesson the pain which then affects your knees. You then start doing the unbalanced walking subconsciously as you believe 100% your walking straight but all your muscles have learnt the new pattern.

The weight will not be helping but its likely going to be a mixture of weight loss, right shoes and hopefully input from your GP.

I have pf... Also developed pain in knees hips and back as I was unconsciously changing the way I walked to compensate for my foot pain...

Had a ultra sound guided steroid injection. New lease of life.

Nothing hurts when I wake up anymore.

(Also recommend a scooter for the school run for you and the kids , I got one for my 40th birthday:)

I have been taking high strength vit D for several years and still in agony every day. It isn't just that it's as simple as this for many people.

Some do need pain management with strong painkillers necessary just to function.

I can only speak from my own experience with PF but I wear shoes and boots with either built in arch support or orthotics. Mine is now so much better I just buy inserts from Amazon and put them in normal shoes.

The specialist shoes are expensive but a lot of people with PF swear by the cheap plastic sliders from H&M etc . They are under £10 and you want the clumpy ones with very thick soles which are shaped to give support. I held out for ages but then tried some.

I now swear by them myself and wear them indoors all the time. They made a big difference to me very quickly. I can't quite bring myself to be seen in public in them though! Other good ones are Crocs but they are equally hideous and more expensive.

Summer footwear is Birkenstocks which give excellent foot support

I think that loosing weight will obviously help but I doubt that is the whole story as 14 stone isn't that heavy. I would go back to your GP.

Poor you, you need an MOT!

It’s impossible for us to diagnose you so I think you will need to persist with the GP. Try to see a different one at the practice if you can, and tell them the whole story, including your binge eating. Good luck 💐

Overpronation is very much connected with knee pain. Go and see a podiatrist privately if you can afford it, OP. God knows what the NHS wait is like. A pair of insoles could be the answer, they would help you to walk a bit more in comfort and help with your weight loss.

I agree, you're not fat enough for weight to be the cause of it all. I was expecting you to say you were a lot heavier than you are . There's something else going on. Unfortunately a lot of doctors have a blind spot where weights concerned and can be very dismissive of any pain and joint issues when the person's overweight. You need to keep pushing for answers , I'd find another GP if you can.

I agree that pain management needs to be taken seriously. No one should be suffering like that.

You really need to see a podiatrist about the PF and over pronation! This will absolutely be a big part of the cause of the pain. PF won’t go away on its own, it will only get worse if you don’t treat it.