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?

@herewegoroundthebastardbush I just wanted to say that you sound like a really lovely person. You are coping with so much.
You're so accepting and non judgemental of your husband's inability to support you emotionally. You deserve several medals.
I think you're going to get on top of this OP. I wish you all the luck in the world.

OP, I've just read your thread, and would recommend Superfeet orange insoles for your PF.

A couple of nurses where I work recommended them as they'd got PF from being on their feet all day. After trying various different types, these were the ones that got rid of it for them, and then me when I got them.

I also bought really, really good walking trainers as we're out in the wilds most weekends and I was struggling. I have a pair of the insoles in them as well and they're so comfortable.

Good luck with the rest of your problems, I hope you get sorted soon.

I definitely think you need to keep pestering the doc to check your knees to rule out arthritis etc.
However, I can speak from experience when it comes to weight loss and knee pain. I'm early 40s, 5' 4", was 14.5 stone and in excruciating pain with knees (yes arthritis), I joined a slimming group and managed to shift 4 stone and the difference to my knees was huge! Such a relief, still pain but nowhere near what it was. So it's definitely worth thinking about x

Get your vitamin D level
Checked

Well done OP! You've got this. Baby steps. I had a colleague who was dead fit but binge ate and was massively overweight as a result. When she started outwardly declaring what she was doing rather than hiding it, it really helped. Then she realised her husband was an arse, binned him and is now fit, healthy and, importantly no longer morbidly obese and is a healthy weight (and in a healthy relationship)

See GP - a different one.

Being overweight is not great - but people who are overweight are allowed to have illnesses!

I wear the green superfeet insoles, got them in every shoe, I thought they were better than the orange by the pictures, Ive not had PF but do have terrible problems with knee gait, rolling ankles, achillies tendonitis etc etc.

It sounds like inflammation, and you are probably hurting other parts of your body trying to protect the original pain points. This has been me for years!

It can be a bit catch 22, as I found going at it with exercise - even just walking that bit too far - would set off a flare up that would put me out of action for a week or more.

I lost a fair bit of weight last year and one thing I noticed (aside from my blood sugars coming down to almost pre diabetes levels) was the hip pain I have had for years improved so much, and my sciatica disappeared.

Unfortunately my new lifestyle has slipped a bit over the past year, and just today I had a gentle telling off / pep talk from my diabetes nurse.

I know how to turn it around again, but sometimes life happens, you find yourself in a downward spiral, and then the results of said spiral prevents you from picking yourself up again.

What my waffle is building up to is that - barring underlying condition that may hinder you - a lifestyle change absolutely can help you, but it will be slow progress, at least initially. Then one day you'll realise you can do more and more and you'll see faster results.

And absolutely definitely, do not diet! Healthy choices, moderation but no four-letter d word!

It's probably the discrepancy that's done it. I'm 5.7 and nearly 16 stone and don't have these issues. But I've been overweight consistently since I was a teenager, it's crept on slowly so my body has probably adjusted to it a bit at a time.

If you used to be a healthy weight and then gained suddenly, I can imagine your joints struggling to cope with the additional strain. Try losing weight. I know it's bloody hard but even a few pounds off might help and its not like it'll do any harm. You've nothing to lose.

The best footwear for that walk, will be a decent pair of running trainers. Gait analysis at an independent running shop will do that for free. The right pair of trainers might just solve feet, knees and back.

seeing a physio for a couple of sessions will probably help - depending where you are, this could be in the range of £60 per session. And losing any weight you can, will probably help too. Hopefully all this will help a bit while you try to hassle a better response from the doctor!

Well done OP - you wouldn’t leave your child in that much pain and you deserve to be pain-free too

OP are you taking other food to work?

I find it helpful to take things like fresh soup in a flash, vegetables & humous, fruit, yoghurt (Greek as more protein and filling) or cottage cheese and yes leaving payment at home.

I agree with others suggesting osteoarthritis. I was diagnosed with this after months of being in agony and fobbed off. If it is, don’t pin all your hopes on losing weight being the answer. I was a size 18 but have lost 4 stones but the pain is worse than ever. Definitely go back and see a more sympathetic GP. I had to really push for tests.

I used to suffer terrible pain in my feet and hands and lower back. Some days the pain was all over and I could hardly walk. I was living on painkillers. I did a thread on here years ago and people told me it was not normal.

Anyway, several years on I don’t suffer from pain at all any more. I don’t know why. I find it odd. Not weight related as I am small and always have been. Sorry it is probably not helpful but just to say sometimes ailments come and go and there is no particular explanation.

I'm a bit overweight but less than you and taller. I also get knee pain, mainly if I carry anything heavy upstairs or carry heavy shopping too far. If I take care what I carry I'm fine.
I'm always trying to control my weight and find the best way is to go to meetings where you are weighed and any weight loss is regarded as a success.

And why don't you simply stop buying the foods which you know you will binge on?

@privateano that's a bit like asking a smackhead why they don't just stop buying smack. If I could just simply stop buying and eating that stuff I'd not have a problem. The fact that I can't stop is the problem.

There are many many people who are overweight and eat too much. Many find that if they avoid buying their trigger foods things will improve. It's hardly on a par with smack, or even alcohol for that matter.

Ignorant comment. If those people find that not buying trigger foods help them then they likely do not have the serious mental health condition of binge eating disorder.

Sigh. There is a reason I said "I have a Binge Eating Disorder", not "oh dearie me, I can't seem to keep out of the biscuit barrel". Read up on it a bit. It is not 'eating too much' in that sort of generalised way we all do from time to time. It is regularly, routinely, buying upwards of a whole day's worth of calories and eating them, all at once, in secret, long past the point of 'enjoying' it, for reasons that have nothing to do with hunger or even greed. It is a compulsion and it is rooted in mental illness. I am not saying it is impossible to get control of it, as people do I know. But I DO know it is a damn sight more complicated that 'simply stop buying the food'. If I could 'simply', I simply bloody would have already wouldn't I? I've been stuck in this for 5 years. Please. Don't be ignorant. You don't have to reply to this thread. So why do so just to treat me like I'm an idiot?

Because your self-pitying thread shows no sign of you trying to help yourself.

You're obese: four stone is the equivalent of 10st you carrying around a microwave plus a car tyre every single day nonstop. Of course it's going to take a massive toll on your body. I think it would be remiss of the GP to start looking at other stuff until you've lost weight given that that is the most likely thing to be effective and can be started immediately with no side effects. There's a reason doctors jump to weight loss immediately when someone is obese. Because, clinically, that's the most appropriate treatment. Lost just 1lb per week and this time next year you'll be back to your old weight and in much less pain.

Apart from the clear step-by-step plan that she wrote yesterday with support from non-judgemental posters?

Really, I wouldn't see an osteopath or chiropractor, until you know what is going on with your back....

And the OP's "binge eating disorder" is self-diagnosed, not confirmed.

As hjytrjulykuyh suggests, even 1lb per week will make a huge difference to your health.

If you live anywhere near a University which offers Podiatry courses, you could check if they have a student clinic onsite. I used one a couple of years ago, and the students were great (properly supervised by staff), and assessed me, and made me insoles/inserts for my shoes, and gave me loads of advice.
It was free, with a donation suggested to pay for the inserts. I think I gave them £20. I'd go again. They were very good.