Disabled and obese. Anyone else?

[GrumpyInsomniac]

As the title says. I have a lot of weight to lose that has been creeping up over the years because exercise is at best challenging, including last year where I had to spend more than 4 months in bed due to some fairly evil back issues.

At Christmas I saw a photo that was taken of me and it made me cry. A lot. I’d put on a stone during the bed-bound period and I was so proud to lose that this year. It’s the one resolution I made, to lose a stone by the time of a big family party at the beginning of June. But I still have so much to lose: probably about 12 stone.

While I would qualify for tier 3 services, they’re all closed to referrals for years where I am, and tier 2 aren’t suitable because of my inability to do the exercise component. My husband had just said he would pay for Mounjaro when the news hit about the price increase, so that is of course off the table now. Wegovy could be an option, but with my history of side effects I’m a bit wary of adding to my problems. Plus I guess I’ve already proved I can lose weight with diet alone: it just takes a very long time.

The only thing that really seems to work for me is Team RH, so that’s what I will be doing. Once my sciatica has improved I want to get to the pool for exercise to support this, but I will be dieting for years if I want to get to a ‘normal’ weight. I’m not even sure what that would be any more, though.

So, any other disabled dieters on here?

@thatwastheendofmytether I’m sorry 💐

@ValleyClouds I do. That then triggered rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis and I’m now being investigated for lupus and Schogrens. Autoimmune diseases always seem to come with friends 😐

I’m really sorry @thatwastheendofmytether I myself have multiple diagnoses and I know how each day can be just a case of getting through the day

@ValleyClouds

I'm extremely obese and can walk just a few steps. A zimmer frame and a scooter user. I would love to buddy up with others in a group for mutual support and information swap.

I don't understand what posters mean by tier 3, tier 4 etc.

Not been able to get a doctor appointment so I am not under anyone's care.

If you see your GP they can refer you to the weight loss pathway, it’s definitely worth a conversation. Is the obesity leading to the disability or disability leading to obesity? It’s hard to get a GP appointment but worth keeping trying to improve quality of life.

@SecretNameforMN So Tier 3 basically means that you have been referred into an NHS specialist weight loss service by your GP, in my case this was delivered by local community hospitals. Tier 4 WLS is for surgery if you’ve been assessed as a good candidate by Tier 3. You then have yet more hoops to jump through and prove yourself. I’m still waiting to be greenlit for surgery

Thanks for engaging with me.

Does "an NHS specialist weight loss service " mean a dietician? If so, I saw one a few years back who just told me to follow the NHS diet on their website, so I cannot see the point of seeing someone in person just to be told that, which my GP's receptionist could have told me. I can't follow that diet anyway as I am allergic to all grains.

I have been told that WLS won't happen because no anaesthetist will put my under because it's too dangerous because of my weight. That also means I cannot have any other kind of operation, either.

I’ve known people been put on liver reduction and weight loss programmes such as the very low calorie meal replacements on the nhs prior to surgery.

I think I was under tier two and it was an online support group. It does absolutely vary, but I think it has improved a lot in recent years.

honestly, what do you have to lose by asking gp to refer you and seeing what you are offered? Gp is not a specialist and can’t know what an anaesthetics will and won’t do. Dieticians should also be offering tailored advice. You’ll be no worse off if you go along and find it’s the same advice, but you might get given the support and advice that helps you turn things around and get more life back.

@SecretNameforMN It’s not just a dietitian though that’s a large part of it, you also get put into rehab type exercise sessions and I saw a psychologist. You are expected to lose some weight whilst in this service to prove it’s something you can do. In my case I couldn’t do much in the way of exercise but I did prove that I had potential to lose weight. I’m speculating here but your situation sounds like circumstances where you might be eligible for injections on the NHS. Are you diabetic?

@SecretNameforMN welcome! I started the thread because I hoped to find other people who ‘get it’ and understand that suggestions to just take more steps or go for a walk/swim/run or whatever are not available solutions to some of us.

Other posters have explained the weight loss tiered services. But there has also recently been the introduction of a scheme by which GPs can prescribe weight loss injections if the patient has 4 of the following conditions: type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), high cholesterol (dyslipidaemia), cardiovascular disease, or obstructive sleep apnoea, as well as a BMI over 40. So if that applies to you, it is worth persevering to get a GP appointment, even if you have to wait a few weeks, in order to receive help.

I would also argue that if you don’t have a diagnosis for OSA, it’s at least worth requesting referral to the local sleep service to rule it in or out, both because it could help you access the weight loss treatment, and because diagnosis and treatment for it can be life-changing. I feel so much better now I have my CPAP, and it’s really improved my mood, not just the brain fog and fatigue.

The thing that has helped me start losing weight this year is knowing that I am doing it for myself, that I’m doing it on my own schedule, and that I can celebrate even the smallest of losses because that is still huge for me. I have coeliac disease, a number of food intolerances, and an allergy to soya, so almost nowhere has a diet I can just take and use as is to lose weight. I would love somebody to just tell me what to eat or better yet send me a week’s worth of meals that will get me there, but I’ve found nothing so far. I’ve had to spend a chunk of time with MyFitnessPal working out the nutritional content and value of things I habitually eat, identifying the ones that pack the best bang per calorie, and learning to limit those that are just calorifically-expensive filler.

My conclusion is that the only way to lose weight is to invest a decent amount of time up front in analysing what you eat and how you can improve that, but also reminding yourself that you deserve to feel better and that you are worth the investment it takes in time and effort. I’m lucky that both my husband and son are supportive of what I am doing and are learning how to help me stay on target when they cook, too. But I also know it will take a long time for me to get there.

You can do this. And every last gram you manage to lose is a victory.

I have m.e so struggle with movement, exercise and its triggered when I don't eat enough. I've started to try make better options so less sugar more protein/veg etc and i'm going to try gentle movement for 5-10 mins at a time rather than aiming for an hour etc, only just started but optimistic

It has been the small changes that have made so much difference to me: ketchup instead of mayo on a home made burger. Getting DH to give me less carb and more protein if he’s cooking, and so on. Even before I actually started losing weight, those little shifts had me feeling a lot better. So well done for taking that first step @mefirstbaby

Aaaaaand this morning I am absolutely raging. Just spoke to the doctor as I’m in excruciating pain thanks to my sciatica and haven’t been able to sit at a desk for weeks, and no end of that in sight. He can’t give me more pain relief. He’s agreed to a sick note so I can at least get an extension on my dissertation.

But he’s decided that despite me losing 20lbs this year, I need to abandon the plan that has been working for me and enabled me to do that, and switch to a combination of VLCD no carb and fasting in order to lose weight more rapidly. Because obviously the weight is the cause of all the problems and not the fucking EDS that causes all the spinal instability in the first place.

I can’t help but feel this is a really bad idea, but I also feel I have to do what he says because if I don’t, he’ll have me permanently consigned to the ‘fat and lazy’ pigeonhole, rather than the ‘has been through hell over the last 4 years and nonetheless, despite being bedbound and in agony, has managed to lose 20lbs through diet alone in 2025’ one that I own.

FFS. This is going to be so hard.