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Obesity Secondary To Ptsd

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clw4514

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well, i am obese secondary to PTSD. just wondered if anyone else has the glorious pleasure to have that, too. i've tried everything and i mean everything to lose the weight. it all seemed to work for a while and then nothing but gaining once again. no, i didnt stop the routine or programs, my body just seemed to revolt. now, im limited on my exercising due to a blown knee. i mean, i can still walk but hurts like hell! soooooo, what i am going the long way about is....if anyone has been in a similar situation, have u ever successfully got any help (preferrably non surgical) with your weight? all they say is "keep exercising!" i just want to scream out "really? did u miss that whole freaking section on MRI, orthopaedics, custom knee brace? how about the acl damage, medial & lateral meniscus tears? exactly how do u suggest exercising?" but ultimately, i know they r only saying what immediately pops into their mind and i know they r seriously overwhelmed. that would be why i come to my old faithful crew here :)

any success stories? insight? suggestions?

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In days gone by....when I cared a bit more about my weight,

I did not eat anything in a solid state after 2:00 pm.

I would usually have something like soup or jello.

That helped me alot back then and I need to return to doing it.

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I too am 70% PTSD due to MST and was obese. First question is are you sleeping? I wasn't, couple that with emotional eating and I grew a few sizes. Now thanks to sleep meds and what I call my "chill" pills, I am on the way down. This made a real difference for me and thought it may be of help to you as well.

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Sleep is very important. Over the past 6 months we finally got sleep meds that work perfect for me. For the first time in years (yes, years) I sleep solid for 6 or 8 hrs most nights. If I am having nightmares, they don't wake me up and I don't remember them most of the time.

My sister comes over every so often and spends the night. Apparently I thrash and kick and toss and turn, scream, talk and such in my sleep. I don't remember it, but she is less comfortable sleeping with me. She found out the other day from my niece that I have various weapons stashed around the bedroom, so now if she spends the night I have to remove all the weapons from the bedroom. I don't blame her, I hadn't thought about it before. Everyone in the family knows to wake me from a distance.

So sleeping has really helped me. I eat very little now, to little I think. But the point is the sleep has really made a difference for me. It is absolute bliss to know I can lay down and go to sleep. I take 1/2 remeron for sleep, if I am not asleep in an hour I take 1 ambien and 1 xanaax and that does it for me.

My hours are very strange, but I don't have a spouse so it doesn't really matter. 24/7 not sleeping and being highly agitated emotionally can make some us eat more, so I do believe solid sleep helps with that.

I also think trying to have a schedule is really helpful. I am constantly trying to get myself on a regular schedule, but I always fall off the wagon, sort to speak. I start work on the site around 2:00 AM when I wake up. That part of the schedule works well for me, but around 6:00 AM the schedule seems to fall apart on me. I have a niece coming to stay with me for a couple of weeks and sort of help me over a current bump I am experiencing.

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I've been told that victims of MST are very likely to have eating disorders. I suspect the anorexia & bulimia would be a manifestation of self-loathing. I imagine overeating to the point of obesity might be the same. I also believe that victims of sexual assault are desperate to be unattractive or even invisible. To someone who's afraid of being assaulted, or touched, nothing is more frightening than an appreciative glance from the opposite sex, or worse, flirting. Being overweight can be a perfect protection from that kind of attention. Fat people are invisible in that respect.

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The other day when I was at my Heart Doctor's office he used a term for my eating too much, I forget the entire terminology, but it was Compulsive habit disorder or something like that. Of course, my mind starts to wonder and thought if PTSD could cause "compulsive eating". And because PTSD causes compulsive eating, it makes sense that it would cause obesity. I know that this is a stretch, but ...........

Papa

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The only way to resolve your knee damage is with surgery, I was in pain for three months waiting for my surgery, now the pain has gone away. As far as the obesity walking would be the best thing for your weight, when you can't walk any longer your setting yourself up for a wheel chair so keep moving. You can also walk in a pool that will take the weight off your knees until you drop a few pound. Set your goal like 5 lbs at a time don't start off by setting a goal of say 50 or 100 lbs because you'll set yourself up for failure, been there done that. Get the surgery needed and try to move forward with your life. Like they say once you stop moving, you'll never get moving again. Wish you the best of luck and file that VA claim!!!

Doc904

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