copaxone and weight gain

Thankyou for you reply. I am going to my neurologist tommorow so I will def. talk to him about this. I am thinking the weight gain is also that I am not able to do what I once could and excercise is limited. I took a walk yesterday and thought my legs were in cement!  UGH but ya gotta keep movingKaren

Thanks for weeding through that code to get to my response!  You have a great attitude, which I'm sure serves you well. I have certainly felt the cement legs experience, I give you credit for sticking to it. I hope your Dr. appointment goes well, and let me know if you have any more questions... or want to share.

Yeah the coding was kinda crazy but I managed..lol. Can I ask why you decided to stop taking the copaxone?

Karen,

It was a hard decision. Copaxone served me very well for 15 years. My neurologist felt that with increased disease activity, that a change would do me good. I started rebif a month or so ago, so we shall see. I hope Copaxone brings you improvements not yet evident.  For me it took 3 or 4 months before I saw a difference.

If you are interested, I wrote a tongue-in-cheek blog entry about that change. It was, as I said, a tough decision.

http://mslol.wordpress.com/2009/08/05/hey-copaxone-ljbf/

~ag

Hi...I think you may be right I am ALOT less active now that I have MS and physically cant excercise the way I used to! I was jut wanting to blame something other then that, hoping it was just from the meds. Better excuse I guess, I dont know. It is just frustrating to be heavier now and feel like there isnt much I can do. I guess it could be worse. I do like the results of the copaxone so far and I dont have any side effects other then welts at the injection site. So even if it was causing weight gain I would still have to take it. I dont eat healthy like I should like it sounds like you do. I need to get better at that. I am sorry you have been "stuck" in your wheelchair this week alot. I hope things get better for youYes, there is alot to figure out with MS! Too many unknowns! You are beautiful too!!!! Love, Karen

Ahhh ty Karen.  Something to try too is yoga it does wonders to get the blood flowing, keep muscles more flexible and it will help you gain strengh to where you can do more as well.  This MS is a hard thing and it has so many things that are hard to admit too really, it is hard to really make sense of stuff.  I have put on more weight this past week, enough I have noticed my pants are too tight just from being in my w/c and not being even a little active.  Keep your chin up, stay strong, and anytime you need me I am here for support.  Really we the patients need a place like this to talk.  This is hard enough on my hubby and daughter I know.  I will be up and outta this thing again in no time =).

I believe you will be outta that chair soon. You seem to be very optimistic which is great!!!! I will give yoga a try, I have heard tae chi is good for us msers too so I would like to give it a try. Instead of just thinking about it I know I need to just do it!!! I dont have time to go to a class with two boys in school but I think I will try a DVD to do at home. How old is your daughter? You are right MS is hard on everyone in the family. My husband gets upset and doesnt always understand why I cant do all the things I used to, I know its hard on him and my boys too. But it always could be worse. Its been great to share with you! thanks keep in touch!

My daughter is 9 and she is a true blessing.  She is so strong when I am at my worst, so caring.  That is the hardest thing to look back at what we used to do, know I make myself stop that and I look forward and make short term goals and stick to them till I am done and do it again.  I am a firm believer that as hard as it is on us it is harder on our families, my reasoning is we kinda feel it comin on, they don't.  I am so truly blessed with my hubby, he only gets upset when he can't fix it.  You go for it.  Don't let fear stop you.  I know it is tough but, we have to be tougher.  Keep your chin up and know you always have someone to talk to that truley understands.

Thanks so much!!!! You keep your chin up as well..God Bless

Hi Jan Thankyou for your reply. I am so sorry that you dont have health insurance. That has to be terrible! I know MS can cost alot. I am so luckt that my husbands employer pays our insurance and my copay is only 20 a month. For that they are sending me the paperwork that my copay will be covered through shared solutions. If you did want to get back on a MS drug mabey they could help you with the costs. Just a thought. I know I shouldnt be so vain about the weight gain but MS seems to lower my self esteem by itself and now to add weight gain. UGH. It could be so much worse though so I need to be thankful fo what I have. I am the same way with the housecleaning I am thinking about hiring someone to help me out some. I like things much cleaner then I am able to keep them. Well you hang in there too and I will let you know if I find some magic to help loose weight. Karen

Jan I am so sorry for all your experiences with this.  I know it must be very difficult.  It is ok to feel desperate, I think we all feel that way at some point.  Keep in mind that as women we are expected to a degree to "look" a certain way even if our body structure is not built for it.  Do not let society or anybody else make you feel anything but beautiful.  I just got done with a heavy 3 day dose of Prednisone and gained 10 lbs in 5 days------OUCH!!  none of my stuff fits and I really got ticked off, but what we men and women, with MS need to remember is we are beautiful.  People are beautiful, without being too skinny and looking sick.  I hear you on the work outs and the house cleaning.  Frustrating.  Something I tried instead of the vigurous workout is Yoga.  I feel great, a little sore, but great after it and it does help you.  Second eating like a bird will hurt you because your body will store any and every fat or nutrients it thinks it may not get again in awhile if you are not eating enough.  I hope that makes sense.  I wish I was there to give you a hug, I can't imagine this without insurance, because even with it all my appts are adding up like crazy.  Has the doc tested your thyroid?  So many problems from that can cause fatigue, weight gain as well as other serious health issues. 

You are beautiful and you can stay strong.  I am so glad I found this website so I can not feel so alone.  Well I have rattled on long enough, my prayers and my ugs are with you!

Thanks so much for the kind  words and love.  You are absolutely right though.  I have steroids to take during bad flares, but the water retention UGH!  I have decided to jump back on the treadmill that I was going to sell.  I have been doing about 15 minutes at a fairly slw walk, which is about .25 mile.  I am getting pretty tired and sore, but so far it is manageable without increasing pain meds.  Don't know if it will help lose pounds but I am gonna try!  This morning was at 157 so I will weigh in next week and see if there is any progress.  I have been on an apple kick - apple that is dunked in caramel (low fat caramel I swear - lol) and wanting chicken teriaki all the time!  The trouble with eating a good stable diet is that my beloved is a log truck driver.  That means he gets up at 2 a.m., leaves by 2:30 a.m., does not get home until anytime after 3 p.m. (but mostly between 5-8 p.m.).  If he is home close to 5 p.m., I will fix a good meal for us.  But if he is later than that, he does not want to eat a meal because he just has enough time for a cup of tea, shower and bed by 8:30 if possible.  He works anywhere from 10 - 16 hours.  Hard to have a balanced diet, huh?  I make him - well I try to - a fairly nutritious lunch/snack, but it is getting harder and harder to find something different!  When the cold weather hits, I can send him out with soups.  SO I am left to nibble my way thorough the day.  Good Grief!  I have rattled on too much!  Let's keep in touch, yes?  Love & Light, Jan

I hear you I know it is hard to eat a good diet that doesn't get boring.  I get bored of what I eat but I also eat the way I do because my stomach has decided to ast out against me, lol.  I have gastritis, ulcers and a hyrnia(sp) so if I eat a lot of stuff I get the worst stomach ache and get sick so I stick with only fresh or frozen veggies, steamed or grilled, fresh fruit, high fiber cereal....alot of cereal with skim milk, grilled chkn, fish perferably fresh caught by me =), very very little pork, yogurt and I have to admit I love my choc slim fast.  When I have a choc craving Weight Watchers has these absolutely wonderful choc chip choc muffins, oh my they are great!  I also drink my coffee in the morning and the rest of the day water.  I have a 52 oz mug that the ice stays good in for along time and I drink 3-5 of those a day.  Now who's rambling, lol.  I am only sharing this with you cause I had to trial and error it on what was gonna make me sick to eat or not, but I do feel "good" after I eat.  I feel a happy full if that makes sense. 

I know however what it is like taking care of a trucker that leaves at those hrs, I used to help my Mother-in-law when my father-in-law was driving and it was very hard to keep a good diet at those hrs. 

Great for you for getting on the treadmill.  I love the yoga too, would be happy to burn u a copy of my disc so you can try it if you want.  I also use a stationary bike to help my hips.  I know it is hard but starting out slow and steady is better than too much too fast and being down again.  So don't come down on yourself if you don't notice a lot of difference in one week, just keep it going, it also helps as much as it hurts to keep muscles tuned up for when we really need them. 

You are a strong person and you are doing great!  I am here for you anytime, even if it is to vent.  I know I feel so bad venting when I am down to my hubby all the time so I try to hold it in cause I know it is eaqually hard on my family iof not harder cause I know what I am feeling they have no real clue.  Never hesitate to reach out, I and others are here!!

Chin up, heart and mind open, love in your heart and sole, God Bless & HUGS!!

I hear you I know it is hard to eat a good diet that doesn't get boring.  I get bored of what I eat but I also eat the way I do because my stomach has decided to ast out against me, lol.  I have gastritis, ulcers and a hyrnia(sp) so if I eat a lot of stuff I get the worst stomach ache and get sick so I stick with only fresh or frozen veggies, steamed or grilled, fresh fruit, high fiber cereal....alot of cereal with skim milk, grilled chkn, fish perferably fresh caught by me =), very very little pork, yogurt and I have to admit I love my choc slim fast.  When I have a choc craving Weight Watchers has these absolutely wonderful choc chip choc muffins, oh my they are great!  I also drink my coffee in the morning and the rest of the day water.  I have a 52 oz mug that the ice stays good in for along time and I drink 3-5 of those a day.  Now who's rambling, lol.  I am only sharing this with you cause I had to trial and error it on what was gonna make me sick to eat or not, but I do feel "good" after I eat.  I feel a happy full if that makes sense. 

I know however what it is like taking care of a trucker that leaves at those hrs, I used to help my Mother-in-law when my father-in-law was driving and it was very hard to keep a good diet at those hrs. 

Great for you for getting on the treadmill.  I love the yoga too, would be happy to burn u a copy of my disc so you can try it if you want.  I also use a stationary bike to help my hips.  I know it is hard but starting out slow and steady is better than too much too fast and being down again.  So don't come down on yourself if you don't notice a lot of difference in one week, just keep it going, it also helps as much as it hurts to keep muscles tuned up for when we really need them. 

You are a strong person and you are doing great!  I am here for you anytime, even if it is to vent.  I know I feel so bad venting when I am down to my hubby all the time so I try to hold it in cause I know it is eaqually hard on my family iof not harder cause I know what I am feeling they have no real clue.  Never hesitate to reach out, I and others are here!!

Chin up, heart and mind open, love in your heart and sole, God Bless & HUGS!!