How is your weight?

Just curious, since my migraines started I have gained, lost and now gained even more weight.
I cant exercise, but dont eat a lot, but cant shift a 1lb.
Think its likely due to my hormones or FMS I guess, but just wondered if anyone else has fluctuated.
I am now about 20lbs more than I should be.

Big as a house. Movement always makes the M's worse for me. Interesting that my neuro wants me to exercise at least 30 min a day. I try to walk around as much as I can, but anything more strenuous than that throws me into huge pain.

Other than meds and lifestyle change (i.e. less excercise) I can't say M itself has changed my weight.

I've generally been slightly underweight all my life, but with medication I have had a BMI from 15.5 (topiramate induced) to 21 (on pregabalin). My normal is about 19. It doesn't seem to affect the migraines. Migraine does make it difficult to exercise though, especially
in cold weather, which seems to make my head throb more.

Amy

spiralling out of control at mo, have always been overweight, but amitriptyline and beta blockers are making it a real struggle, despite doing pilates once a week, gym once maybe twice a week if i can manage it, 2 days a week working in a hospital where i am on my feet walking and helping people and walking to school twice a day with my youngest son, plus housework!!!

Oh yes, put on over a stone in the past 2 years. But then Amitriptyline definitely increased my appetite and even when I came off it the weight wouldn't shift. But then for me, it could just be middle-aged spread or avalanche.

Theresa, you do well to keep up the Pilates. I start things but give up in the end as I miss so many.

Liz

Currently down 6 lb from when I started seeing the neuro. I was in a weight loss program and reached my goal just slightly after starting preventative h e double toothpicks. Now people wonder if I've been trying and are telling me I look very ill. I know I'm not able to exercise anymore - the nortriptyline has put an end to it (exercise that raises my hr makes the pain unbearable) but I'm in pain so much that I'm nauseous most days and can't eat (thank goodness for cereal and Ensure). I miss walks with my dogs. Going of nortrip this week and hope to be able to get back at it. Yeah, my doc wants me to exercise too...get my heart rate back down to where it should be and I will (was 64 when I started and as of last Monday, it was 100).

My weight fluctuates wildly. I'm currently 185 lbs and I'm 5'6 1/2"

I lost 40 lbs while on Topamax. When I went off I put 50 back on. But, right now between my back and head I'm getting very little exercise. Hubby and I used to walk several miles everyday. I miss it. The exercise and just the one-on-one time with my sweet gorgeous hubby...

We bought an Elliptical several years ago. I used it once for 10 minutes and spent two months in physical therapy. I sprained my lower back. Of course, it was then that I found out ellipticals arent' good for your lower back. Of course.

Charlotte

I'm 5'9" and 170. My weight never fluctuates by more than 5 lbs. I guess men don't have as many weight issues as women do. Well, at least I don't. I was skinny as a rail until my late 30's when I slowly gained up to where I'm at today.

I'm starting to look like my Dad...

I'm a good 100 pounds more than I'd like to be (and 70 pounds where I used to be in the 90s). Quitting work was really what began the majority of my weight gain. I had gained 40 lbs when I quit smoking in '91, then lost it all in '97 by taking Redux (the prescription weight loss drug which was taken off the market due its causing heart valve problems in users).

Over the course of time since then, the weight climbed back on. The anti-depressants really contributed to it but come 2003, when I stopped working, it came on like an avalanche.

I can't exercise as it triggers head pain almost instantly. Even walking on my treadmill triggers a migraine after about 10 minutes. In addition to that, I am approaching the half century mark this year.

I have a cast iron stomach and don't often experience nausea during a migraine. Topamax made me STUPID (I swear I was missing at least 30 IQ points while on it) so I never realized the benefits of weight loss from it.

Please tell me when Ruebenesque figures comes back in fashion......I'd be perfect!

I feel very fortunate. HUbby is disgusting...6'1", 175, hasn't gained a pound since we married 25 years ago. My Dad always said hubby wasn't a normal man because his waist is smaller than his inseam (poor Dad!).

Anyway, when I was down to 135 the man complained and moaned. He hated that he could feel my hip bones. Told me I was anorexic. At 135!!! LOL

When I'm heavier, and trying to diet? Who's the guy coming home with ice cream?

He is SUCH an enabler. I haven't had any Mountain Dew for about three weeks. It's been wonderful not getting up 5 times a night to use the bathroom. Last week when the weather was so bad and I was really struggling with a M in walks DH with a twelve pack of Mt. Dew. He wanted to make me feel better.

It's a good thing I'm not a drinker!!!

Charlotte

My weight fluctuates wildly depending on what meds I am on. 168 with depakote, 120 with topomax. I haven't used any major preventatives in a few years and I have been eating well. I am somewhere in the middle right now. I would like to exercise more and have more muscle. I am looking for an exercise class that doesn't make my head explode. I like yoga and low impact water aerobics. Now that my child goes to preschool (some days... she has a really hard time separating from me), I feel like I have a little more me time. And I have a beta blocker to make my heart rate stay low so my head doesn't explode. I know I am never going to be a size 4 (us). But I wouldn't mind being an 8 instead of a 12.

Mary Anne

I have lost 29 pounds in 3 months on topamax. I am now starting to stand still, probably because I am drinking less water. My starting weight was 178 and now I am 148. I had tried exercise (1 hour to an 1 1/2 5 days a week) and healthy eating for two months prior to daily migraines and didn't loose a pound, however it was directly following the birth of my child. At that time I was getting 2-3 migraines a month. As my migraines got worse I quit exercising and worse, I started taking narcotics and topamax which makes it hard for me to drive, especially at night which is when I have the availability to go. I have to have my husband stay home to watch Gia so I go solo as none of my friends will go with me even though I have a free friends pass for every time I attend.

I am happy at least topamax is helping with weight loss however I would much prefer I did the hard work and let the lbs come off naturally. I know if I ever come off this drug the weight will pile back on again which isn't good.

I think more than migraines, hormones and medication (two things us migraineurs deal with frequently) have a lot to do with weight loss/gain issues. I think it is cow poop.

I've always been a little bit overweight with fluctuations (sometimes I try to stay on a strict diet...) but migraines do not seem affected by weight changes. Migraine itself does not seem to have any influence on weight gain/loss

I've gained 25 lbs since starting Lyrica. I've been 135 for years and years and now am 160. Once I bought clothes that fit, it doesn't bother me as much but I would like to lose the stomach weight and keep the new improved boobs!

Alli

I guess I am one of the lucky ones. I weigh 103 lbs period. None of the drugs made me gain even a pound including amitryptiline, beta blockers, etc. Topamax made me lose so I was down to 95 lbs and had to quit that horrible stuff before I blew away. If anyone wants to lose weight on this forum, try Topamax.

aww no. Topamax not worth it if it doesnt work for migraines...

Agree Lovegia.

Being high strung and having anxiety attacks is another great way to keep off the pounds. I hate food and have to make myself eat and I knew Topomax was going to be an added problem. I weigh myself to make sure I haven't lost anymore and I have a boyfriend that makes sure my meat goes in my stomach and not the dogs.

I did gain 10 lbs with propanalol but I couldn't stay awake and it did nothing for me after 6 months

Angela

I lasted a whole 10 days on topamax. Holy Dr Jekyl and Miss Hyde - wasn't worth the extreme mood swings every 5 seconds and it didn't help. Will be trying depakote again in a few weeks (want to get the nortriptyline/Pamelor out of my system first) - any weird issues with that one? No appetite, insatiable appetite, food tastes funny, etc? I find I've been trying to do comfort food the last few days (not giving in to it) but just want to be prepared.

Migraines and their treatments have done some bizarre things to my weight over the years.

I don't get the daily migraines some of you guys get. I get them about once a week. So I am able to work out, which I do a ton. My average weight was around 145 my whole life, and through working out and dieting I went up to 160-165 lbs. But, a few times a year I get a bout of migraines that will last about a month and I don't get to work out because I am either sick or medicated, and am unable to eat properly. I can literally lose 5-7 lbs within a few weeks when that happens. Then when I feel 'better' I start the process all over again.

I work out as much as I do, and adjust my lifestyle to it because I think overall it helps with my headaches. It definitely helps with my ability to deal with, and recover from them.

While on Amitriptyline (trying it for the second time in my life) I gained 15 lbs within a few weeks. That was pretty shocking for someone like me who has never had a weight problem, and is as active as I am. I don't know where the weight gain would have stopped on that drug.

I was skinny before I had my first migraine.
Now, forget it....

I seem to fluctuate depending on the the current preventative being used and the severity of the daily migraines.

Every time I start trying to exercise I do well for a couple of days, but then I'm down for several days with severe pain. I can't seem to be consistent with exercise. Often, any movement of my head, neck or shoulders only worsens the migraine. I do the physical therapy exercises prescribed by my PT pretty religiously, because they do help my neck, shoulders and upper back some (not a lot, but some).

I've struggled with weight fluctuations since I was a small child. I'm very careful with my diet, but each med affects the body differently and some really mess with metabolism and regularity.

Becky

Becky I have the exact same problem.
We have a Wii machine. I used it on one better day.
That was it for the next week. I only did 10 minutes.
I think the fibro for me is a big part of the problem.
But I cant shift a 1lb.
My neck is a big problem, and this impacts on my shoulders.

I sit on this couch every day at least until lunch time.
I so need to exercise, but it is so hard. One step forward 3 back.
What a lump I have become.

Just an observation. It seems most of the comments on this forum about weight are blamed on a lack of exercise, if not the medication. I understand that medication and a lack of exercise can slow your metabolism so you aren't burning up your calories as fast, but FOOD (calories) is what puts the weight on. If you aren't burning them up as fast as you would like, you just can't eat as many (calories). I like to say calories instead of food because you can still eat a tremendous amount of food, just not calories.

I watch people diet and would just like to shake them. It is actually easy to lose weight (and maintain) if you eat right!!

I work with one of the top cardiologists and exercise physiologists in the world. He lives by what he preaches and is a picture of health at 80 years old! (By the way, he is the one that came up with that little pyramid (the modern one) you see with the food groups. Brilliant man. You don't see any extra pounds on him. Start counting your calories. You will lose weight!!