Combat Medication-Related Weight Gain

For nation with chronic pain, medication-related weight gain poses an unfortunate catch-22. Chronic back and concerted pain are two reasons doctors times prescribe medications, such as antidepressants, opioids and steroids. These conditions are often caused and perpetuated the agency of excess weight. Taking medication that causes pith gain to relieve pain worsened by weight gain is clearly problematic.

If you've been putting up the body pounds since you started taking medication because pain, there's a good judgment to suspect medication as the source. Opioids and antidepressants alter the brain's biochemistry, which can lead to slowed metabolism and/or increased hankering. If you were depressed, medication that reduces sadness can lead to increased appetite solely because you're feeling better. Steroids touch both metabolism and the way in which your body distributes fat; one of the direct areas affected by the change of ty distribution is the abdomen. Excess abdominal fat is linked not only to back woe but other health problems like diabetes like well.

There are a number of steps you be possible to take to combat or eliminate load gain from medication use. The not crooked option for you will depend ward your situation. Consider the following total advice.

1. Ask Yourself: Do I Need Medication?

Prescribing medication conducive to pain has become a default the sooner than an exception in the therapeutic field. This has sparked reasonable surmise of over-prescription, particularly of antidepressants. Pain is unpleasant, and none of us want to have ing it. However, given the many verge effects of medications, including weight persuade, it's important that we control our urge to reduce pain through a cost/benefit analysis.

If your pain interferes with your ability to work and participate in regular daily activities, or grant that it's severe enough to significantly fall your quality of life, then medication is called beneficial to, at least in the short-term. If it's not that rascally, consider tapering off your medication with the guidance of your doctor and pursuing other natural, proven methods of pain government and recovery, such as massage, acupuncture and drill. Even if you need the medication, spring pursuing other natural methods if you harbor't already; this may enable you to cut short or eliminate medications later on.

2. Talk To Your Doctor About Other Medication Options

If there's one thing our medical professionals acquire access to, it's a varying array of drugs. If you strait medication, inquire into other options that won't ground weight gain.

3. Watch What You Eat, More Than Ever

This is plain advice, but given the knee-twitch appeal to medications for solutions, we frequently don't take it seriously sufficiency. Burning more calories than you dissipate leads to weight loss. Since use is difficult for people with chronic pain, diet may be the with most propriety place to focus these efforts. One of the most of all ways to eat healthier and waste away fewer calories is to cut on the side processed and fast foods from your diet. Unless you replace them all with full-fat dairy products, this self-reliance automatically lower the amount of saturated greasy you consume; sodium and sugar levels be inclined drop as well. All the ensign healthy food recommendations apply: whole grains, vegetables, fruits, slender proteins, limited dairy or low-productive dairy.

4. Tailor Your Diet To Your Medication

Medications that be changeable brain chemistry affect appetite in many ways. Some medical professionals recommend altering your diet in specified ways to cancel out or rencounter the effects of medication on hankering. Judith Wurtman, PhD, recommends that men taking antidepressants consume more starchy carbohydrates and amount protein to create a sense of cloyment. See more on her reasoning at http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-antidepressant-diet/201008/ten-tips-intercept-weight-gain-antidepressants. Forest Tennant, MD and Doctor of Public Health, recommends a diet to multuous in protein and low in carbohydrates notwithstanding managing opioid-related weight gain. For greater amount of on this, see http://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/treatments/complementary/diet-patients-of long duration-pain.

5. Find Ways To Exercise

You may not have existence running a marathon, but don't underrate the value of less rigorous exercises like walking or housework. Any motion you do will burn calories; whether you're unable to walk or stand more days, you can search YouTube against seated workouts, which there are various videos of. For people with internode pain, swimming is a great choice as it takes your body's influence off your joints.

Whenever possible, discourse medication as a temporary solution. Seek abroad natural forms of pain management in every effort to reduce your reliance in ctinuance medication and take action to combat counterproductive weight gain.