Excessive weight gain after remission from lymphoma due to leg pain

[debbiev]

I would like to get some feedback from fellow cancer warriors that have had bad  leg pain as a side effects from chemo.  

I could not walk for quite a while due to the cancer cells being shed into my blood stream, the pain was like

having gout some days I could hardly get out of bed.  I have now excess weight on the tops of my legs which is effecting my knee joints which get arthitis,  I am heavier now than when I was having chemo.  I have managed to lose nearly 3.8 kilos which does help with the knee pain.  I am now trying to walk at least 30 minutes my doctor has now given me Allurpinoi tablets which has helped at lot.

Thank you for your advice in advance.

[CaptainAustrali]

I put on 50k over 4 years post-cancer treatment, linked to serious thyroid impairment caused by the radiation (thyroid regulates your metabolism).

I'm digging myself out of that hole, and what I'd say to you is:  You can do it.

Whatever "it" is exactly for you, you can pick a health goal within your reach, and strive toward it.  Walking is *WONDERFUL* for overall health.  It's low impact, sustainable, helps with your heart & circulation, mental health, weight loss, there's even science about it improving your vision !

Set a positive goal and move toward it, you've got all the heart & guts you need to achieve it.

You just need to find your inspiration.  

Cancer is a kick in the guts, and it wants to take that away from you (the inspiration I mean, that sense of hope, purpose & future).  Don't allow it.  You're the boss here.

Keep up the great work, choose definitive goals and strive for them.  And if you fail, don't stop.  Losing one small battle doesn't mean you lose the war (in fact if you won all the battles, it probably wouldn't even be a war but more of a take-over).

Sorry if that's a bit ra-ra, but I think the psychological and spiritual energy needed to make change when you've suffered from cancer is pretty profound.  So my soft advice is to find hope and motivation and grab onto it and lock it down and put it to work for you.

The concrete advice is:  walk EVERY day.  Even if it's awkward, or rainy.  Get a puppy if you don't have one, they LOVE walking with you.  If you can do 30 minutes, try for 45, then set that as the daily routine.  Build on it until you're walking an hour a day (or 45 minutes per day twice).  Check your "maintenance calories" and make sure you're coming in 10% or so lower than those requirements, and the weight will melt off you.  In a year you'll be a different person, and whatever comes next you'll be happier & healthier.

[debbiev]

Thank you so much for your words of wisdom CaptainAustrali after discussing this matter with me I have noticed after my 30 minute walk today my legs don't ache as much or the pain is not as severe.

I will certainly do what you said and try and now make a goal of walking 45 minutes a day and try and extend this.  Thanks again you have really helped me and spurred me on to do my best and lose this 20kgs I know that will take me a long time but it is all worth it for my health.

I do hope you are going well with your treatment as well and all the best for Christmas and the new year 2021 

[CaptainAustrali]

The best of luck to you (actually you don't need that, just a firm resolve).  So instead of wishing you luck, let me wish you every happiness.

Once you're rid of the excess 20k, you'll feel different.  So many of the post-cancer chronic health issues a person can suffer from are exacerbated by weight gain.  Even in the absence of physical problems, the weight gain can have an insidious psychological effect.

If you just tweak your intake and exercise, you'll easily melt off 1k per week.  45 minutes of walking per day is around 400-500 calories roughly, which equates to 3500c per week (or half a kilo of fat), so if you tweak back your food intake by like 10%, or eat as much (or more) but shift to only healthy choices, especially veg - bang, that 1k per week happens easily, and a few months from now, you're a lean, mean fighting machine.

We're all so internally conflicted these days, we give into weakness, hate ourselves, try a diet, fail, give up on it.  My advice is to make a firm choice, count your wins, and be proud of them.  Make a mistake ?  No worries, move past it.  Don't get caught in the cycle of losing your weight, just get it off and move forward 🙂

All the best, and have a lovely Christmas Day.

[debbiev]

Thank you so much for your advice I really appreciate it.  What I have just started to use the local exercise facilities in my local park and wondered whether you think I could do a bit of this I have been careful not to do too much and will try with this exercise twice a week with the combination of walking.

The exercise is one machine is swinging my legs backward and forward plus using my arms I did about 10 of these and the other machine had swings your legs side by side and the last one is twisting around my waist area.  I was a little sore when I got home last night but this morning my legs feel really strong. Hopefully if I can get my legs stronger I maybe able to walk for longer than 30 minutes.  What do you think. 

[CaptainAustrali]

Hey hey - moving your body around is never a bad thing (unless you've suffered a spinal injury or other grievous harm!).  Those machines are designed to build strength, and a bit of muscle is great - especially where it compensates for an area of weakness.

For example, you have elderly folks with bone issues, osteoporosis, stuff like that, and research found that doing a bit of resistance (weight) training, the gain in muscle offset some of the weakness, giving them extra mobility.

But me personally ?  I reckon when a person is obese, walking is great.

If you have the time for it.  It's time consuming.  And yeah, as to pure calories-in-calories-out math, you might be more efficient doing stairs or whatnot .. but walking is therapeutic, low impact, and it really helps with your internal processes.  For my part, being morbidly obese, after spending the last 30 days walking 10km (or more) per day, I feel strong and fit, and it's great.  Dropped about 10k so far too.  Maybe I'm just 'obese' now and we can drop the 'morbidly'.

The key thing is momentum.  I can't give you advice on what you can/can't do or what you should/shouldn't do.  If you get yourself in a mindset to tackle the physical problems, and resolve to do your best to be healthy, then you just take what you think would be 'hard' or 'felt a bit sore' .. and then if you can add an extra 10% effort onto that.

Then it's about doing time (heh, like being in a special kind of prison).  Make great, healthy choices for a month - you'll feel better - three months - you'll feel A LOT better - six months - you'll be a different person 🙂

I've got a laundry-list of post-cancer medical problems, not just the weight gain, and for the first time in 4 years, I feel like I'm getting stronger and healthier, and that's kindling a kind of hope in me - helping me climb out of cancer limbo.

But yeah, I'm just a boofhead.  I'd love to give you ever encouragement, but I don't know what's going on exactly with your body - ultimately that stuff is your decision, even the doctors can only ADVISE you.  So I'd suggest you're absolutely on the right track .. give things a go, find what you're capable of, and keep moving forward.

If you do too much or too little, the thing to remember is that it's all good.  Healthy choices are better than unhealthy ones (like giving into fatigue, etc).

All the best ! 🙂

[ActuariesDiseas]

I agree with CaptainAustrali. Conquer your issues, don't let them conquer you.