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Hi Everyone!
I am Aprile a 38 yo mom and wife. I thought I would sit down and introduce myself and tell you a little about me.
Let me start off by saying I am a recovering Anorexic. Sounds funny to hear on a diet board huh? But if I am to be completely honest first and foremost this is what I am. I am also a heart patient who has Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
I have always been thin and never ate really well. I have suffered with my eating disorder for many many years. My lowest weight was 92lbs at 5'5-5'6. Not Good!
I have had Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis for almost 20 years now. I am in constant pain. When I read stories on here about people not being able to exercise with these conditions I totally understand how people feel. I am here to tell you though, you can exercise. I do it and have done it for along time and I promise the more you do the better you will feel. I didn't start out gun ho and I certainly don't run or over stress my body. My body tells me when to stop and I do. Swimming is an awsome exercise for people like us.
Anyways, last year I was diagnosed with multiple heart issues. I have Mitral Valve Prolaspe, Inappropriate Sinus Tach, Atrial Tach, Atrial Fiberllation and SVT. All but the MVP are related to the electrical system in my heart not functioning correctly. Here is the tough part for me to admit. Neither I, nor the doctors can say that I didn't cause these issues myself by starving my body. I will have to live with the fact that I may have done this too myself to be thin. Don't not eat, Don't under eat. Please, Please you just never know how your body is going to react. Now I have to live with this for the rest of my life.
Last June I was put in the hospital to have a surgery to correct the electrical problem. During the procedure things went really bad. I had an Afib attack and my heart rate on the table hit 600. They tried to slow my heart on the table with drugs but was unable too. They had to use a defibrellator on me 4xs to shock my heart back into sync. Had they not been able to get my rate back to normal I could have died. Infact I am told I was very close. In the end after 6 hours on the table they aborted the procedure. I had all the fun of surgery and healing but no benefit. They can't fix what I have. I have too many areas in my heart that misfire and some are very close to my sinus node (the natural pacemaker).
I had a very hard recovery. I was burned on my chest and back from the shocks and I was very weak. To go from one room to another would take me 20 mins one way and another 20 to get back. I am almost 8 months post and I still do not have my strength back. I have been hospitalized 3 times since and put on tons of different meds. Finally found one that helps.
Now to why I am here. During my recovery I struggled with my eating disorder. I got very angry with myself. The heart pills were putting weight on me and I got to the point that I thought heck I almost killed myself by not eating if I want to live I should start eating. Maybe if I eat all the things I never let myself have before I would feel better. I have gained almost 50 pounds in 8 months. Not good either. I battled/am battling my demons from Anorexia. Part of my mind tells me to starve myself and I will lose weight. Starting the end of January I decided to battle my eating disorder with the ok from my doctors. I have the ok to lose some weight as long as I do it safely. And that is why I am here. I decided I am going to learn to eat healthy and I am going to make myself healthy again.
I have been on induction for 2 weeks as of tomorrow. I have a plan and a consequence. If I eat right and exercise my body should bounce back. If I don't eat right I will hurt my body more. I decided on Atkins because this particular way is very good for my heart. It teaches me how to eat healthy foods and the correct way to eat them and also takes away things that are bad for my heart. Caffeine and sugar.
I have been doing really well on induction. Some days it is very hard to force myself to eat but I do it. I go to the gym atleast 3 days a week and I do my wii fit daily. My joints cry, my muscles ache but I go and I can honestly tell you that 9 times out of 10 I feel better afterwards. I can not do target heart rate training as my heart rate is controlled by drugs. My heart rate does not go above 65bpm unless I am having an episode. But my doctor tells me you don't have to get your heart to target. Your body responds to any exercise even just a little at a time. I have had 13 knee surgeries due to my arthritis and I get on that treadmill or I swim. I maybe stiff when I start but I do it. I may not be as fast as other people but it is a triumph for me just to be on there.
I am sorry this is so long. I wanted to tell my story, hoping that it may help one person understand the damage not eating correctly can cause.If there is anyone out there who would like to do this with me that would be great. I am going to need lots of mental support to help me do this.
Thank you
I am Aprile a 38 yo mom and wife. I thought I would sit down and introduce myself and tell you a little about me.
Let me start off by saying I am a recovering Anorexic. Sounds funny to hear on a diet board huh? But if I am to be completely honest first and foremost this is what I am. I am also a heart patient who has Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
I have always been thin and never ate really well. I have suffered with my eating disorder for many many years. My lowest weight was 92lbs at 5'5-5'6. Not Good!
I have had Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis for almost 20 years now. I am in constant pain. When I read stories on here about people not being able to exercise with these conditions I totally understand how people feel. I am here to tell you though, you can exercise. I do it and have done it for along time and I promise the more you do the better you will feel. I didn't start out gun ho and I certainly don't run or over stress my body. My body tells me when to stop and I do. Swimming is an awsome exercise for people like us.
Anyways, last year I was diagnosed with multiple heart issues. I have Mitral Valve Prolaspe, Inappropriate Sinus Tach, Atrial Tach, Atrial Fiberllation and SVT. All but the MVP are related to the electrical system in my heart not functioning correctly. Here is the tough part for me to admit. Neither I, nor the doctors can say that I didn't cause these issues myself by starving my body. I will have to live with the fact that I may have done this too myself to be thin. Don't not eat, Don't under eat. Please, Please you just never know how your body is going to react. Now I have to live with this for the rest of my life.
Last June I was put in the hospital to have a surgery to correct the electrical problem. During the procedure things went really bad. I had an Afib attack and my heart rate on the table hit 600. They tried to slow my heart on the table with drugs but was unable too. They had to use a defibrellator on me 4xs to shock my heart back into sync. Had they not been able to get my rate back to normal I could have died. Infact I am told I was very close. In the end after 6 hours on the table they aborted the procedure. I had all the fun of surgery and healing but no benefit. They can't fix what I have. I have too many areas in my heart that misfire and some are very close to my sinus node (the natural pacemaker).
I had a very hard recovery. I was burned on my chest and back from the shocks and I was very weak. To go from one room to another would take me 20 mins one way and another 20 to get back. I am almost 8 months post and I still do not have my strength back. I have been hospitalized 3 times since and put on tons of different meds. Finally found one that helps.
Now to why I am here. During my recovery I struggled with my eating disorder. I got very angry with myself. The heart pills were putting weight on me and I got to the point that I thought heck I almost killed myself by not eating if I want to live I should start eating. Maybe if I eat all the things I never let myself have before I would feel better. I have gained almost 50 pounds in 8 months. Not good either. I battled/am battling my demons from Anorexia. Part of my mind tells me to starve myself and I will lose weight. Starting the end of January I decided to battle my eating disorder with the ok from my doctors. I have the ok to lose some weight as long as I do it safely. And that is why I am here. I decided I am going to learn to eat healthy and I am going to make myself healthy again.
I have been on induction for 2 weeks as of tomorrow. I have a plan and a consequence. If I eat right and exercise my body should bounce back. If I don't eat right I will hurt my body more. I decided on Atkins because this particular way is very good for my heart. It teaches me how to eat healthy foods and the correct way to eat them and also takes away things that are bad for my heart. Caffeine and sugar.
I have been doing really well on induction. Some days it is very hard to force myself to eat but I do it. I go to the gym atleast 3 days a week and I do my wii fit daily. My joints cry, my muscles ache but I go and I can honestly tell you that 9 times out of 10 I feel better afterwards. I can not do target heart rate training as my heart rate is controlled by drugs. My heart rate does not go above 65bpm unless I am having an episode. But my doctor tells me you don't have to get your heart to target. Your body responds to any exercise even just a little at a time. I have had 13 knee surgeries due to my arthritis and I get on that treadmill or I swim. I maybe stiff when I start but I do it. I may not be as fast as other people but it is a triumph for me just to be on there.
I am sorry this is so long. I wanted to tell my story, hoping that it may help one person understand the damage not eating correctly can cause.If there is anyone out there who would like to do this with me that would be great. I am going to need lots of mental support to help me do this.
Thank you
X16 
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