What the heck is going on with my weight?!?

Alright ladies, I need help. I'm hoping someone somewhere has come across a similar issue or may be able to help me, because I'm getting REALLY frustrated!

Over a year ago, my doctor discovered that I have edema in my ankles and calves and put me on hydrochlorothiazide. So I've been taking the diuretic ever since, and it keeps the swelling at bay (when I remember to take it at least).

But here's the thing:

My weight goes up and down by 10 pounds within days. I weighed myself on Thursday, and from then to now, I've gained 10 pounds. BUT, my ankles are not swollen, neither are my calves. I've been taking my diuretic pills ALL week like a good girl, so there shouldn't be much fluid left! How the heck did 10 lbs come back in two days, when I'm not even swollen?

I tell all of this to my doctor, and he basically ignores it. In the past year, I've COMPLETELY overhauled my diet. I'm eating less, and I'm eating MUCH better. No junk. VERY little processed foods. Mainly fresh fruits and veggies with whole grains. Plus, I moved from a basement apartment into a condo building where I live on the third floor with no elevator, therefore every day I walk up and down those two flights of stairs at least once, usually twice. So that's a slight increase in physical activity if nothing else. But the scales don't move (other than those damn migrating 10 pounds!)

I'm not looking for a fabulous weight loss or anything of that nature, I realize I need to get off my ass and do something to lose any amount of weight. BUT, to go from a bag of chips a day (and I mean a big bag, not a little single portion bag) and 2L of soda a day to multigrain veggie sandwiches and water, and then not lose 5 or 10 pounds, that seems very strange to me. But my doctor ignores it.

What the hell is wrong with me, and how the hell do I get him to find it? I'm starting to feel like this guy --->

do you feel any different?? i don't look at the number so much as how my clothes fit...i just know when i've gained or lost weight without even getting on the scale.

ALWAYS weight yourself in the morning before you eat and after you use the bathroom and with out any clothes on. also, are you/have you started your period? this affects things as well.

other than that, unless you have a gut feeling that something's not right, you're gonna have to work out to get any weight off. the change in diet will help some, but it really doesn't make much difference with out regular excercise unless you're EXTREMELY over weight...sucks doesn't it?!?

If you feel like your doctor is ignoring you, maybe you need to switch doctors.

And good for you for changing your eating habits.

You might not be eating enough, or often enough - your body gets used to eating the same thing all the time and needs to have the foods and times mixed up to get your metabolism moving.

A good thing to do first is to keep track of what your eating during the day. you can track it on paper or online - there's a bunch of websites that let you do it - fitday.com is the one i've used.

I'm struggling myself with not losing weight after a certain point - now i'm going to a nutritionist - eating a very high fiber diet. hoping it will kick in soon!

Good luck!

Have you tried asking your doctor what is causing the edema? Is it poor circulation within your system, is it cushings or a heart issue. Some of the reasons you are still seeing the 10lbs may be more related to the underlying cause of your edemaa rather than from the edema itself. I would say if you try counting your calories and increasing physical activity then you really should get to the underlying source of the edema....or try switching doctors perhaps there is some element of this that your doctor is overlooking or like you said ignoring you on that is key to this problem. Good luck!

I think that if your doctor is ignoring your question, you might want to get a second opinion.

I agree with the others too that while changing your diet is a great thing, if you aren't eating enough or working out, you may not see a big drop in weight. Also, maybe you are retaining water in areas other than your legs

FutureMrsLewis- I'm a registered dietitian and the first thing I'd think of is why are you legs swelling? Have they worked you up and ruled out medical conditions? I agree with the others if they aren't answering your questions maybe you should look for another doctor.

Now onto the nutrition side. If you don't eat enough calories you can actually slow down your metabolism which will stop your weight gain. When you don't eat enough calories it actually burns your muscle as a fuel source which gives you weight loss but slows down your metabolism. If you are burning muscle possibly that could be why you are swelling I could figure out how many calories you need if you wanted to PM me. Also, there is a great website called Sparkpeople.com. I swear by it and it will calculate your calories everyday and give you a good insight to how many calories/nutrients you are getting.

Hope this helps!

Thanks ladies

I would get a new doctor, but unfortunately new doctors aren't exactly easy to come by. I've been looking for a new doctor, but they're few and far between.

As for the edema, he's sent me for an EKG and I've had urine and blood tests to rule out heart and kidney troubles, he thinks it's just poor circulation. But my thought is, my legs swell more when I'm out walking for long periods of time (2+ hours), wouldn't walking help my circulation? When the muscles in my legs contract, wouldn't they help force the blood back up to my heart? Just a thought...

And it could be that I'm not eating enough, that makes sense... Although, I have 100+ pounds to lose, so even though I've slowed down my metabolism, wouldn't I still lose SOMETHING? Again, I don't expect to lose much with what I'm doing right now, but 5 pounds would be motivating enough to keep going....

And as for how I feel? I have one word that sums it up entirely: Lethargic.