Hello I know this isnt caused from my new WOL . So I hope im in the right spot... My lower hip joints hurt like crazy... Could it be from loosign weight and my body is tryign to acomidate the lost weight... They hurt when I walk or it gets chilly in the house... Hubby thinks it could be from loosign weight and my body getting rid of toxins.. But I have been doing this now for over 2 months.. I dont know so I figured I would ask some one here if they have experienced the same thing..My back is also been hurting.. That I know is from the weight loss I have always had a bad back..

Thanks

Tammy

Hi Tammy, I feel for you, my dear.
I'm in the same situation. Bad back and osteoarthritis which includes the hip joints.
My hip pain increased dramatically after I started LCing. I don't know why.
Have you heard of arachidonic acid (AA)? It is a fatty acid found in red meat and egg yolks which we need but that can be harmful in large amounts.
The Drs Eades talk about it in Protein Power. For more info go here:
http://eatprotein.com/answers.php3 and scroll down till you come to the question "Can I really eat all the red meat and egg yolks I want?"
My pain didn't alter with dropping red meat and egg for the three weeks, but it has improved dramatically since I added fish oil capsules.
Good luck, Tammy.

Rosebud

This is an interesting thread. I have been having a considerable amount of pain in my hips, especially when walking, and have taken to sleeping with a pillow under my hips at night to cushion them. I have had this pain once before - when I had been on WW for about four weeks and was losing. Apart from that, I don't have any aches or pains and never have, so this is a new, annoying and downright painful experience. Plus it makes me walk stiffly - looks like I p**ed myself!

Fish oil right? So the fish oil capsules that you take for Omega 3 are suitable? I will get some asap and try them. Also, I don't each much red meat or eggs but I will cut back even the small amount I eat. Although, I take it that egg whites are OK, it's just the yolks to watch out for.

Tammy. I also have experienced the bad back and hip problem. My doctor gave me a double shot of cortisone and that did the trick. I have never felt better.I sympathize as I know the pain you are suffering.

Have you thought about seeing a Chiropractor? Hip issues can often be tied to lower back issues that you might not notice.

Also, when you are heavier your body changes how it "holds" itself. Ideally your pelvis and hips are in-line under your shoulders and cradle your internal organs in a "bowl" of sorts that has the spine to lean back against. A larger belly pulls your spine forward, tips the bulk of the organs against the front of your abdomen where there is nothing but soft tissue for support, and tips your pelvis forward too.

If you are heavy for a long time then the changes to this position are so gradual that there is not much pain associated with the adjustments. However, your body wants to be in the correct position, so when you lose wieght quickly, it starts to go back to the way you should normally be alligned, and that transition can be painful.

It could be that since you've lost weight, your hips/pelvis are adjusting to sit in a more natural position now that they don't have to support the extra weight. That adjustment may cause pain.

One of the things that also may be causing problems is that when your body is all out of alighnemnt due to your extra weight, you get an increase in bone degeneration. Back, hips and knees are all likely spots for this to occur as they bear the brunt of all the extra weight.

I've been having hip and lower back issues recently. Upon seeing a Chiropractor x-rays of my back were taken an it was determined that I have a small amount of bone degeneration in my spine. Unfortunately, you cannot undo the degeneration once it occurs, but you can get yourself realigned so that no further degeration will occur. I am getting treated for this condition now and over the next 12 weeks will be getting realigned to take the pressure off the places where degeration is occuring.

Also, it seems to me that sleeping with a pillow undeneath your hips might make them feel better but will probably put additional stress on your back and set you up for problems there later on.

Supplement-wise, I take an Omega-3 booster anyway, but have heard great things about Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplements for joint issues. I recently started taking them and apparently it takes a week or two of supplementation to really feel the effects so I don't yet have an opinon on their effectiveness.

I really don't see how something like that could be from weight loss - heck, losing weight should really help these problems because there's less stress on your joints. I'd see your doc and get some help - it could be so many things, including arthritis.

I'd go with some massage therapy or a chiropractor. As you lose fat, your muscles change how they have to hold themselves and they may not like it at first. They are used to holding a certain load and now you've gone and changed it.

Stretching exercises will help them accept the new condition and adjust. They'll be better off than they were with the extra weight.

This thread looks like the right spot for me. This is really my second go-around on Atkins. The first time, I was on it for a month and had lost 30lbs. But after the second week, my hip joint was hurting so bad that I was nearly in tears just trying to lift my leg up into my van. I stuck it out till the end of the month but the pain kept increasing. I was told that it was the low-carbing that was causing it because of the increase of uric-acid. So I quit low carbing and within two weeks, the hip pain was gone. I've spent this past year trying every diet I could think of. Gained all of the weight back and then some. I returned to Atkins 11 days ago because this is truly the only WOE that has garnered me any success, but wouldn't ya know, the hip pain started three days ago in the other hip, and I also have joint pain in my left thumb. I see that this thread was started back in August, so my question is: anyone who has tried the fish oil capsules... has it worked well for you? And are their any other supplements you would recommend? What I'm taking right now:
Daily Multivitamin
Folic acid supplement with B 6, 2, 12, and Choline
and Potassium and Magnesium
Thanks in advance!
Teia

I had bursitis in my hip, at least that is what the doctor thought it was. He injected me with cortisone and it got somewhat better. Actually, I am plagued by joint and muscle and tendon pain and I'm always looking for things to help it. Recently I started taking SAM-E, 5-HTP and St. John's Wort and adopted a gluten free diet, switched around my thyroid meds and... (holding breath) things are REALLY good right now.

Unfortunately I changed a lot of things quickly (I was suffering!) so if those changes helped I don't know which did it. It could just be a periodic remission or something.

I take fish oil, about 3 grams a day. It doesn't help with the aches and pains but I know it is good for you in many other ways so I still take it.

Hi Nancy! Thanks for the response. I started taking fish oil capsules yesterday. May not help my problem but it couldn't hurt to try. I've discovered that taking a couple tylenol makes the pain bearable for now, so we'll see what happens.
It's great to hear that you are feeling better... I'll cross my fingers for you that it's not just remission!
Take care!
Teia

Hi Ehrris!

What the doctors basically told you is that you are susceptible to gout; a condition where uric acid crystals form in the joints causing pain and inflammation. Did the doctor also check your uric acid levels at the time you saw him? It's a shame that they didn't tell you that by avoiding those protein sources highest in purines (which contribute to the uric acid buildup), you could have continued to low carb with a lot less trouble.
This link may help you avoid further problems if you avoid or limit the foods listed that are highest in purines.

An article discussing low carb and gout is here.


The thread was started in 2002.

I've had chronic pain for well over 10 years, hips neck, jaw, facial, back, you name it. The chiro called it whiplash. I went for years. He was a good chiro, but the pain was never gone completely.

I've tried chiro, PT, yoga, supplements, different diets, on and on, I've tried it.

I bought a book "lose the back pain" It helps you diagnose yourself by doing simple exercises. "If you have pain while doing this this and that, you have a backwards pelvic tilt.." (Its full of stuff like that.)

My self-diagnosis was that I have a backwards tilt in my pelvis and I have "high hip" on the left, which throws off my left shoulder, left side of my neck, vision on that side, etc...(The chiro would crack my hips and the pain would be gone for a few days...only to come back again.)

Getting an adjustment will not correct muscle imbalances; you have to stretch & strengthen with specific exercises to correct muscle imbalances or the adjustment is just temporary because you havent treated the cause - so says the authors of this book (A chiro and a PT)

well, Im a believer because it worked. Im not one of those people who fall for gimmick books or what not; Im very critical of such things. But this book had a money back guarentee so I thought, "what have I got to lose?"

It worked for me.

I started LC this January and my hips, which have given me some problems off and on in the past started hurting like crazy. I had also gone off the MSM(1000mg)/Glucosamine(1000mg)/Chondrointin(1000mg) for a couple of months and that seemed to make it worse so I got back on that and gave it a couple of months. It helped a smidgeon.

I was already on fish capsules and tried upping the number of capsules I take but couldnt do that because I started tasting the fish all day (yuk).

Then I heard about hyaluronic acid that you can get at the health food store that is suppose to help joint pain. I started taking that and within a couple of weeks or less felt a bit of relief.

Then, I read something on the internet about how fish capsules were tested and about 50% of them in the same bottle were rancid and how you do not want to take rancid fish oil because it is bad for your body. So it was recommended that you take Cod Liver oil in liquid form instead. I decided to switch. The first week I took 2 T a day morning and night. Within a week I got significant relief in my hips. After the first week I went down to 1T per day and still had the same relief.

Just so you know it wasnt just that I needed an increase in the oil in my diet, I was already taking 2T coconut oil, 6 capsules of flax seed oil, and 2 capsules of evening primrose oil per day.

So there is something about this cod liver oil that works wonders. It has alot of vit A and vit D per tablespoon, so maybe thats it, I really dont know.

Anyway, I dont know if any of you are still around but I thought I would mention my experience and maybe it would help someone who is suffering.

Just chew a few fish oil capsules and you can see if they're rancid or not. Mine have always been fine.

BTW: turns out my various joint/muscle/tendon issues were due to a couple of things: Gluten intolerance and ankylosing spondylitis. Unfortunately a lot of the low carb products have a lot of gluten in them. And the thing that makes AS worse is starches. Any time I eat starch my aches get worse.