O is for…..ouch!

I decided that 2015 is going to be the year that I finally sort myself out. I need to lose a lot of weight and it is impacting on my health.

I can't afford a slimming club so thought that I would cut down on things and make better choices on what I eat. Where exercise is concerned my hip dysplasia means that I can't do anything of high impact so I'm left with swimming, walking and cycling.

I've always loved walking (which is useful as I couldn't drive until 17 months ago!) so I've been making more of an effort to go out in the evening for a stroll. One or more of the children usually come with me and it's a good way of unwinding at the end of a busy day.

I felt the benefits fairly quickly as I slept better, felt refreshed afterwards and didn't spend all evening sitting on my lardy arse in front of the TV stuffing my face with crappy foods.

That was until the middle of last week. All of a sudden my hip and knee were in agony. I could barely stand, let alone walk, and each step was a massive effort. The eldest two had to put my socks on for me and lace my boots. It was embarrassing. I felt as though I was 88 not 38.

I have daily discomfort with my condition and have limited mobility and movement in my leg but it's bearable and thankfully I rarely go through really painful spells but when I do, my goodness the pain takes over your life. I was constantly tired and grouchy. I had no patience with the children and I just felt like crying. No pain, no gain was not a mantra I wanted to repeat!

There's very little point going to see a GP as all they would do is give me more painkillers. I was told that the youngest I could have a hip replacement would be at 45 but because of the limited lifespan of replacement hips it wouldn't last long and after 2 replacements I could soon run out of options. I don't want to be in a wheelchair in my sixties, if I can help it.

The extra weight doesn't help and I'm doing what I can to exercise more but on those days when I can hardly move it gets me down so much. I feel as though I'm in a never-ending circle. I need to lose weight to ease the pain but until the pain goes I can't exercise as much as I need to. I hate being this way and I hate whinging about it but sometimes you just have to get these things off your chest!