Water-retention all over the body? (more than benzobelly)

[[er...]]

so my doctor explained that when our bodies are high with cortisol, which is the stress hormone, that we have been programmed for centuries to hold fat because the body thinks a famine is coming...hence the stress....our ancesters did not have the kind of chronic stress we have today. and when our cortisol levels are high we automatically retain a lot of water and our potassium and sodium levels have a hard time balancing. he said that a perfect example of that is when we are giveln hydrocortisone tablets like prednisone, a very common side effect is that we ]can gain twenty to thirty pounds in just a matter of a couple months without changing our diets. our body is trying to protect us from the stress of a potential famine.......and since we do not have gaba to calm our stressed systems down like normal people we are very vulnerable to this and our cortisol tends to get rather high. it also means that as long as our systems are stressed we can forget about losing weight because our bodies want to protect us...and if you try to diet, that in and of itself is a stress s o only makes the situation worse and hence can make you retain even more fat and water.......it explained a lot to me and made me fee l a lot better about I]t. and explained why no matter what I did I could not lose weight and that my diet is healthy and had never changed but my body did...mystery solved!.....I realily have to watch my stress levels and really concentrate on nutrient dense foods so I can get a lot of nuttrients to help healing and keep the stress down.....as taking vitamins and minerals and supplments tends to cause even more stress on my body unfortunately

 

This make sense to me , put in my phone and will read any time I am huge , like now . I know some days I look like before 120 lbs  little stress and I am 140, 150  crazy . My dr

 

 

[[Ge...]]

Has anyone else found a solid resolution to the chronic water retention and weight gain?

[[Ge...]]

Since my original post in May, as of today I have gained an additional 25 pounds, and climbing. My total water-weight gain is 50 lbs. I CTd over 46 months ago. The water-retention used to be manageable, but it no longer is. I'm gaining about 1 pound a week now despite doing all that I can to prevent it. Question is, why is it getting worse this far out?!

[[Be...]]

how do you know its from the benzo withdrawals?, just curious, Im on the tail end of the conversation...

when I was on my full dose of 2 mg xanax a day, I was at 230 lbs, bad swollen ankles and feet, I thought I was just getting fat, I didnt know about water retention, but at my next Dr visit, they tripped out of course, and put  me on the lasixs? or whatever, that worked,,,still have a little problem with it, but its mostly gone, especially at the end of the taper...

have you / did you ever take that lasix?

[[Ge...]]

have you / did you ever take that lasix?

 

The doctors have advised against diuretics since I had explained to them what I wrote on the initial post here. I tried an over the counter extra strength diuretic for a week and it did nothing, I kept gaining. I know it is water because, when I cut out all carbs, it flushes out within one to two weeks; I literally lose 12 pounds in the first week, slowing down after. The problem is that for the past 6 months, this no-carb method no longer works.

[[Be...]]

are your feet/ankels and hands all swollen and puffy?

sorry if you've already said this, I aint reading the thread...

mine were, but like I said, I thought I was just getting fat 

[[Ge...]]

are your feet/ankels and hands all swollen and puffy?

sorry if you've already said this, I aint reading the thread...

mine were, but like I said, I thought I was just getting fat 

 

Total body, especially the torso. My hands feet and ankles are the least.

[[Be...]]

two bottles of red wine for health, thats hysterical

[[Ge...]]

two bottles of red wine for health, thats hysterical

I know,  right?!

[[Ks...]]

Georgy have you found any help? I know you've posted other places too. I've tried a diuretic or laxative once to see if it would help and it only made it worse. I can't tell if it's water or not but I'm not eating enough for it to be all real weight yet it still accumulates. It looks like real weight. Cortisol supplement doesn't do anything.

 

Alabama I don't know if you're still on the thread but did your metabolism ever go back to normal and lose the weight?without having to diet, or exercise like a maniac?

[[Ge...]]

Ks1994,

Have you tried the Ketogenic diet? It may be worth a try for you since you're not sure whether our weight-gain is water or fat. I know it's water. Give a no-carb diet a shot for just 3 days and let me know if it works for you. You should see weight drop quickly.

[[Ks...]]

I lose a tiny bit of weight on that but then it immediately stops. My body goes into starvation mode and I end up gaining more weight. I had an eating disorder (from psych med weight gain) so my body doesn't tolerate extreme diets anymore...but I need to find the cause of this, there must be something wrong. This is not normal and it's not healthy, it's causing a lot of stress physically and emotionally...

[[Ge...]]

My Alternative Medicine doctor had my hormones tested since she swore that my problem was low testosterone because of my age. She was completely baffled when the test results showed that I had normal to high Testosterone. However, I had low dhea. My doc had me supplementing dhea. I tried it for only 3 weeks (I'm apprehensive about taking hormones), but I did not notice a difference. I was hoping that the water would drop off. I'm wondering if I need to supplement dhea longer.

[[Ks...]]

My hormones are at or over the top end but doctor is not doing anything about it. I have normal dhea though. I would be apprehensive about hormones as well. I started progesterone and now am hooked on it. It was supposed to help but hasn't.

[[Ge...]]

Have you tried phosphatidylserine?

[[Co...]]

Fluid retention has bothered me as well...like East I have been less active through the winter due to agoraphobia and increased w/d s/x ( I jumped Dec 3). I find Dr. Bonners Lavendar Epsom Salts for the bath help a lot. I soak once a day with adding about 3/4 c salts to the bath water ( Epsom salts should never be ingested).. It is soothing and effective in taking some of the edge off anxiety and helps the fluid retention....Yes it does seem as though it never ends....but it will

......wishing everyone a good day today...coop

[[...]]

Maybe I don't know enough to comment but this is an example of something I wouldn't automatically link with benzo use or withdrawal. I think in a way it's responsible to really think if it's linked before listing symptoms that range to everything on message board up. 

[[Ks...]]

Maybe I don't know enough to comment but this is an example of something I wouldn't automatically link with benzo use or withdrawal. I think in a way it's responsible to really think if it's linked before listing symptoms that range to everything on message board up. 

 

I think it's safe to say if it showed up during or right after benzo withdrawal then it can be attributed to benzo withdrawal...just a case of putting two and two together

 

Georgy, I have something called sleep tonight that I've tried, I can only take a tiny bit as it makes me so tired the next day, but it is supposed to lower cortisol and I think that's one of the ignredients. Cortisol labs are normal though  for now has it helped you any?

[[...]]

Maybe I don't know enough to comment but this is an example of something I wouldn't automatically link with benzo use or withdrawal. I think in a way it's responsible to really think if it's linked before listing symptoms that range to everything on message board up.

 

I think it's safe to say if it showed up during or right after benzo withdrawal then it can be attributed to benzo withdrawal...just a case of putting two and two together

 

I don't really think it is safe to assume that something was caused by something just because the two things appeared to overlap. If my eyesight suddenly faded just as I went off benzos should I automatically equate the two?  In any given population if suddenly somebody brought up a health concern say heartburn for example it's possible a few people will share the problem. The fact that a few people here have it doesn't mean it correlates.

 

 

[[am...]]

Goto - I am 53 and have been physically fit my whole life without any weight gain issues. I gained 20lbs. during my 9 month taper and my stomach looks like I am 6 months pregnant. There is no doubt in my mind that it is from the benzos.     

[[Co...]]

I have it too and it's from the benzos for me. Low carb helps for me but not completely.

[[Ge...]]

I have it too and it's from the benzos for me. Low carb helps for me but not completely.

 

Low-carb USED to get the water off, but no longer; now, it just keeps me from gaining. But if i eat carbs, then I gain water very quickly and non-stop. It's very frustrating when absolutely nothing helps me lose the weight (including a healthy low-carb diet and exercise) and so many things make me gain.

[[je...]]

I have been thin my entire life, and gained about 10pounds during taper that I cannot shed!! I workout everyday and eat healthy and I can't drop it. Im almost 40yrs old so I thought maybe my metabolism was changing, but Im convinced its the benzos. And don't even let me get started on the benzo belly-I look 6 months pregnant. I used to pride myself on my flat stomach--not anymore. I don't have any swelling tho.

[[Co...]]

I have it too and it's from the benzos for me. Low carb helps for me but not completely.

 

Low-carb USED to get the water off, but no longer; now, it just keeps me from gaining. But if i eat carbs, then I gain water very quickly and non-stop. It's very frustrating when absolutely nothing helps me lose the weight (including a healthy low-carb diet and exercise) and so many things make me gain.

 

I have the exact same problem, I don't understand it! I used to lose massive weight when I did low carb and I didn't even have to work out. Now I lose about 8 lbs of water and nothing else. If I eat fruit or my carbs go over 20 grams (witch has to be from vegetables) I bloat right back up. It's very uncomfortable and my belly is so huge it feels like it's going to pop sometimes! Yesterday I had 2 of those cuties (those little oranges) and I still feel like a water hose is in me filling me up!

[[Ks...]]

This is very sad reading all this

 

No one has lost the weight