Pain and Carbs

July 18, 2012

As many of you know, I’m a recovering binge eater. In the past, I would use eating to completely numb emotional pain or depression. I wrote a bit about this in this recent post. Eating was a way to make the pain stop, even for just a little bit.

(We may be entering into TMI territory here – you’ve been warned.)

Yesterday, I had an IUD (intrauterine device) put in. It’s a long term, reversable contraceptive option that is inserted into the uterus through the cervix. Seeing as I have never birthed a child, my cervix hadn’t seen that kind of action before. It hurt like hell, and I’m spent yesterday and today curled up with my laptop sucking down ibuprofen. It’s like an awful, crampy period, but way worse. Like something from the inside is stabbing my uterus with a pitchfork (which is probably a not-too-far-off depiction of what is going on down there).

You know what I did on my way home from the doctor’s office? Got a massive caramel Frappucino. I never drink that kind of stuff because sugar is a gateway drug for me into heavier carbs. Yet, without thinking, I hightailed it to Starbucks and ordered it. It got slurped down before I got home. It wasn’t even that tasty.

Next up were some mixed berry turnovers I got from Trader Joe’s. I have no idea why I brought them into my house, but I did. And I ate them. 4 of them.

As the pain got worse, I just wanted more carbs and sugar. I had some Trader Joe’s cookie butter, which I ate. I then hunted for more, but since I typically don’t keep sugar or snacky carbs in my house, I thankfully didn’t find any more.

This morning, I woke up with more cramping and pain and immediately went seeking carbs and sugar. Hubs had cookies stored (um, hidden) in the freezer and I found them and ate them.

I realized that this is just like when I was trying to numb the depression I had fought with food. The pain wasn’t emotional this time – it was physical. Yet I still yearned for something to take the pain away, and food was an automatic response. Crazy.

Here’s to step 1 of recognizing a pattern and trying to stop it. There is nothing in the house that I am craving, and the last thing I want to do is drive to get something. I’ll keep sucking on water and popping Advil as advised.

Can anyone else relate to this pain and food response? 

  • Kelli

    I can relate to the IUD pain and food response. Remember, having an IUD inserted is also screwing with your hormones, because anytime your uterus and cervix are “messed with” it’s going to mess with your hormones. I am on my second IUD (also never having birthed a child) and the second time was much better, primarily because my wonderful doc gave me a shot of lidocaine in my cervix before performing the procedure. But I still got super emotional after having the IUD inserted, and, yes, it made me crave carbs.

  • nycbookgirl

    I had the same procedure done earlier in the spring and went through those exact symptoms. I’m so sorry you’re going through them as they were by far the worst cramps of my life…and that’s saying something. I kept fluctuating between the same “carbs…NOW!” response and not being able to eat anything at all because of the nausea, so I hear you!!

    Somewhat unrelated…but I would talk to your doctor about whether your cramps will change after the procedure. Mine have stayed somewhat the same as the cramps you get the day of/day after the procedure, which is worse than they used to be. I talked to my doctor about a different Advil regimen because the suggested dose on the bottle wasn’t doing anything. BUT I really hope that doesn’t happen to you!!

    Hang in there and I hope you feel better soon!

  • http://about.me/mariadkins Mari Adkins

    Yup. I got a Mirena in February of last year. It hurt, laws yes, and the cravings, oms the cravings. But hang in there. It does slack off, and you will feel better!! I’m losing my Mirena this time next month – I’m having a hysterectomy. Can’t wait!! WHOOO

  • http://www.theyearofthephoenix.blogspot.com/ Jill (Lady Lazarus)

    While I can’t relate to the exact situation you’re in, I will say that you are right in that the first step is recognizing the pattern. That always leaves you better prepared the next time it happens, because at least now you are aware of what is happening and why.

    I hope you feel better!

  • Hillary

    I can totally relate! I have never had children either and just had my second Mirena put in this year. It was worse than I remembered. My response was to eat cupcakes. Ugh. I felt horrible physically and then I ate and that upset me emotionally. I will say this my cramps subsided after a week, and were less and less each day after I had it inserted. I hope you feel better soon! Also, my doctor gave me the prescription Advil and that helped me out quite a bit.

  • Alice

    Any time I have pain, I crave things I shouldn’t have. I’ve had two foot surgeries in the past 5 years and each time I gained weight because not only did I have to not be very active for 6 – 8 weeks while I was healing, I craved junk I shouldn’t have. Ugh.

  • dani

    I’m not trying to be a party pooper, but I’d be careful with Mirena. It’s very rare and most don’t have to worry, however there is a chance this device can fail. I had it for three years, it worked great until sometime during that third year it randomly feel out (as my doctor says) and therefore I was floored when i found out I was pregnant. I thought I was being so safe. I’ve had other people end up pregnant while on this as well. Just thought I’d throw that out there, but for most people it works wonders!

  • http://www.facebook.com/saradavidson Sara Davidson

    I had an IUD for some years before I had a child, and I had crazy problems with it. If the pain and bleeding don’t stop after a month or two, consider having it removed.

  • Lydia

    Totally can identify. My food trigger is stress. Anytime a situation comes up that I feel like I have little or no control over, food is the first thing that would go to. I saw a food therapist for the first time last year and she had me deconstruct the process. The next time it happened, it’s like I could see it in slow motion. Stressful situation occured. Frustration started welling up. Immediately started thinking, what could I eat to numb the feeling. In that instance, I had an ‘aha’ moment – if I ate xyz…it may be a temporary distraction, but the problem would still be there after I was done eating. Sometimes I have the clarity to recognize when it’s happening, and other times I don’t realize it until it’s already happened. Totally agree though – Step 1 is realizing what’s going on.

  • LHA

    I can relate on both counts…..the horrible pain of having an IUD inserted when you have never had a baby, and using carbs in great quantity to help ease pain. I am much older than you are, and I just assumed the the whole IUD process had been dramatically improved over the years. I’m sorry to hear it hasn’t! Looking back on the pain I suffered with that thing, I would never have done it if I had known how much pain was involved and how long that pain lasted. I later gave birth four times with no anesthesia, and the pain from that IUD was pretty darn close to labor! As far as the eating carbs goes, I think it goes back to childhood for me. It was always my way to soothe myself and I have to admit it actually helps me feel better emotionally. When I do have a big, carby meltdown I try to put it behind me the next day and just get back to better eating.

    Wishing you some relief from the pain and also from the carb craving, which should go hand in hand. Hope you feel better soon.

  • http://twitter.com/debslosingit Debra Wilson

    When I’m overly tired or in pain (more often emotional though, not physical- I have a crazy high tolerance for physical pain) I do pretty much exactly what you said. Then I see what I shoveled into my mouth, and want to eat more because I feel so horrible about it. Eventually I end up on the verge of throwing up from eating that way…

    My solution? Do not keep any food I am likely to binge on in the house- ever. If I want it, I have to put my shoes on, and go to the store to buy it. Totally inconvenient. Bf has very little sweet tooth, and the only snack foods we ever have in the house are Pringles (which I don’t like) and tootsie rolls, which I eat three or four of the midgees and I’m good for a week.

    Sorry the procedure was so painful. I’ve been thinking about getting one put in but had read that if you’ve never had a child, aside from being really painful, they can just slip out? Did your doctor mention any of that to you? I never know what to believe on this wonderful old internet… lol.

  • phatmom

    Oh, totally! This is, in large part, why I am overweight. I have endometriosis, a disease that messes with your hormones and gives you incredible pain at your period, and, in severe cases, at other times as well. When I had my kids, I found out that my pain every month is equivalent to second stage labor pains. Only narcotics give any relief.

    So, between the hormones and the pain, I have always eaten way too much at least once a month. I especially want garlic bread and pasta for some reason. When you are in that much pain, you just want something, anything that feels good. And food feels good. I got into the cycle of telling myself I deserved something good, because no one deserved that kind of pain. Now I try to tell myself that I deserve BETTER, and better is nutritious, healthy food.

    Pain is crazy-making. If you look into the neurology of it, it’s amazing what it does to our bodies and our brains. So how do you stop the cycle? I have tried to reward myself in some other way, with something I enjoy. But that doesn’t address the physical aspect of it. Massage can sometimes help, if you can stand going to someone when you’re in that kind of pain. It’s a good physical sensation to counteract the bad one. The trick is really to distract yourself from the pain with anything you can. Or eat something that pretends to be carbs, like an apple, or hummus. The act of eating helps–you just have to fool yourself into eating something good, instead of something bad.

    I don’t know if that helps at all, but I know EXACTLY where you are. I’m sorry you’re going through this. But talking about it will help you and others!

  • Rachel

    You’re so brave in your honesty. I can’t even be honest w/myself about my binging, let alone the world! I’m definitely an emotional eater. Carbs & sugar are always my go-to stress relief. Wishing you luck in getting past the pain quickly & w/no more binging.

  • http://lessofless.blog.com/ Less

    I’ve never had an IUD put in, but I can definitely relate to the emotional eating. Too many times have I raided my cabinets and then moved on to the grocery store because of stress. Whenever I was hurt or injured, it felt like a license to eat whatever I would like.

  • Jackie W

    I just had my IUD removed a week ago today after 6 years (I was a year late of having it removed…my fault). When I first had it put in, I had a heavy period for 6 months. I asked if I would go through that again and she said I might bleed for a few days and that’s all. So far I have bled heavily non stop and the cramps are unbearable. I hope it doesn’t last that long for you and that you feel better soon!

  • Mary Beth

    I can totally relate with the emotional pain and eating concept; it was an awful bullying experience in middle school and then again in college that is directly related to my current weight. Weirdly, though, the ONE time I’m not hungry/craving food is when I’m in great physical pain. I haven’t had an IUD, but had gallbladder surgery a few years ago and had a serious post-surgical infection. I barely ate for a week.

  • Holly

    I don’t like to be uncomfortable for any reason. Who does?!!! Lately I’ve been feeling somewhat blue and it’s not surprising at all to me that I’ve been having a harder time staying on track. Whether the pain be physical or emotional, my knee-jerk response is always to “fix” with something tasty!

  • http://www.facebook.com/poppy.marquez Poppy Marquez

    I do want to snack more and eat often when I don’t feel good. I am having an IUD in a two weeks. I thought it would be no big deal since what I was really sweating was getting a biopsy (had to get a relaxi pill I was so nervous). I have been taking progestin orally to combat high estrogen (which can cause cancer – complex hyperplasia is what I had). The IUD actually works just as well if not better to counteract high estrogen. I hope it’s worth it and maybe since I have already been on similar hormones it won’t wreck havock on me. sending you healing thoughts!

  • http://twitter.com/MommaHunt16 Erica Zamsky Hunt

    Oh I feel for you…I had one put in in January and on the way out of the office I passed out…it hurt a ton for several days. Then to top it off the damn thing kept falling out…I finally cried Mercy and had them take it out. I am sure though that you will be on the mend in no time. As far as binging…soothing myself with food. I do it all the time..well I did. I try very hard not to…but in especially emotional issues or times it is hard not to revert back to my old ways.

  • anna2556

    Can definitely relate. I’m so food focused (it is my reward, my companion, my solace) that my mind automatically goes to food in almost every situation. When in pain, I seek comfort and my comfort is something warm and carb-y or cold and sweet. The first thing I do before going into a situation I know will result in pain (like surgery or dental work) is to load up on foods that I use to cheer myself up or that I tell myself are necessary for healing…such as ice creams and creamy soups or “instant” foods that require little to no prep work.

  • http://twitter.com/fatcookieblogs cookie

    That sounds bad, hope you feel better soon. I was considering IUD, but I’ll think about that now!

  • Bella Capri

    I just had my second Mirena in place in June, and had a very similar episode. This time the insertion was so much more painful than I remember it being 5 years ago.

    I think you’ll love the IUD, though. It has made my periods pretty much non-existent. :)

  • RASPBERRY KETONES

    YOU ARE REALLY A BRAVE PERSON.AND HONEST TOO. POST IS GOOD. YOU BE FINE….KEEP POSTING.

  • http://twitter.com/StarvingDiva StarvingDiva

    I can so relate to that. When I am sick with a cold, all I want is grape soda, chicken soup and crackers. Don’t know why, but I do. I’ve been really trying hard to pay attention to my reaction and how it relates to food. I binge when I’m really stressed out and depressed. Not having tempting foods in the house when these things occur, doesn’t matter, I will go to my local CVS and buy whatever I want. When I am stressed, I sometimes will go for a drive, or workout again. I really need to break the stress/binge pattern.

  • http://livinginalollypopworld.blogspot.com/ Lolly

    I can totally relate to the pain and eating. I have osteoarthritis in both knees and feet and am constantly in pain. I eat to stop the pain but in the meantime I am killing myself. I have been a vegetarian for 17 years and then transitioned to vegan about 3-4 years ago. People always ask me how I can be vegan and fat (so rude, right?) I remind them that potato chips are vegan as are lots of other very unhealthy things. I have a bracelet – one of those rubber kind and I can’t remember where I got it – that says “one bite at a time, one decision at a time” and that’s what I am working on now. I’m still in pain all the time, but am figuring out new ways to deal with it. Thanks for sharing your story!

  • theshortasianchick

    OOO hellll yeah. I used to crave carbs (and still do!) on my period like CRAZY, but then found a way out of the vicious cycle of bad cramps, pain, and constipation with allowing myself to eat as many “clean”/nonprocessed carbs as I want. I.e plenty of bananas with nut butter, protein pancakes with just flaxseed + egg whites, or oatmeal with honey. No white carbs for this girl anymore- it just exerperates the pain worse. I used to get REALLY bad cramps and moodiness with PMS but I found the PMS practically gone (a well as the cravings) once I got rid of the white carbs.

  • http://hungrypumpkin.blogspot.com/ creatress

    When I get that way the only thing that helps me (other than FOOD) is to lay down with my head on my husbands lap and have him pet my head while I watch an old movie. Lots of hugs are also good. If hubby isn’t around, try hugging yourself! All of these will help “bring you back home to your body” rather than use food to dissociate from it. I sure hope you’re feeling better now!

  • IUD Victim

    Don’t be fooled that an IUD is reversible. Check out all the lawsuits. I was in one of them. I am childless because of this “reversible” contraception. Talk about emotional eating……….

  • Jenny N

    I was on a very strict diet this spring, which for once, I stuck to religiously. I went through some serious work stress during that period and without food or alcohol, I truly had no idea how to process the feelings. I ended up letting myself cry and made myself actually “feel” my emotions instead of medicating them. It sucked, but I am proud I was able to do it. I still struggle with feeding any kind of discomfort, but I’m working on it…

    • http://www.skinnyemmie.com/ Emily Sandford

      I am right with you. It sucks, but it’s necessary.

Previous post:

Next post:

Copyright Skinny Emmie © 2013

Disclaimer