Little To No Appetite

[bebe127]

I have had little to no appetite for quite some time now. I've lost about 30lbs. all in the first year of being sick.

My question is (and it might sound dumb): Is it quite possible with all the liquid I drink throughout the day (over 100 oz.) that this could be causing my lack of appetite, because I'm so full of water and such?

Does this happen to anyone else? I would hazard to guess that most of us like me, have been told by dr.s to drink, drink, drink.

Thanks

[Joann]

Hi Bebe,

Sorry you are feeling bad. I am sure the water could be curbing your appetite. I know for people trying to lose weight they suggest they drink a glass a water prior to eating, so...

I know you are feeling poorly, but one thing that helps my aches and pains and often helps me feel hungry is going for a short walk. This doesn't cure me, or help me with all my other problems (which you know about), but if I walk the block a couple of times, my appetite seems to come back. And maybe this is tmi but helps with any bathroom problems. LOL.

I guess getting the circulation moving helps your body in a variety of ways.

[bebe127]

Thanks Joann, been missin' ya'. Hope all is well with you and yours. You are right, I totally need to start walking again, or at least doing something physical. Oddly enough, speaking of bathroom issues when I make sure to have my nutribullet shake in the am with veggies and fruit, my tummy issues decrease significantly. I could definitely tell, as we just got back from vacay and I didn't take my nutribullet with me, boy did I pay the price.

Again, been missin' our chats. Hope you are as well as can be expected

Our school year starts tomorrow, maybe I can begin a new exercise routine too! Here's to hoping

Be well,

Bebe

[kayjay]

I'm not underweight at the moment but I have been.

Can you tolerate protein shakes? Right now I just want to maintain my weight but in the past when my weight started to drop I would drink protein shakes and eat a lot of cheese and nuts. If you like icecream you can make protein shakes with it instead of milk or water.

I think you are really wise to pay attention to your weight. I try to get on the scale about once a week to keep myself in check one way or the other. My inability to exercise with intensity makes me worry a bit that if I get too heavy, I won't be able to lose the weight without compromising my nutrition.

When I was very thin I actually liked being able to wear anything. I was like a clothes hanger I didn't do it on purpose (and I had an undiagnosed problem with gluten). Could you possibly have an undiagnosed issue with something that you are eating?

The bad news about being so thin is that your body doesn't have the reserves that it needs. In 2009 I had a big flare which sent me into the hospital. One of the first things I packed was a big container of nuts. It has also helped me in the past to make myself eat on schedual.

I accidentally lost a lot of weight when I was in college and again after my children were born. My mom would actually remind me to eat. It seemed silly at the time but it did help me get to a more normal weight.

[looneymom]

Hi Babe,

My son takes spells with this. Right now, I think it may be the heat. He does drink protein shakes which helps on those days. You might need to have your iron levels checked. I know that some POTS patients have a hard time keeping these levels up.

Rachel

[Katybug]

I do think it could be the water. An employee of mine lost almost 50 lbs. by incorporating a 100 oz. of water a day into her life. It made her full so she ate less food. There is actually a diet based on this theory but I don't know the name of it.

[bebe127]

Thanks all for the comments

I kinda figure part of it is due to drinking so much too, but much of the time I'm just not hungry and actually have to make myself eat.

I'm not underweight and my weight is staying steady these days. It was just in the beginning that I had lost weight. I've had all my levels checked too through routine bloodwork, and all seems to come back fine.

I do have nutribullet shakes every morning which consist of: spinach, carrots, yogurt, banana, blueberries and coconut milk. I only started those a few months ago because I was concerned that because I don't eat that much I must be losing some important vitamins and minerals. It has really helped with the big "D" too, as far as bathroom issues go, sorry if TMI.

I rarely if ever eat ice cream (maybe once a year), chocolate or candy, chips and that sort of thing. Basically I'm really not hungry a lot, so I don't eat a lot. I have my coffee in the morning, my shake, then throughout the day I might not eat at all or have a few crackers and cheese, sometimes nuts, and my gracious husband cooks dinner, so whatever he has cooked I eat. I only eat about 1/4 of what I used to for dinner. After dinner, I feel worse and I'm on the couch for the rest of the night. Oddly, I have most of my energy in the am. I also have a few beers in the afternoon with hubs when he comes home from work. I know "they" say to stay away from alcohol, but really it is the only time that I feel halfway normal. We've often joked that it must be the carbs or something, because seriously, after just one I begin to feel almost normal. It's weird.

Anyway, thanks again. Hope you all are as well as can be expected.

Be well,

Bebe

[ask2266]

I could not eat AT ALL when my POTS was at its worst. I got to where I was living on vanilla yogurt, because it was the only thing that I could put in my mouth. I went down to 95 pounds for awhile.

What was annoying is I had friends that would say, "I wish I couldn't eat," and I wanted to tell them that it can be a matter of life and death, so quit joking about it. When I went on Remeron for sleep, it increased my apptetite, so it was a life saver.

[bebe127]

Ask,

I know what you mean about people's comments. One I get frequently is..."Wow, have you lost weight, you look great!?" Firstly, while I appreciate that they think I look so great, I sure wish I felt as great as they think I look Secondly, I've never been overweight, so for someone to infer that I benefited from losing weight is just insulting. Thirdly, I would gladly put the 30lbs. right back on if it would mean that my life would go back to normal and I would feel better!! I try not to get too upset though as they really have no idea what I'm going through; if they did, I'm sure they'd think twice before making such remarks. I had one woman apologize to me for not asking how I was feeling because she says when she looks at me she completely forgets that I am ill. Again, so wish I felt as well as these people think I look!!

My current issue is that I just don't feel hungry, and even if my stomach tells me I'm hungry (grumbling) there is nothing that sounds good. My poor hubby always asks what I want to eat and my answer is always...I don't care. Half the time if it wasn't for him making me something, I'd probably just wither away. I think if I told him I wanted a certain meal from a certain place, even if it was an hour away, he wouldn't hesitate to hop in his truck and go get it. He gets pretty excited when I say I'm hungry, it's really kinda sweet, even though it rarely happens these days!

I've thought in the past that it might have something to do with my medication, but for the first 2 years, I wasn't on medication and still felt little hunger, was nauseas, and had the big "D" much of the time, thus the question about drinking so much. I know that when people want to lose weight, it is suggested that one drinks a glass of water before a meal. I assume that this would cause one to feel full and eat less.

[Becia]

The last time I really ate was last week in the hospital, because i was on Iv fluids, and had room in my stomach to have food. My friend brought me sushi... It was amazing.

I struggle with the same thing, and now that I am home, still am fighting to get that happy medium. I'm tempted to try protein shakes too, because I know I need some more calories.

[lissy]

I had the No appetite for years!!!! I mentioned it to my doctors and was having lots of testing during those years, they only kept telling me to gain weight?...I was 93 lbs and I ate junk food often in the middle of the night seemed to be the only time I had a appetite (half asleep) :/ But around 5 month's ago I started getting my appetite back the only change was waking up early and being more active, I've gained 14lbs and feel alot better just can't fit my pants lol..I think constant high adrenaline affects the appetite maybe some relaxing and comfort foods on a set schedule could help:) or testing the location that controls appetite.

[Hope]

Bebe,

I'm sorry you have no appetite. That's never fun. I'm sure you've probably read this on the home page under "what to avoid", but just a reminder:

Certain Foods, such as dairy products, may increase symptoms in some patients. White sugar and other refined carbohydrates can exacerbate hypotension by causing increased dilation in the gut (Mathias, 2000). It is important to identify and avoid food triggers. Studies show that gluten sensitivity may play a role in neurological disorders (Hadjivassiliou, Gibson, Davies-Jones, Lobo, Stephenson & Milford-Ward, 1996).

Getting rid of gluten, dairy and white sugar has gotten rid of the big "D" for me, well that and I take probiotics. If I stray from this, it's not good! I had lost 40 pounds, now I have gained about 5 pounds back.

I hope you find something that tempts you to eat!

[bebe127]

Thanks for the suggestions. I know this might sound really lazy and silly, but are there people out there I could hire to "clean" my pantries and get me some recipes and such or a nutritionist that could help me to transfer over?

[Hope]

LOL! It sounds lazy to the average person, but makes perfect sense for people in our predicament! Thank the Lord for my mom, she helped me with all that.

A nutritionist or dietician sounds like a really good idea. I hope you find some relief soon!

Hope

[ask2266]

I have been trying to do paleo for some time now, and all I do is cook. It's exhausting. It's really unfair that sick people can't eat convenience food, because we are the ones who need the convenience!!

ask2266