my appetite is real low. losing a lot of weight... any suggestions??? thanks, kristin p.s doc is telling me i might end up hospitalized because of this so i need to fix this asap!! so any suggestions are welcomed thanks again Posted by AZURE WISH (Member # 804) on :
My weight issue wasnt as serious as yours... I wasnt facing hospitalization for it..
But I tried to eat as much as I could which for me meant eating small amounts more frequently...
I know that this is what people are told to loose weight but I
Just couldnt do big amounts.
I tried to eat higher calorie foods with higher fats than normal.
Also I drank those ensure drinks... they have lots of vitamins and add calories and since it is liquid it didnt cause that overful sensation.
I think they even make a extra calorie version.
Since your problem is really serious if you have lost so much weight you are facing hospitalization
you make want to consult a nutrionalist or other trained professional to help you get it under control.
Best wishes
Posted by Lymied (Member # 6704) on :
Hi IWH -
I had this problem when I was first diagnosed. I just didn't have an appetite and lost fifty pounds in six months. Luckily I am 5'10" and I was a bit overweight when I got sick. Now that I have been through treatment I have the opposite problem and am gaining weight steadily. Major see saw.
Anyway, one product that helped me is called "UltraClear" by UltraBalance Medical Foods. It is by Metagenics and you can get it online or from a physican who sells pharmaceutical grade supplements. It is a powder and you can mix it in juice or a smoothie.
It is full of calories and minerals and nutrients. It might be a big help during this time when your appetite is low.
Take care and I hope your appetite comes back soon.
Posted by tickedntx (Member # 5660) on :
This is probably obvious and has already been considered, but what medications are you taking, do any of them suppress appetite in some people, and might it be worth trying a different med (if available) to see if that helps?
Posted by Lymied (Member # 6704) on :
That is a good reminder Suzanne to check those meds.
I will say though that when I had babesia, lyme and ehrlichia before I was taking any meds my appetite did crash and it was a result of the infections. Just my experience.
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
My appetite crashed recently. I don't follow the yeast diet, because I'd starve. All I can bring myself to eat is starch.
It's not cravings, it's what my body will digest. Lots of veggies causes cramps. Most protein causes nausea. So I'm left with starch.
So if you are following the yeast diet, perhaps at this point, just eating is more important. You may also want to consider some weight gain powders from a nutrition store.
Thing of eating as something you have to do. If you can't eat large amounts, set a timer and eat small every 2 hours. Maybe use higher calorie beverages, like Ensure or yogurt smoothies.
I often eat when I'm not hungry in order to take meds. I find it's easier to eat bland foods when I'm not hungry. Bagels and yogurt are what I usually lean towards.
I find coffee and tea suppress my appetite, so you might want to stay away from those.
Posted by i want help (Member # 9786) on :
THANK YOU ALL KRISTIN
Posted by AmyInMI (Member # 9506) on :
I have been dealing with this lately also. I have lost approx 15 lbs in the past month and a half. I am 5'10 and am now down to 130lbs, which is a "healthy weight" but I do not wnat to go much lower.
I find that along with a loss of appetite, I get some nausea when I think about eating certian foods. For example, today I went out to lunch with my boyfriend. He suggested Chinese, I just cringed at the thought and because literally nausus because of it. I have a hard time finding food that "sound good and appealing".
I would like any suggestions anyone has to offer! I have some Carnation instant breakfast and can tolerate that, so I may try the Ensure drinks.
-Amy
Posted by tothepoorhouse (Member # 8595) on :
Always different for each of us, isn't it?
I keep gaining weight. I've cut calories, went low carb, went low fat. doesn't matter what I do.
I guess lyme affects our metabolisms one way or the exact other.
Neither gaining or losing a lot is good. I wish someone knew why and how we could fix it. Posted by Vermont_Lymie (Member # 9780) on :
Kristin -- are you taking enough probiotics? I recently had digestion problems (a nice way to say the runs) from abx, and am finding that some more intense probiotics are helping.
Do a google search on VSL#3 and Florastor -- they might help.
Posted by tailz (Member # 10014) on :
I have always been thin - about 95 lbs my whole life. But when Lyme first kicked in, every once in awhile I'd drop to 92 lbs and start looking sickly.
But when it went chronic enough, I dropped to 88 lbs - if I thought I looked dead at 92 lbs, you should have seen me at 88 lbs. It even shut my ovary off at 41. They were threatening to put me on tube feedings, thinking I was anorexic.
My guess is you are having food reactions. Don't be fooled that you have to be having chronic diarrhea or swollen eyes to be having food reactions. I may have just had intermittent diarrhea or just felt bloated after eating some foods in the BEGINNING. But later I learned this was just early on in the process. Like I said, later I dropped to 88 lbs and my diarrhea was severe and chronic.
If you want to get some tips on how to figure out what foods you are reacting to, try googling the gluten free forum. Wheat, glutens, corn, soy, eggs were big ones for me. I held onto my soy, only to find that one was a big one, too.
Oh - it's interesting to note that if you find you are having food reactions, most likely you are reacting to the copper in the foods since most Lymies are toxic with copper. Try supplementing zinc first to see if that helps, since zinc will chelete excess copper. The most common food allergens - soy, grains, nuts, seeds, chocolate - all of these are notoriously high in copper. Without enough zinc, the copper gets stuck in the brain, liver, eyes.
Posted by cantgiveupyet (Member # 8165) on :
I was down to 89lbs and dropping fast.....and when healthy i used to fear 99lbs.
I was so scared and so afraid........and then I started eating 6 small meals a day. I added in green beans and peas....and ate almond butter too.
I would suggest trying some ginger tea with meals...this helped me when I had no appetite.
And as one ER dr told me, go out and eat what you like to eat.
Posted by Travlr1 (Member # 9681) on :
i want help,
Are you experiencing signs of motor neuron loss?(muscle/extremity twitches especially if they include the tongue.Weakness and hyperactive deep tendon reflexes, and muscle mass loss(i.e have the fat you always have but not the muscle.
I was losing aprox. 3.5 # per month of pure muscle for 8 months until diagnosed and started on Rocephin.this was while eating 3-4000 cal a day in an attempt to stop/slow the loss.
Lots of good suggestions above and as long as motor neuron loss is not the problem calories in have to be more than calories out.Now I know I going to take a lot of heat from the yeast group but since your close to hospitalization I would go buy the weight gainer "5000" at GNC and start drinking shakes and take diflucan if your llmd says so. And of course if you eat 6000 cal a day and are unable to at least be up and about your home than weight loss will occur anyway due to muscle loss.
I hope the best for you and keep fighting. I know all of us on the board wish you the best and are here for you.Take care.
Travlr1
Posted by i want help (Member # 9786) on :
YES!!!!!! THIS IS NEW MY TONGUE IS TWITCHING WHAT DOS T HIS MEAN ? I DONT UNDERSTAND.PLEASE PRIVATE EMAIL ME AT [email protected] KRISTIN
Posted by Lymeblue (Member # 6897) on :
I want help be careful about loosing weight.....
I was anorexic an dended up twice at the ER degydrated.......not consuming anough salts contained in solids to retain fluids in my system.....together with vitamins and othe vital nutrients......
my husband used to tell me:"eat, you have to eat, if not you will end at the ER" or "you are so weak not only caused by lyme but for not eating too".....this together with an extreme antiyeast diet ended up touching rock bottom....
now I'm much better...in fact I'm over eating but feel definitely way better...
Posted by clairenotes (Member # 10392) on :
I struggled with weight loss, too. Things that help me keep/increase weight:
Coconut milk -- can mix with bananas or blueberries, etc. Can mix in protein powders or 'green' formulations. If you freeze it for an hour, tastes a little like ice cream. But start with small amounts. It does have some anti-microbial properties (has lauric acid). May need a lipase enzyme if not processing fats properly.
Whey and rice protein formulations: Please see other recent thread on whey for suggestions.
Food allergies as that played a role in my situation as well. Had to stay away from wheat, dairy, sugar, etc.
Sounds like travir is onto something important, too.
Claire
Posted by mojo (Member # 9309) on :
I used to buy a form of whey protein that had low carbs/sugar and mix it with whole milk - it have me 300 calories and sometimes I would do this twice per day. I could always eat Organic Plain Yogurt (full fat)with almonds. Last resort was Ensure Plus but it does have sugar. For some reason I could eat meatloaf.
Whatever you can eat try to make it healthy BUT if you can't just eat what you can for now. I always had vegetable juice (I juice it myself) so at least I was adding something great for me.
Posted by i want help (Member # 9786) on :
THANKS AGAIN TO ALL OF YOU! I AM TRYING SOY PROTEIN SHAKE TO MAINTAIN WEIGHT I MIGHT BE ABLE TO EASIER NOW THAT I AM TO WEAK TO DO MY WALKS... I MISS THEM THOUGH!! HELPED ME SLEEP AND CLEAR MY HEAD HOPEFULLY WILL BE ABLE TO RESTART WISH ME LUCK LOVE KRISTIN Posted by Travlr1 (Member # 9681) on :
i want help,
Did you get my personal email. it acted like it may have had trouble sending. i really want to get you the information in that email as i think it might be important in your case.
i emailed to the address you personal messaged me, so i hope you got it.
![[group hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[confused]](graemlins/confused.gif)