has anyone ever experienced this? I am eating only because i know i have to. i am not a vegetarian, but lately poultry, meat, fish, eggs, etc. seem to repulse me. i've lost a little bit of weight, nothing alarming, but am now getting concerned because i really am eating too little and out of necessity and not for pleasure.
i'm on IV rocephin 4ml 4 days a week, mepron and zithromax.
wondering if it's from the combo of meds. any ideas?
thanks!
Posted by B4LYME (Member # 23222) on :
I've had some issues with nausea and loss of appetite at times. Sometimes the best you can do is try to eat what you can, when you can. Mepron and zithromax caused some of this for me, but so did the lyme and co.
Sometimes it's easier to drink for me so you can get some nutrition that way. Or, I will keep small snacks near me so I can eat a little at a time.
If it gets too bad you can get your doctor to prescribe something for the nausea. Check out the other posts on here for some pointers too.
You are not alone.
B4
Posted by bigstan (Member # 11699) on :
Very common with this disease. What I did and you should do is go get cases of Ensure or Atkins health drinks to adequately cover your nutritional needs. I works well.
You have to have a food source, no matter how you slice it. Your immune system is fighting and you have to feed the body however you can.
Posted by tick battler (Member # 21113) on :
Sorry you are dealing with this. One of my boys lost his appetite when his babesia was bad. Loss of appetite is a symptom of babs. It took awhile with Mepron/zith treatment for his appetite to come back. The Mepron may make the appetite loss worse for awhile.
This is currently happening to my husband.
Hope you feel better soon.
tickbattler
[ 12-03-2009, 08:54 PM: Message edited by: tick battler ]
Posted by Sammi (Member # 110) on :
Laura, I also have lack of appetite from Babesiosis. When I am treating it, I have to force myself to eat.
This should get better with treatment. Even though it is difficult, do as much as you can to eat healthy. Don't forget to eat something fatty when you take the Mepron so it will be absorbed properly.
Posted by laura_from_nh (Member # 18885) on :
thanks for the responses. over the last two days i now notice a gross taste in my mouth after i swallow food. so if it's not bad enough that i have a lessened desire to eat, when i do make myself, the after taste is horrible.
could this be from babesia or maybe it's the combo of all the different meds/supps that i swallow on a daily basis?
thanks agian for the input.
Posted by coltman (Member # 21272) on :
I was never a good eater, I was exercising so I I knew I had to it so basically I just was forcing it down. On certain abx it became much worse due to nausea (doxy/rifampin)
only suggestion I can give is protein shakes - drinking them is easier than swallow food and they can be mixed with additional supplements and nutrients (like coconout oil,lecethin etc)
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
laura,
same here. treating babesia now and I have no desire for food on most days. I only eat becuase I know that i need to.
That being said, after a few months on IV Rocephin (in the past) I also lost my appetite completely. Very nauseous and weak...so could be from the lyme or rocephin too....I lost like 20 pounds in a very short time.
Good suggestions are the replacement drinks (ensure)they aren't the best, IMO, but better than nothing when eating is repulsive.
Best, Feelfit
Posted by magdaschonfeld (Member # 24218) on :
I've had terrible difficulties with nausea since getting Lyme, worsened by rocephin, lost nearly 30 lb. Had to stop IV. Working hard on eating and trying to decide what to do next.
Posted by canefan17 (Member # 22149) on :
It's definitely the meds and die-off.
When i first started meds I didn't want to eat a thing.
As I progressed I started eating more.
Posted by gicuenitro (Member # 14704) on :
I have the absolute worst problem with maintaining my appetite. Even if I do get hungry, I can't think of ANYTHING that sounds remotely decent. And eventually if I cannot get something down, My symptoms go crazy and headaches get worse. So, you're not alone.
That being said. I did (kinda)find a solution. My pain doctor prescribed me medical marijuana. I realize this is a touchy subject and is not legal in every state but it helps me out sooo much that i figured I would let you know. Medicinal use has allowed me to better control my pain, nausea, appetite and sleep amongst other symptoms. I never knew this, but marijuana also provides antibiotic qualities. There are many ways to medicate for those who think you can only smoke it. The plants are pesticide free and completely natural. They can also target certain symptoms to get you the desired effect you need. I never knew it was such a science.
I understand the negative connotations surrounding the medicine but after experiencing relief that I could not consistently get by taking pills upon pills(which beats up my body even more), I now completely disagree with those ideas as long as things are done right and respectfully. Its not the 70's anymore. We have grown up. Sure there are some idiots out there, but you could say the same about cold medicine use and abuse. We should be smart and mature enough to make an accurate assessment of the treatment instead of shooting it down because of its past and our misguided feelings.
I hope this post helps a few of us. As lymies, we are forced to do whatever we can to get some relief and I just felt this subject needed some attention after reading your initial post. Good luck!
Posted by MariaA (Member # 9128) on :
Loss of appetite (and headaches) was one of my babesia symptoms. I was still very hungry, but all food looked bad to me. I eventually found something that said that babesia can cause 'anorexia' in some cases, and that was the final clue that I probably had a babesia coinfection and needed to start pursuing that angle. It turned out to be correct.