Summer3
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 35286
posted
Anyone else ever get a complete lack of hunger? I have absolutely no desire to eat. I'm not eating enough. A granola bar, a piece of fruit and a handful or so of nuts if I'm lucky. Once in a while I can eat some plain chicken.
Every time I eat more than a few bites of food I get very shaky, weak and freezing cold and I feel like I have to lie down immediately or I will be sick or faint. Because of those physical symptoms that emerge, I avoid eating normal amounts of food when I have to remain functional and can't lie down immediately after eating. The anorexia is purely a physical symptom. I have no desire to lose weight. I'm already too thin.
It first emerged back with my initial illness. I lost 30lbs very quickly for no reason and was alternating between absolutely starving and no appetite. I've heard that babesia can cause these hunger issues. I'm going to be adding Art in as soon as it comes.
I asked a doctor about it and we are trying some herbs to increase appetite but nobody really has an idea of what it is that's causing the lack of an appetite. Any ideas on something I can do to increase my appetite? It's not really nausea, it's more how I feel after I eat. I have absolutely no hunger sense anymore either.
Posts: 1129 | From USA | Registered: Dec 2011
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posted
Summer-I am down to 82 pounds because of this. I just ate my first meal in a day an hour ago and I already feel sick. I am going back on IV nutrition because of this. I have no answers, just a lot of empathy for you. It is the pits. Jess.
Posts: 870 | From ct | Registered: Nov 2012
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Summer3
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Member # 35286
posted
I'm sorry you're having trouble with this too Jess. I think your situation is a lot more severe than mine. That must be very scary for you. I hope that the IV nutrition begins to help soon. I'm not dangerously thin yet, but I'm headed there slowly. I'm in the 120's at 5'10.
I think if I keep losing I'm going to have to stop doing the no sugar, gluten, dairy thing and drink something high in calories like milkshakes or something. I really don't want to make Lyme worse by screwing up my healthy eating (that I've maintained for over a year), but if I have to stop antibiotics because of weight loss that will be even worse.
I just ate a little brown rice with ground turkey and tomato sauce. I feel like I'm going to collapse just from that. I'll be pretty much bed-bound for the rest of the day from the exhaustion and weakness that came from eating that. This is so abnormal! I used to be able to eat a LOT.
posted
Try juicing and blending ASAP!! Keep it low sugar or you will invite MORE problems. That may be part of the problem already... granola bars and fruit contain sugar = yeast.
That said... Babesia is really bad about causing lack of appetite and weight loss. Be sure you are treating it aggressively.
Get those nutrients into you!! Try adding hemp seeds or hemp protein to any foods you can tolerate.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Razzle
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 30398
posted
Adrenal exhaustion may be a factor in your case, given your symptoms when you eat.
Low cortisol = low appetite. And when you do eat, there isn't enough cortisol to increase blood pressure so there is blood flow to the digestive organs. Meaning digestion doesn't happen in a normal fashion.
And this means your food isn't processed as quickly, making it take longer and thus you don't feel hungry as often (if at all).
It's all about hormones... I'd encourage you to discuss adrenal support with an Integrative or Naturopathic practitioner, preferably one who is Lyme-Literate...
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4166 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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Summer3
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 35286
posted
Thanks Razzle and Lymetoo.
I've been discussing it with two lyme-literate doctors. I've been trying Gentian but it's not really doing anything for my appetite. The only thing it's doing is giving me a bad taste in my mouth that makes me eat something just to get rid of the taste.
Maybe I should go back on ashwaghanda. I had been taking that and then stopped. I felt like it was making me a little more tired at times. I did feel a lot better when I did a trial of hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone in the summer. They raised my liver enzymes though and I had to stop taking them after a month.
MannaMe
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 33330
posted
So does babesia cause upset stomach / unhappy gut when you eat?
Does babesia cause the 'food allergies' to suddenly pop up out of nowhere?
Or is some of this stomach issues from parasites?
The adrenal exhaustion connection is interesting - Thank you!
We will up the adrenal support for my husband.
Posts: 2255 | From USA | Registered: Aug 2011
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Razzle
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 30398
posted
Yes, Babesia can cause upset stomach.
Yes, Babesia can cause food allergies to crop up suddenly (as can Lyme and many other coinfections).
Yes, stomach issues can also be from parasites...but keep in mind, Babesia itself is a parasite...
If an herb for adrenal support makes you tired, then it is likely not the right herb for you. Perhaps consulting a Lyme-Literate Integrative or Naturopathic practitioner would be more helpful...
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4166 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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I just wanted to tell you what I do for my son as he reacts like you do to food. It makes his body temp drop and then he feels terrible.
My theory is that his body is so busy trying to heal that his digestion has been slowed. Our bodies shut digestion down when it thinks that it might need to energy for survival. THis is why people throw up in very high stress situations.
He's doing better now but when he was really sick we did the following:
I feed my son little snacks like you are mentioning. Even if he said no I'd just set them beside him and slowly he would nibble them down.
Then once a day he would have his biggest meal about 1 hour before bed. If he could sit at the table as soon as he was done I would get him to lay down and put a heating pad (not too hot) on his feet, wrap him in blankets and get him to relax for at least on hour. No getting up. He would read or watch a movie.
He's quite a bit better now,but he still has 60% of his calories near bed time, wrapped up keeping warm.
This allowed his weight to stop dropping.
All the best to you.
Posts: 372 | From british columbia | Registered: Feb 2012
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