posted
Hi everyone. I saw my general practitioner today who is supportive of my diagnosis of chronic lyme and coinfections. She checked my vital signs including my weight obviously. I have not gained any weight eating over 2800 calories a day for the past 5 days, so she is now advising me to eat 3500-4000 calories a day.
I simply do not know how I can accomplish this and I feel utterly overwhelmed. I just feel like no matter how much effort I put into anything, whether it be taking meds and supplements diligently or eating a lot despite feeling sick, I cannot seem to get better.
It is just so damn frustrating and stressful. And the more stressed I get, the lower my weight drops. It is a vicious circle. How do you all cope with the frustration of not getting to where you wanna be when you put maximum effort in? Thanks. Jess.
Posts: 651 | From ct | Registered: Sep 2011
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posted
Do you like avocados?? Eat guacamole twice a day. Just mash it up and season with garlic salt.
Too bad you can't have two milkshakes a day!! I'd love a diet like that!!
Hope you can figure something out. I've had trouble gaining weight before. Eating was HARD! Getting on an anti-depressant changed things in a matter of days.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
LOL the board was being insane earlier. No I have only tried SSRIs and those made me so sick and from what I can recall, don't the tricyclic meds have even more side effects? I just need a "get fat" drug ha. Jess.
Posts: 651 | From ct | Registered: Sep 2011
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posted
I've taken trazodone for about 10 yrs. I weigh 116 at 5'3".
It's not a tricyclic.. but similar.
I've also taken amitriptyline and Pamelor (nortriptyline). They never really bothered me. I think the SSRI's have way more side effects and are more dangerous.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
Btw, the guacamole is a great suggestion so thank you for that. I am drinking Ensure which is kind of like a milkshake lol. My best friend is trying to tempt me with food I used to eat, but it would make me too sick to have now.
I hope I find a solution to this soon too. Thank you for the imput. Jess
Posts: 651 | From ct | Registered: Sep 2011
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posted
Sadly I cant eat tomatoes because of my stomach. The ensure sits fine with me and I have no major yeast issues with it. I am lucky with that because the Ensure is pretty much helping to keep me afloat right now.
I am trying to eat and drink anything I can at the moment, per the orders of my drs. I am down to 80 pounds, cant afford to lose an ounce. Thanks again for the help. Jess.
Posts: 651 | From ct | Registered: Sep 2011
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posted
Lymetoo, does trazodone increase appetite? I have been offered megace by my GI dr to try to gain weight but I am wary of it. I don't think its safe for me with the lyme and coinfections I have. Jess.
Posts: 651 | From ct | Registered: Sep 2011
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posted
Hmm... I'm not sure. I've been on it a long time, so I don't remember if there was any change.
BUT... back when I was very depressed.. didn't know I had lyme and they were giving me FLAGYL which made matters even worse.. I started dropping a lot of weight.
I lost 11 pounds in 9 days and I was already fairly slim. I think I had been weighing 130 at that time.
The Dr finally figured out it was depression ( I didn't FEEL depressed ) and put me on Pamelor. Within 5 days I was able to SLEEP more than 2 hrs in one night and able to eat again.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
Hmm... I'm not sure. I've been on it a long time, so I don't remember if there was any change.
BUT... back when I was very depressed.. didn't know I had lyme and they were giving me FLAGYL which made matters even worse.. I started dropping a lot of weight.
I lost 11 pounds in 9 days and I was already fairly slim. I think I had been weighing 130 at that time.
The Dr finally figured out it was depression ( I didn't FEEL depressed ) and put me on Pamelor. Within 5 days I was able to SLEEP more than 2 hrs in one night and able to eat again.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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sammy
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13952
posted
Stress and anxiety can make some people lose weight. This may make it more challenging for you to gain.
Jess, if you are struggling with no appetite, there is another alternative that you can talk with your doctor about. It's called Periactin. It is an older anti-histamine. The increased appetite is a side effect.
It is hard to eat sometimes when you don't feel well. Even harder when you feel pressure to do so and know that much of your well being relies on you doing so.
Keep doing your best.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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nonna05
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 33557
posted
Do any of the usual meds add weight..
I'm heavy ,but a couple months ago I went to RA doc and in the two months from last appt . I gained over 20 pounds
I had been going down in weight for a few months, have been stationary before and didn't fluctuate a lot before,
Then I started feeling puffy, people who saw me and know me thought I looked puffy rather than fatter...
TuTu ,I did trazadone 20 years ago,,,started low,moved dose up per week ,stayed at week mark for 4 weeks ,then weened back down,, That did it for all this time ,until hit with LD.
Now he has me taking a low dose to help sleep,, not helping..
I've never heard of Pamelor..
I don't FEEL depressed, upset at being stuck and sick, but that has a name and cause, Then the triplets of course. but again , I can pin point that..
Maybe it's the not so great food to a certain degree,, but I just swelled /puffed up..
Posts: 2563 | From Denver,CO | Registered: Aug 2011
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posted
Thanks everyone for the thoughtful responses. I could not access the site for a few days, so I am just seeing this now..Sammy, you are right stress makes me lose weight like crazy, even when eating.
Ever since I was a kid really, if i get stressed I drop tons of weight. Dr always said I had a super high metabolism. It was great up until I got sick cuz I loved to eat junk food and could eat unlimited amounts and be in great shape lol. Now of course all that is out the window. I feel too sick most of the time to eat anything.
It is hell to eat when you dont feel well. Yes, I feel extra pressure cuz I am judged so harshly by some people for being so thin too, like some people at work gossip and call me anorexic and it drives me nuts. Jess.
Posts: 651 | From ct | Registered: Sep 2011
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posted
Jess, My heart goes out to you. I am the opposite and gain weight if I just smell food. Has anyone ever suggested the antihistamine periactin to you? Apparently it is used for anorexics to help with appetite. It also can effect mood positively. . Unfortunately for me, it is the only antihistamine to help my itchy rashes... Hard to say if it makes me hungrier or gain weight since, weight has been a life long issue for me.
But worth asking you doctor about.
Posts: 2 | From USA | Registered: Jul 2012
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Carol in PA
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5338
posted
Have you heard of Seacure? Several people here have said that their doctors advised them to try this for gut problems.
iHerb.com carries it in the bottle and in a blister pack. Apparently it has a fishy aroma which is contained by the blister pack.
The reviews are interesting. People said it cured their Crohn's, IBS, yeast, and reflux. Hah, I can think of alot of people who need this!
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Thanks so much kudzu and carol. Carol, I have never heard of this supplement, it looks interesting. Kudzu, I have never taken periactin but I am always wary w antihistamines. For example, benadryl eases my nausea for whatever reason but it also makes me so incredibly dizzy and I already have vertigo so I get scared w antihistamines.
I appreciate the support. Yeah, weight has been an issue for me in life only in the sense that I always had to eat a lot to be a normal weight. As I stated before, it was never an issue until I got sick because I would eat all the time lol.
It utterly amazes me how much food it takes for me just to maintain an emaciated weight right now. I am at 3100 calories for the past few days (which has been utter physical TORTURE to consume) and I have gained ZERO weight. ughhhh.
I did however stand up to the woman at work that was calling me anorexic and told her what was going on and she was dumbfounded and apologized profusely. It felt good to assert myself and not stay silent. Thanks again. Jess.
Posts: 651 | From ct | Registered: Sep 2011
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posted
Good for you for speaking up. This disease has made me appreciate the other side of the fence too. It must be as hard if not more for you to eat 3100 calories a day as it is for me to eat 1200.
Thank heavens for this board.
Might want to try periactin on a weekend. I can't take benedryl (gives me a rash lol) but also makes me too loopy... The periactin seems very gentle. I bet would help with nausea... I take 2 mg (1/2 a pill) every 4 hours when I have a rash.. And I am able to work on this doesn't make me sleepy. I also take it if I know I am going to tax my allergies, like visiting a house with a cat. It is a prescription. I have found it to be the best gentlest easy antihistamine... Much gentler than mecclinzine for vertigo, or benedryl. But I know we are all different. In your case I might try a 1/4 of a pill.
posted
Hi kudzu. Thanks, I am glad I spoke up too. Being silent won't get us anywhere. Yes it is very difficult to eat this much when my body tries to reject it at every turn. It can take me an hour to eat a bowl of rice. I just try to work my way through the pain, as I am sure you are doing too. The support is very much appreciated. Jess.
Posts: 651 | From ct | Registered: Sep 2011
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posted
Thanks lol. A good friend of mine has been encouraging me to stand up for myself and its great advice. Jess.
Posts: 651 | From ct | Registered: Sep 2011
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Carol in PA
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5338
posted
Lymetoo...I have no idea why the Seacure works.
Although it's touted as predigested protein, there's not really that much protein in each dose. But for the people who said that it reduced their gut symptoms, it's gotta be doing something.
The price has come down in the last couple years. Previously, people were complaining that it was too expensive, even when their doctors had recommended it to them.
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Ditto to Carol's suggestion for SEACURE. I studied it and took it years ago. It has a fantastic reputation.
It does smell, though. It's concentrated fish, after all.
You would want to put the bottle inside of a larger GLASS container (or just transfer the capsule to the glass bottle with very tight lid. Otherwise, you will smell it through the plastic bottle.
It will not make you smell, though, like garlic or allicin capsules can.
--------------------------
Questions about how SeaCure works? See this and other links at their home site.
AuntyLynn
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 35938
posted
Interesting stuff - the Seacure.
Jess - I wonder if you have post-partum hyperthyroidism? It's fairly common.
I am hyper and I know exactly what you mean. My family was accusing me of anorexia too, until I told them just what was what (2 Aunts, my Dad's sisters, both had it too).
I am having good results taking L-Carnitine, when I can remember to take it. Supposedly fills receptors in the heart and brain so that the thyroxin doesn't attack those organs. It definitely helped my appetite.
2-3 grams is supposed to be effective for hyperthyroidism, but I'm a little reticent to raise the dose too quickly because when I first took it years ago, it gave me VIVID TECHNICOLOR DREAMS! (Supposed to be good to boost memory/cognition.)
Also, just wonderin' how in HECK are you drinking all that Ensure? Have you noticed that one of the TOP INGREDIENTS is ... CORN SYRUP??!
A relative of mine was in hospital, developed C-Diff, and was given Ensure! What in hell were they thinking? When I mentioned that she should be taking probiotics, they acted like I was a circus freak. Modern medicine - go figure.
Posts: 1432 | From New Jersey | Registered: Jan 2012
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MichaelTampa
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 24868
posted
Maybe parasites/yeast are eating all of your food! You might try treating them.
Posts: 1927 | From se usa | Registered: Mar 2010
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posted
Hi aunty. I find the Ensure is helping me a lot actually. . I think that everyone is so different with this illness. I am sooo incredibly malnourished right now, and it is helping me. It may not be for everyone and I understand that. But I gotta do what works for me right now.
Post-partum? I am not a mamma lol. So i don't think I have it. I have always had this supercharged metabolism. Everytime I would get stressed growing up as well, I used to lose weight even when eating. It is just how I am built I suppose. I am not really hyper but I am just so thin that people see a young woman in her early 30s who was once a ballet dancer and runner and athlete and they think, ANOREXIC. It is so annoying.
I am refusing to be silent anymore however and am telling people to go play in the proverbial woods if they don't understand that I am fighting for my life against a brutal and virulent illness. I won't let people accuse me anymore of self destruction without a fight. Thanks again. Jess.
Posts: 651 | From ct | Registered: Sep 2011
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emla999/Lyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12606
posted
Chastain, I don't know what type of diet or foods you are eating but I have found that the calorie absorption from food can vary considerably based upon how that food was prepared or in the case of eating raw/whole foods, not prepared.
Cooked Food Provides a Lot More Energy (absorbed calories)
Generally speaking, the amount of calories that you absorb from eating raw foods is LESS than the amount of calories that you absorb from eating the same food when it is refined in some manner (cooked, fermented or further processed in some manner). Even sugar, maple syrup, molasses, butter and cheese are examples of "refined" foods because you have to process the sugar cane juice, the maple tree sap and the milk further to get those products.
"Junk food" is also a good example of this. Junk food is very refined and therefore you will absorb nearly all of the available calories in those types of foods and thus you can usually gain weight eating those types of foods much more easily when compared to eating a raw/whole food based diet. You will also usually absorb more calories from eating "white" flour or "white rice" than from eating their whole grain counter parts due to the fiber/starch/cellulose content in those whole grains.
Humans cannot digest starch, fiber and cellulose all that well and since many of the nutrients/calories are bound to those substance you simply will not absorb as many calories and as many nutrients from raw/whole foods as compared to cooked or "refined" foods.
So, just because a person is eating foods that contain "X" amount of calories that doesn't mean that they are actually absorbing all of the calories or nutrients that are available in those foods. For example, if you eat a raw carrot, a raw apple or a raw potato your body cannot entirely digest those foods because of the fiber/cellulose/starch and etc. and thus you cannot absorb all of the calories or nutrients that are in those raw foods but if you cook the carrot, the apple and the potato then your body will absorb more of those calories because cooking breaks down the fiber/cellulose/starch in those raw/whole foods and causes the calories and many nutrients in those raw foods to be better absorbed by the body.
And by the way, personally, if I were you, and I was having a very difficult time gaining weight then I would probably start consuming more refined foods because the calories from those foods will usually be better absorbed and plus those foods usually taste good!! So, you will probably be able to eat more of those foods and thus you will probably more easily be able to consume more calories.
Though, some people will probably say that eating sugar/carbs or refined foods caused them to feel worse or caused their candida to worsen or something like that. And in my experience, when I started to eat more refined foods my symptoms did get worse at first but within a few weeks I started to actually feel better and I gained weight much more easily eating that way. Though, eventually I did reach a "ceiling" on my weight gain.
posted
emla999, I actually am eating more refined foods right now. you are right too, it does taste better lol. I am basically on a mission to eat whatever I can until I hit at least 90 lbs. My dr told me I am "heartbreakingly thin", and I am. It is much more dangerous for me to stay at this weight indefinitely than it is to eat less than perfect temporarily to get myself out of the danger zone.
I appreciate all the info you provided as well. Thanks a lot Jess
Posts: 651 | From ct | Registered: Sep 2011
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Carol in PA
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5338
posted
Coconut oil is a good fat that will help the gut and the thyroid too.
Protein and carbohydrates have four calories per gram. Fat has nine calories per gram.
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Thanks Carol. I bought some coconut oil yesterday as a matter of fact. I am eating like its my second job right now . It is incredibly difficult but I am determined to break free from this emaciated state as soon as I possibly can. Jess.
Catgirl
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 31149
posted
Jess, nuts put ten pounds on me when I was really thin. I had to eat almost two cups a day to gain weight (in addition to my meals).
Maybe if you grind them up and drink them with your ensure? Just a thought.
-------------------- --Keep an open mind about everything. Also, remember to visit ACTIVISM (we can change things together). Posts: 5418 | From earth | Registered: Mar 2011
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posted
Hey Catgirl. I think peanut butter is a good bet for me. I am just so frustrated that I am eating over 3000 calories a day and i CANT GAIN AN OUNCE. It is sooo physically difficult to eat the 3000, but apparently I am going to have to up my cals again. I am looking for high density, low volume stuff at this point.
I am SO frustrated by this, I can't even tell ya. Thank you again catgirl so much for the suggestions. Youve been v supportive, I appreciate it a lot. Jess.
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