Unexplained weight loss or weight gain

[Hammerbarn]

Has anyone ever had unexplained weight gain and been taken seriously?

I assume (perhaps falsely, I don’t know) that people with unexplained weight loss aren’t asked things like whether they’ve accidentally overstated their calorie intake, or told without evidence that they should try eating something other than lettuce, or that the reason they were starting to often feel faint before their weight loss was because of their weight loss etc etc etc.

I’ve never had either but know that there are lots of worrying causes of unexplained weight loss such as cancer which the doc would want to rule out rather than assuming it’s under eating. not so sure about gain

My daughter went from a size 8 to a size 16 in 6 months for absolutely no obvious reason. She was initially prescribed thyroxine and told she had underactive thyroid. She initially lost 5lbs in a week but then started to pile on even more. 3 years later she still hasn't got to the cause, and GPs don't give a damn and won't send her for tests. She's been accused of lying about her eating habits. She was told that as she is 43 it's menopause, although a private test showed that she's nowhere near that yet. She is miserable and despondent. We're just about to look for the appropriate private doctor to try and get her the help she needs. NHS BEEN USELESS !!!

Yes there are lots of worrying potential causes for weight loss, but the same can be true for weight gain.
@CRCGran I’m sorry. Mine was very rapid too, but I had lots of other symptoms arising at a similar time (long covid). There’s an air of disbelief which is really frustrating as is having no control over what is happening - even very low calorie makes no difference. About 1/5 or 1/6 weeks I’ll randomly lose a few kilos, even though nothing substantial in diet/exercise has changed. The most rapid increase was early on when I was still able to exercise - it makes no sense to me. I also throw up a lot now (not on purpose -nausea is one of my symptoms). Hope your daughter gets some answers.

Thank you ... I hope you get some answers too. My daughter also has frequent rapid heart beat, dizziness and will sleep for sometimes up to 16 hours at a stretch. She recently has started to vomit if she stands up too quickly. She has found a thing online relating to Dysautonomia... an autoimmune condition, which sounds like much of what she has had. Her symptoms and yours too scream autoimmune. But getting a GP or anyone to actually take it seriously or properly investigate is almost impossible. Hence we're seeking the appropriate private consultant to try for a resolution. I hope you have some luck with your GP.

I have these things too as part of long covid. I have POTS as a result of covid too - sounds similar to what your daughter is experiencing. Have a look at the POTS website and see if GP will refer for a LEAN or tilt table test. However, if your daughter is sleeping that much/getting exacerbated symptoms after exertion (even if they were things could previously do with ease/without even thinking about), she may also have something called PEM (which for me is the worst of all the symptoms). A tilt table test can really knock her baseline off. She could do the lean test herself if she wants to see, but will need a blood pressure monitor. I’m just a random on internet, but your daughter is not going crazy, even if she might feel it when trying to seek medical help. Have her bloods shown anything? Good luck.

I didn't take my mom very seriously, when she said she had unexplained weight loss which she suspected was due to cancer. She was ruddy terrified of cancer and obsessive about assisted dying if she ever got a cancer diagnosis.

She very soon afterwards died of a heart attack. Which had nothing to do with her body size or changes in her body size.

So I was right... she wasn't focusing on true hazards to her health: smoking, drinking, no exercise, low veg diet, obsessive thinking...

Yeah she had seen dysautonia and had found POTS after that. Her GP won't even take bloods. Says she had them done a couple of years ago so won't show anything new !!!!!! That's how bad it is in her neck of the woods.
Health care in shocking state. However, she plods on and is trying to keep positive. Going private seems our only option.

I went from 8st 12lbs to 7st 6lbs in 18months and was diagnosed with chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia, however as mine is fairly borderline the doctors refuse to link my weight loss to it.
Last December I had a chest infection and my weight dropped to 7st.
I look awful but nobody seems bothered.
I can't lie in a bath because my vertebra are so prominent it's uncomfortable.
My muscle tone is reduced drastically.
I used to like my body and now I hate it

And because I'm thin I have skinny privilege apparently.

@lljkk I’m sorry for your loss.
@CRCGran It shouldn’t be such a fight. Did she get to see her blood results or just get verbally told?
@FigcherryThat sounds really painful. I wish it was easier to get heard and get help.