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General health

Losing too much weight.

38 replies

ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 18/12/2004 16:40

I wasn't sure whether to post on the weight losing threads but it seemed to be all about losing weight there and I don't want to appear to be rubbing people's noses in the fact that I have the opposite problem. Anyway, this is my problem....

I am 5 feet 8 inches tall and have been steadily losing weight since having my fourth baby 22 months ago. Recently, the weight loss seems to have increased and I am now only 9 stone, 3 pounds. Before havig children I was about 9 stone 10 pounds. I frequently feel tired and run-down and some of you will know I have been quite depressed and stressed lately. Do you think I am losing too much weight? (I am not trying to lose any weight at all) Is that making me feel ill? Or do you think I have an illness whose side effect is weight loss? Any advice?

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RudyDudy · 23/12/2004 08:32

Hi Lonelymum - bluemoon makes a very good point that appetite is actually generated by eating and ironically the less you eat the less you will feel like/ be able to eat. If it helps, you could always set yourself a target amount to eat by lunchtime, dinnertime, etc. Also, you could write down what you are eating which will make you more conscious of doing it. If you really haven't been eating much then it may take a bit of time to build up to larger amounts so give yourself some time. The most positive thing is that you are aware of it happening and are trying to do something about it - so you really are half way there already. Good luck and happy eating

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ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 22/12/2004 21:05

Agree with a lot of what you say Bluemoon. Well all of it actually. Not sure what I am worried about, just that I have never been less than 9 stone 10 since being an adult and often a lot more than that and now look at me. Might be stress, recent worries over illness, etc, or might be the start of something serious. Sometimes worry about being anorexic even though I know I am not.
Will try to pig out this Christmas and see what I can do.

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bluemoon · 22/12/2004 21:01

LM, sorry this will be briefer than I'd like as I'm up to my ears in packing etc. to go away for Christmas tomorrow.

Knowing some of the things I do about you from the other thread, while at the same time keeping a totally open mind as to your weight loss I'd want to ask you the following things:

What are you worried that your weight loss / appetite loss might mean?

Your weight loss seems quite clearly to be connected to your eating less so in itself I don't think is enormously worrying. If you did as you suggest and eat loads for a week and still lose weight it would be more worrying.

Appetite loss comes about due to so many different things and I think eating less creates a smaller appetite etc. You know about some of my problems and I struggle to keep to 8.5 stone and am 5,8 as well. My appetite is so small that I can easily go a day with nothing than black coffees with sugar. When my eating was better just after dd was born I'd have been fainting with hunger by 11am if I hadn't eaten. So if you gradually up what you're having I'm sure your appetite will follow.

Are you suffering from any other symptoms? Pain or sickness (AGH!!! ), headaches, pounding heart etc.? I think if there was something seriously to worry about then you would be feeling other things than appetite loss and tiredness. You did mention on the other thread about possibly having a virus?

I do think you should see the GP though. Gosh I know what you mean so much. My GP NEVER takes me seriously any more. I often think that if I was ill and worried I'd go to A&E where I'd be treated anonymously and quickly!

I may not be able to catch up with you again before the end of next week. I hope you manage to get a break and that you eat and feel better.

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RudyDudy · 22/12/2004 19:18

LM - sorry I can't be more help now as I have to go out now but there can be many reasons for a loss of appetite. How would you feel about seeing your GP about it? Or would it be possible to see another GP in your practice?

My best idea for now is to eat little and often and try to make it as energy dense as possible - don't worry too much now if it's not the healthiest food in the world, right now you need some energy!

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ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 22/12/2004 18:59

Well, my appetite is very poor at the moment so I think that accounts for the loss of two more pounds. What I want to know is why my appetite is so poor? I can hardly eat more than my 8 year old son and I am normally the sort of person who finds supermarket portions way too small.

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RudyDudy · 22/12/2004 18:54

is that another 2 pounds in less than a week lonelymum? How how's your appetite been? If there's no change then I really do think you should see a dr to get things like thyroid and adrenal glands checked out.

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ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 22/12/2004 18:45

Down to 9 stone 1 pound now! Will there be anything left by New Year?

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NatureDoc · 18/12/2004 22:31

get your adrenal gland checked too - if your doc won't do it contact www.nutri.co.uk for a private blood test - it can really help and has helped alot of my patients in this situation.

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ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 18/12/2004 19:30

You're right there (about not getting on with GP). I think I will read up on over-active thyroids etc, eat as well and as much as I can over Christmas - shouldn't be hard: going home to mum's cooking - and see how I am going in January.

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aloha · 18/12/2004 19:22

A thyroid problem can make you depressed, tired, shaky, stressed etc. Nobody should diagnose depression IMO without also doing some basic screening tests - ie a blood test. Of course, your weight loss could just be a side effect of depression, but equally it could be the other way around. I'd either go back to the GP and request a blood test, or change GPs, which might be an idea anyway, given how unhelpful you seem to find her.

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ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 18/12/2004 19:04

No, I don't do skimmed milk or low fat things, except maybe yoghurts, but full fat yoghurts are hard to come by. Thanks for the ideas re fortifying my meals.

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RudyDudy · 18/12/2004 17:24

perhaps that's the first place to start - making sure what you do have is as high energy as possible so you don't have to worry about eating more. There are various ways you can fortify your food without increasing the volume such as adding grated cheese or cream to soups and making sure you have high energy sandwich fillings, etc. I hope there's no skimmed milk and low fat cheese in your house

Got to go for now but good luck and keep us up-dated with your weigh-ins

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ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 18/12/2004 17:20

I know I definitely never ever skip meals, not even when I am ill. But I also know that I don't always eat that much. Just lately, being depressed, I have maybe only had a sandwich for lunch when normally I would have some fruit, biscuits, cake, anything else hanging around, as well. But I don't feel hungry later on in the day, so I don't make up for it.

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RudyDudy · 18/12/2004 17:16

*without worry!

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RudyDudy · 18/12/2004 17:15

LM - just a suggestion but...as you have always been able to eat with worry combined with the depression might this mean that you eat less than you realise? I don't mean that you are stupid just that if you are not paying that much attention to food and your appetite fluctuates you might skip meals occasionally? I don't want to turn you into a diary junkie recording your whole life but it might also help to keep a record of what you eat and when to act as a kind of reminder. If you do need to build up your weight then you should be aiming to eat snacks during the day in addition to your meals.

BTW - I am training to be a dietitian and doing my placements in hospital I was surprised to find that dietitians spend as much time seeing people who need to put on weight as the oppositve. You are not alone and it is just as much a PITA as the other.

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ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 18/12/2004 17:15

Well the offer of looking after my children still remains!!

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cranberryjampot · 18/12/2004 17:13

LM - i do drink lots of water and my prob is that I actually dont eat lots at all and dont have a big appetite.

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brusselbeansprouts · 18/12/2004 17:12

Hope I'm not butting in here LM but just wanted to say that if you are going for the eat more over Xmas option to not do what I do and eat way too much rubbish! Xmas for most of us is the exception not the norm - more stress, less nutritous food etc, so if you do see your GP it might be better to go along in a "typical" time rather than an "atypical" one, IYSWIM.

I've weighed too little in the past too, so I do sympathise. Hope you feel better soon.

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ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 18/12/2004 17:12

Right. I'll have to have a regular weigh-in then.

On another topic, if anyone is reading this, trying to lose weight, my advice (FWIW) is to drink lots of water before every meal and inbetween too. That will definitely fill your stomach a bit and mean you feel less hungry. Just my idea.

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spacedonkey · 18/12/2004 17:10

I agree with RudyDudy - keep a written record of your weight so that, if you continue to lose weight despite efforts to eat more, you have some "ammunition" when you go to the GP about it.

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ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 18/12/2004 17:06

My appetite comes and goes. Cover your eyes Cranberryjampot, but I have always prided myself on eating what I liked when I liked. Normally my weight stayed fairly constant. I suppose I lost some weight b/fing ds3 for 13 months, but since then, the weight has continued to decrease. We haven't had a pair of bathroom scales for long (a few months only) and I don't weigh myself regularly, but last time I weighed a few weeks ago, I was 9 stone 7 pounds, so the last 4 lbs have come off in the last few weeks with no effort on my part to lose weight.

I don't know if this is significant, but quite a few comments have been made to me recently about my weight loss/figure and all my clothes are too big for me now.

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RudyDudy · 18/12/2004 17:06

perhaps it might be an idea to record your weight over the next few weeks (months?). that way at least you will have some facts to take to the Dr if you need to. If you are having difficulty eating lots and would like some ideas for how to fortify your food to make it higher in energy then you could post a thread.

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spacedonkey · 18/12/2004 17:03

Keep an eye on your weight and try to make sure you eat well (should be a bit easier to do that at this time of year!). It's easy to not look after yourself properly when you are depressed.

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ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 18/12/2004 17:01

Yes, it's difficult to know isn't it, which came first the depression or the weight loss. I just feel so ill today without having any definite symptoms and decided to weigh myself and was horified what I weighed. Thanks for your words of wisdom.

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spacedonkey · 18/12/2004 17:01

You have only lost 7lbs - has this been a steady weight loss over the last 22 months or has it been a sudden, recent weight loss?

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