Help I have no appetite at all!

[BusyLiz10]

Hi
Has anyone else had problems with no appetite whatsoever in early pregnancy? This is my first pregnancy and since 5 weeks my appetite has disappeared and I feel nauseous constantly, whether full or empty. Meds for sickness haven't really helped. Im finding it hard to force feed myself every day and it's getting me down feeling so ill and having to be off work. Im now 10+1 and overall have lost 10lbs (a lot for me as I'm low end bmi). The weight loss is really worrying but it has stabilised at least. Im desperate to hear some positive advice that appetite does return and I can enjoy food again and put weight on.
Thanks in advance.

Hi! I was exactly the same - complete appetite loss and near-constant nausea. I ended up losing about a stone before I started feeling hungry again.

But don't worry 😊 as long as you're taking your vitamins, drinking fluids/water and managing to eat a little throughout the day, you should be fine. Ask your midwife when you see her to do your bloods just to be safe.

I found eating plain food little and often helped - mashed potato, bread and butter, apple, even just a glass of milk

Congrats on the pregnancy 😊

Hey so my appetite has returned (14wks) but sometimes still feel sick or still actually throw up. I agree it is super depressing. Having no appetite also falling asleep at 8.30 : its grim especially in covid times.

I am not low BMI, so i think its definetly a good idea to chat to your health care provider. I could lose a few pounds and it wasnt a problem, but it might be different if you are already slender. You can take medication for morning sickness which would ease the feelings and they might be able to help, too.

Things that helped me get through included: dry toast, salted popcorn, squeezing a little fresh lemon into water, apple and oranges. But I agree, it's hardly exciting or mood-lightening. I wish you all the best with this terrible time of pregnancy!

Thank you @FairyAnn and @Florarenniemackintosh
It's so hard feeling this awful!! I'm desperate for it to pass quickly! I'm going to try gp again on Monday about the weight loss as it's really worrying me with being low weight beforehand anyway. It's such a shame as it's a time I really want to enjoy! I'll never take for granted being able to eat normally again!! 🤦‍♀️

100% normal,

I ended up getting my appetite back at 14 weeks , but before that I was struggling with even sipping water.

I found avoiding warm foods helped me, I lived off mac and cheese and wedges (because they cooled down very quickly).

I lost nearly a stone, once my appetite returned I put on a lot more! I'm at least a couple of stone heavier than before being pregnant- I'm nearly at the end .

Me too, for me the trick was small snacking, and liquids - lots of smoothies, juice. And not very food like food, or food you could eat quickly, no hot food, no strong flavours so you didn’t have to think that you are eating food. Cheerios/ rice bubble type cereals - a couple of tbsp with milk went down ok. Salted crackers. Tinned peaches. Sultanas and dried apricots. Grapes (this is not a bowels friendly diet sorry ) smoked salmon, crisps, and later the first hit food I could eat was steak. Fruit jubes/ lollies

@BusyLiz10 I was the same from 7 weeks it was a chore forcing down food when I had no appetite or was feeling sick. As others have said all I can recommend is small bland snacks and having them regularly as it does get harder the more empty the stomach gets. I was mostly eating Brazil nuts, dry cream crackers, lightly salted popcorn, sliced apple and blueberries those were the easiest for me to get down. I've improved slightly at 11 weeks but hoping my appetite will properly come back soon! You're not too far from the second trimester now too so hopefully it will ease for you soon. As long as you are managing to drink throughout the day and keep something down even if it's small things, you'll be ok.

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

I can sympathise! From about 5 weeks I had zero appetite and just couldnt eat. Nothing appealed to me and I couldnt face going to a supermarket because I was constantly feeling sick!
I would eat cream crackers, Ritz biscuits, digestives and ginger nuts as snacks.
Lunch was impossible as I couldnt keep anything down. Dinner I would manage a bit of pasta, some rice, cod (battered but not from the chippy), sometimes a jacket potato.
But that was it really.
I made sure I was drinking alot of squash to keep me hydrated.
By 12 weeks I had lost over a stone and just felt awful. My midwife said it was normal and brushed it off.
My GP however said it isnt normal to lose that much weight in effectively 4 weeks and prescribed me meds which have helped.
I dont feel perfect and there are still days where I cant stomach dinner, like last night, but Ive been better.
Get something decent from the GP, keep drinking and snack where you can.
I found that eating a small snack would actually take the nausea away and make me feel better.
Fingers crossed it improves for you soon.

Hi @BusyLiz10. Responding with some solidarity! I'm about 12 weeks today and have been wishing the weeks away in the hope of feeling better.

I have always been able to eat, but I feel full all the time so can only manage small amounts. I've lost 2kgs so far and have a normal bmi. Drinking liquids has been really difficult for me - they make me feel nauseous and so full that it feels like they're going to come back up straight away. It has been easing slightly this past week.

I can't get on board with suggestions of eating bland food - the blandness makes me gag. And I tried everything ginger under the sun when the nausea first hit and as a consequence I now can't bear the thought, smell or taste of anything ginger. I'm struggling now just thinking about it!

One of the worst things has been the permanent sour taste in my mouth, which I haven't found anything to remedy. And it constantly feels like I have a lump of food stuck at the back of my throat. Can't wait for this 2nd trimester glow to kick in! (Please please!!)

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to reply. It's so helpful and reassuring to hear your experiences and tips. I'm trying most, definitely the constant snacking helps - morning is hardest until I get going with that. I think I've got to a point now I just put food in because I'm so worried about the weight loss. I've stabilised over the last week but not putting it on yet!

@TTCat39 I'm the same with dry bland foods, makes my mouth feel horrible. I've thrown the ginger biscuits away!! I prefer wetter foods like fruits and cereal with milk.

I guess we just have to keep going and hoping for it to pass... weeks seems like years though!

I was the same for my pregnancies.
Severe morning sickness with baby no.1 meant I ate little more than a piece of bread, crisps and a banana every day all the way until about 20 weeks.
Baby no.2 no morning sickness but still completely lost my appetite again until around 17 weeks or so.

It’s very normal!

I have to say though that once I was able to bring myself to eat again, it really helped with the sickness and just my overall health and well-being. It was a vicious cycle for me as not wanting to eat made me feel sick/tired...which made me not want to eat!
Eat little and often, eat what you like whenever you feel like it! By the midway point of your second trimester you’ll probably be eating like an elephant so don’t fret too much, it really won’t last

@BusyLiz10 I like cereal and fruits too. Thank goodness because I don't think I've eaten a vegetable since I was about 5 weeks! One of my favourite things used to be a tray of roasted vegetables, but the thought of it now is hideous! I'm better with cold vegetables, but the smell of cucumber is just awful to me now!

35 weeks tomorrow and have had no appetite whatsoever. Have had to force myself to eat

I'm on my third pregnancy. All three times, I struggled to eat anything during the first trimester and shortly after the second trimester began I was absolutely ravenous and could not eat enough. Then slowed down in the third trimester when I didn't have the space in my stomach! Pregnancy weight gain is not linear.

I didn't have this personally but my friend did - she also had a low BMI so was particularly worried. She found that full-fat yogurt with chopped nuts were a good snack - and any fruit you fancied. She couldn't deal with anything that had a particularly strong savoury smell so smooth / blander foods - with the occasional sweet one - worked well. Snacking little and often was how she managed to prevent the weight loss. She did struggle with drier foods at some points - she found iced loaf cakes helped. I remember her loving sticky toffee pudding!

@Havehope21 yeh yoghurt with nuts mixed in sounds like a good snack!

Wow @feistymumma well done you for getting through this far on force feeding, I applaud you, that must have been tough. Glad the end is in sight for you soon!

@NcagainNC completely agree about the vicious cycle. My better days are when I've been disciplined with food and fluids, and it lifts my mood a bit. I just long for a few weeks break from the loss of appetite even if it does come back to haunt me again @PerspicaciousGreen. Eating like an elephant for a few weeks sounds amazing!

@TTCat39 weird how your tastes completely change. I usually have such a sweet tooth for chocolate and I just can't stand it now!!

I'm 14 weeks and the sickness is finally starting to ease. My appetitite was mostly effected bye having to eat constantly to avoid being sick up until now. Plain digestive biscuits were my way through every 20 mins or so.. somehow I still lost a stone and a half in these first 14 weeks. It's been hard going. A lot harder than I really expected it to be.

Sickness now is only when I'm hungry. So I eat whatever it is we're having for dinner.. but I cant eat much of it at all and I never really fancy anything so trying to decide what to eat is quite difficult.