Loss of Appetite & rapid weight loss

Hi all,

 

Is there anyone with CD that has issues with losing your appetite and or losing weight really fast? I have had CD since 2005 and occassionally i seem to lose my appetite and lose weight without even trying. Its not that i dont want to eat, I get hungry and want to eat but when it comes to it and i have the food in front of me I will eat half of it even sometimes not even half and then feel full and cant finish it and because of my poor appetite i am losing weight. 

 

  My family is starting to think i am anorexic but thats not the case i am not showing the signs of anorexics like thinking i am fat or wanting to always be on a diet. I enjoy food too much and don't consider myself fat I actually want to gain weight but they just dont understand it and I cant seem to explain it to them because they are always doing wise cracks about me being too skinny and not eating but i tell them it cause of my crohn's and they tell me not to use that excuse, if there is anyone else out there going through the same situation i would to hear what you guys have to say and any tips or ideas on how i can gain weight again.

 

I need help and advice.

Hello,

You sound like my son(16). he could be starving (quite literally) and unable to eat more than a mouthful or two (he was weighing under 98lb) From what I understand the inflammation stops the body from digesting/absorbing nutrients and in my son's case (he not one to sufffer with diahorreah(sp?) his system was completely backed up and it was physically impossible for him to swallow any more food and then his appetie just deteriorated.

He was put on various drugs and approximately 7 weeks of total enteral feeding (basically partly digested food drinks) and then solid food  re-introduced over 3 weeks. This has done wonders for him, colour has returned to his skin and he is now gaining weight

He still cannot eat 'normal' sized meals but has lots little and often as well as continuing on one of the enteral drinks and a high calorie shake drink every day in addition to normal food.

Tell them (politely ) that they are ignorant about the disease (as I was-although I did appreciate something was drastically wrong, just didn't know what) That it is not simply bad stomach pains and typically diahorreah, and it can cause a whole host of other issues, inflammation, strictures, bodies inability to absorb /digest food/nutrients resulting in anaemia and malnutrition, fatigue, loss of appetite, mouth ulcers, painful joints and all kinds of other problems that I have failed to mention.

Have you seen a specialist for help?

That has happened to me too, in the months before my diagnosis last year (which was also my first year of university). By the time summer rolled around and everyone from my high school was back they all thought I was anorexic or something, it was kinda hurtful and alot ignorant. Dom't worry about things, eat at your own pace and don't make yourself sick by eating too much. I'd recommend trying to eat several small times a day instead of sitting down to 3 large meals you can't finish, and adding in a high calorie/protein meal replacement drink like boost or ensure if you can tolerate them!
I am back at a healthy 120 pounds after going from about 130 before diagnosis to around 100 at my lowest and I feel good :) Good luck to you! The weight will level out once the disease is under control... I hope you find some relief!

It comes and goes for me, there are some days (rarely though) where i can only eat a bowl of soup for lunch and salad for supper and feel full, however most days i consider myself a big eatter and can't seem to get full. A typical day for me would be a couple pieces of toast and fruit or a shake for breakfast, apple/bannana and granola bar for a snack, ussually some left overs for lunch, a muffin or some veggies for a snack, a big meal for supper, and then ussualy some some small fruit or crackers for a night snack. I estimate i take in about 2500-3500 calories a day. However, i still can't gain any weight, and have lost about 30lbs since i was first diagnosed 3 yrs ago, and to be honest its get very frustrating, but i plan to just stick with it and keep upping my calories and hoping for the best.

Does anyone else notice there wieght fluctuate thoughout the day? I recently purchased a weight scale so i could keep track of my progress, and noticed some pretty crazy changes, for example; the other day i weighed myself before i went to bed and was 149lbs, then in the morning i was 147lbs, after work i weighed 153lbs (which is wierd because i basically just sit at a desk for 9hrs a day and do nothing) anyways i was happy to see this, i had a decent size meal for supper and then a snack for later on, and to my suprise when i weighed myself before bed i dropped to 149lb again, and the next morning i was down to 146lb......how is this possible? where is the weight going right after i eat?....has anyone else noticed this type of thing happing?

Thanks

This is a really interesting discussion for me! I find the same thing, Dodger84, I can feel very hungry, eat a few bites, and then I feel completely full. If I am going to have an entire, ‘proper’ meal, it can take me hours of what others call ‘picking’. I find it hard to deal with socially, because being 6 foot tall and 120 pounds, people assume you’re “on a diet” or have an eating disorder. I had previously thought it was to do with food anxiety associated with Crohn’s but if others are experiencing the same thing, perhaps not. The other day I even had a waiter comment ‘maam must be on a diet” while I was eating Indian and he laughed. I wanted to kill him. It’s humiliating a lot of the time, and something that I struggle with. I just ‘fill up’ way too fast.

I have found that sometimes when I get full (or just nauseated) from the food that if I wait and find one of my "go to foods" that I try to keep in the house at least I get something in my system. Then other days everything can make me feel sick. I am really trying hard to get rid of some of the food adversions that can be a real problem for me ( the food can look good and smell good, all set to eat then WHAM, something about that food will put me really off)
I did drop 20 #s in a few weeks (not in time for the trip to Hawaii, but what ya gonna do) but that was a few years ago. Since I have been on the Entcort I have been trying to keep off the weight with more activities, but as we all know that comes with its own problems.
I am glad for this discussion! I was feeling alone on this issue, a little alien. Thanks everyone!