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is every crohnie skinny but me?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 4/15/2010 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
I have not been able to lose weight since getting sick.  I never even lost a pound when I would be in the hospital for a week at a time not allowed to eat.  I am currently in the bathroom about 15 times a day, don't have much of an appetite but try to eat little amounts because I have no energy.  I even work out three times a week and still can't seem to lose weight.  I am obsessed with my weight and if the disease alone was not enough, I can't stand to go out of my house because of the way I look.  I am going to see an endocronologist next week to see if he can figure out what is wrong with me.
Posted 4/15/2010 10:10 PM (GMT 0)
I wasn't thin when I was diagnosed, but I am now. When I was diagnosed I was of normal weight, running into slightly overweight. And as far as I know, stayed that way for a few years. I started losing weight in 2005/6, when the fevers began. By the beginning of 2009 my lowest weight was 87lb - I managed to put a few lb back on to hover around the 91/2 mark ever since. I'm 5'0", so the weight isn't as bad as it sounds, but still - not exactly obese.

I seem to remember the topic creator talking about how they didn't have any symptoms, or very few, and in her case that would probably explain why she isn't losing weight. But for the people who have severe disease and still don't lose weight - I don't get it. To be fair, if I ate 3000 calories a day I have no idea if I would put on weight or not. But I'm never gonna try, because my instestines grumble enough at 1000 calories worth of food a day passing through them.
Posted 4/15/2010 11:05 PM (GMT 0)
All the years of using steroids made my weight go up and down which is really bad for you. My highest weight two years ago was 205 and I am 5'2". However, when I was diagnosed with diabetes type two I

started cutting down on white stuff: potatoes, breads, rice and such, along with taking two Metformin a day which made me start losing weight slowly and now today I am at 172, still not what I should be but so

very much better. I would advise anyone overweight with Crohn's to be checked for diabetes.
Posted 7/23/2010 2:45 PM (GMT 0)
I am in the same big boat - never took Prednisone but can't lose either. The only thing that worked for me is the accubead diet. It is a crazy diet where you alternate eating milk products for two days and veggies for two days only between the hours of 12-6. You rub the beads behind your ears and you're really not hungry and I lost 20 lbs in less than two months. I don't know what was worse, sticking to the diet or listening to everyone critize me for doing it. I would love to do weight watchers or Atkins but they do not work and no one understands. I'm back on the beads but I keep cheating so it's useless. I've got to get my mind set on it again.

My blood results say that I'm malnourished which is crazy because I'm 30 lbs overweight! Has anyone else tried a diet that worked?
Posted 7/23/2010 4:04 PM (GMT 0)
It has to do with where the Crohn's is located. When it's in the small intestine- your nutrients dont get properly absorbed and it's like starving to death while stuffing yourself. If it is located in the large intestine, then you're only not absorbing water and you're left with D.

Mine was in my rectum- Crohn's Colitis and I have always been on the overweight side. I need to lose about 50lbs since my surgery.
Posted 7/23/2010 4:07 PM (GMT 0)
Rozzels- crash diets don't work- the fact that you're malnourished and overweight prove this. Please stop doing that diet- it sounds terrible for you.

The only real way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat healthy and exercise. Avoid high sugar foods- especially processed foods and sugar and get a lot of protein and veggies.
Posted 7/23/2010 4:45 PM (GMT 0)
And I was thinking...the pain may manifest differently too...causing people to eat thinking it's a hunger signal but it's really a pain signal...weight gain has been well documented for those with ulcers in the stomach (or crohns there, which is what I have)...so you feed yourself to keep the extra acid and burning down...

I got up to a high weight with the 3 years of steroid use...but I've been losing a lot of it...I've lost about 10 this last month (due to not feeling good) and really, I'm kinda glad I'm a little overweight at this stage, because when I flare and lose weight fast, my body doesn't go into as much of a shock...

BTW, if I ever got to a weight that is suggested by my size (98-118 lbs) for "normal" BMI, I definitely WOULD NOT be healthy...I am healthy and look good at 130-140 (that was when I was running every day, working out a LOT)

Last thing, Rozzels (welcome BTW), you may not be absorbing nutrients correctly(why your bloodwork shows malnourishment), that is part of the disease process of Crohn's...
Posted 7/23/2010 4:50 PM (GMT 0)
In a link earlier in this thread, they were talking about how a stricture caused them to gain weight because the food was slowed down and they were able to absorb more of the nutrients and thus calories.

Would the anti-D medications do the same thing? (Immodium, Questran, etc) I had never been able to take them until this past year because it would cause so much gas and bloating, I would rather just deal with the D. Then I found that if I took Immodium with 2 Gax-X pills, it would help both the D and the bloating, so I have been doing that almost daily while I flared. I usually lose weight quickly when I'm flaring and I haven't this time.

Anyone have an opinion or heard/read this may be true?
Posted 7/23/2010 7:56 PM (GMT 0)
Not Creative,

What if eating healthy and exercise still doesn't work? I had a doctor tell me that based on what I was eating and the amount of exercise I was doing, he honestly could not explain to me why I was not losing weight. It is so frustrating when you do everything you should and still get no where.
Posted 7/23/2010 8:05 PM (GMT 0)
I was normal before I had Crohn's and then once I got it I lost about 45 pounds. Got really sick and once I was put on Prednisone I gained the 45+ pounds plus more back! So now I am over weight. Lots of people do say shouldn't you be skinny since you have CD? People don't realize meds, and tons of other stuff can make people can weight.
Posted 7/23/2010 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
i was always underweight and very sickly looking, that is until I had my resection surgury.. now I can't seem to lose weight even with diet and exercise! My doctors told me its because I was so sick for so very long that now my body is holding onto every single calorie i take in, just in case I have to deal with what my body thought was a very long crop famine. It didn't know I was acctually eating food, it thought I just coulldn't find any.. if that makes sense.
Posted 7/23/2010 11:28 PM (GMT 0)
Rozzels

 

Why doesn't WW work??  If you actually follow the program there is no way that it cant/wont work.  I've done it about 5 times and lost about 45lbs each time, the only reason I gained the weight back was because I stopped following the program.  I'm currently on it and am down 20lbs.  Diets do not work, period.  It needs to be a lifestyle change, and unless you are willing to follow something for your ENITRE life, then it will not work.  What you are doing obviously will not work in the long run.  You need a balanced diet, especially if you have Crohn's.

Posted 7/24/2010 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
I was usually around 118-125 at 5'4..then I had my daughter and found out I had chron's then went on and off steroids for a few years...The highest I got on them was 199, I will lose a little weight ( I usuallly only get down to 165) and then my GI will put me back on the steroids, and my weight will go back up again...Right now I'm back down to 170..and trying to get to 140, and I told my GI I don't want to go on steroids anymore. So I go from overweight to obese over and over, I just want to get back to a semi-normal weight...but not lose so much weight than when I flare really bad, I won't waste away...

So I'm an overweight Chronie too :(

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