If I Have Crohn's, Why Am I So Overweight?

I have been seeking weight loss surgery and during my health checks it was discovered that I have Crohn's disease.
I thought I had colitis but it looks like it is Crohn's (and it's active)...The thing is if I have Crohn's then how come I am more than 100lbs
overweight?...Is it because of it's location?

My surgeon has completely ruled out any form of malobsorbtion type operation like the bypass and the duodenal switch...but
I am still holding out for the Sleeve where they take 75% of your stomach away but do not alter your intestines at all.

Well the jury is still out on weight loss surgery...I have a CT scan on Tuesday 15th...and an appointment with GI sometime soon after.

Just wanted to know if anyone could shed light on being overweight when having Crohn's (In flare).

(((hugs)))

Thank you Chrisnsteph

I think mine is just in the large bowel and there seems to be something wrong like a stricture on my left hand side...that's why I'm having the CT.

I have never taken steroids, I refused them....I know that I might not be in a position to refuse one day though but if I'm over weight now what will steroids do to me?

(((hugs)))

When my disease started to flare last summer I didn't realize that was the problem. I was going crazy trying to figure out why I was gaining weight. Looks like I was actually absorbing more of my food due to serious stricturing!

I think only when it affects the small intestine does one actually lose weight...you know when they have malabsorbtion...and constant diarrhea..and especially when one has an illeostomy..they lose weight i believe..because whats in the bag is often liquid..kind of like having diarrhea..i have my illeum affected colon and rectal area...i have lost a bit of weight..but mostly because some antibiotic or pain killer they gave me made me feel sick to my stomach..or a lack of appetite...prednisone..makes most people gain weight..so i know their are people on here..who have gained...for me steroids makes me lose weight and i don't feel like eating at all. Everyone is different..now i am like 5 feet 3 inches and 157 pounds and if you look up my BMI i am overweight ..good luck hope everything goes smoothly for you

kandc88 said...
When my disease started to flare last summer I didn't realize that was the problem. I was going crazy trying to figure out why I was gaining weight. Looks like I was actually absorbing more of my food due to serious stricturing!

Hi Kandc88

That's interesting....Did your doctor tell you that this is possible?...It does make sense...I would like to run this by my GI doc when I see him.
Because like you I have gone crazy just trying to find a reason for gaining this amount of weight...I stressed over the fact that although I might not have helped myself much but the amount I gained was way too much.

(((hugs)))

frogeleita said...
I think only when it affects the small intestine does one actually lose weight...you know when they have malabsorbtion...and constant diarrhea..and especially when one has an illeostomy..they lose weight i believe..because whats in the bag is often liquid..kind of like having diarrhea..i have my illeum affected colon and rectal area...i have lost a bit of weight..but mostly because some antibiotic or pain killer they gave me made me feel sick to my stomach..or a lack of appetite...prednisone..makes most people gain weight..so i know their are people on here..who have gained...for me steroids makes me lose weight and i don't feel like eating at all. Everyone is different..now i am like 5 feet 3 inches and 157 pounds and if you look up my BMI i am overweight ..good luck hope everything goes smoothly for you

Thank you Frogelieta

What you say regarding the location of the disease in the small intestine makes a lot of sense and is what I thought would be the case...I discussed this with the bariatric registrar the other day and she said the same.

I dread ever having to take steroids...I was offered but declined because I think that would push my obesity (I hate that terminology) to a dangerous level...I am trying to lose weight now...I might look at the diet for CD...but if it is too high in carbs I can't do it...

(((hugs)))

SnowCrystal said...

LBJ said...
I'm over weight too. I always wondered the same thing. When I'm flared I do start to drop weight until I get on meds. When I've gone on predisone it just added to the weight of course. I got serious and lost almost 30 pounds 2 years ago but then last year I flared and had no choice at the time but to go on predisone for awhile. Gained it all back and then some. Then it was the holidays...and now I'm flaring again waiting to go Cimzia. Its really hard for me to focus on getting weight off when I don't feel good so I'm really hoping when I get going on this and feeling better I want to try to get some off. I do really good actually on WW and feel my best crohn's wise on it too.

Hi LBJ

I think that what Frogalieta has said makes a lot of sense...being overweight (obese) would would still affect those prone to it if the disease was confined to the large intestine...
I might be refused weight loss surgery, (the non malabsorbative type) the gastric sleeve because of having Crohn's...but what happens to me when I have no choice but taking the steroids at the weight I'm at now...that would put me in a very dangerous level of obesity.

Interesting what you say about WW...I wonder if the actual diet is any different over there to the one here in the UK?

(((hugs)))

 

Hi SnowCrystal-   Yeah that would make sense then because mine is in the large intestine.  But ya know, I have been "big" per say all my life or really adult life.  It's in my jeans. My dad has always had weight problems and I have lots of over weight relatives.  My Grandma on my mom's side was a big lady.  

 

Anyway- That I'm not sure about, but I wouldn't see why not.  Its true though.  When I was on it and following it I felt great. I even told my doctor that I was doing it and was feeling great with no problems. I also wasn't flaring at the time nor did it put me in a flare.   I do want to get back on it here but I have to get myself feeling better again first.

I have Crohns and I'm 60lbs overweight. I'm 5'4 and 200lbs, and I'm a 22 yr old female.  Ive been overweight my entire life. The smallest I have ever been was around 170lbs while I was in the hospital during a flare and wasn't allowed to eat for 3 weeks.  I'd really like to know why I keep the weight on too. My body hardly absorbs any vitamins, but it holds onto fat for dear life! Just my luck! Haha.

Oh also, and this is kind of weird.  Every time I attempt to lose weight I flare. It never fails.  Ive joined Weight Watchers 4 times since highschool and I would drop about 20lbs and get super sick.  Probably from all the fiber, fruits, and veggies.  Maybe Im just destined to be fat.  =P

PV said...
I have a theory. During times of stress, our bodies accumulate fat - historically, this would have been to provide the body stores of fat to survive those stressful times. Having a disease like crohn's I believe can make the body feel like it is not getting sufficient nutrition (stress), and therefore, put the metabolism into a state where it starts storing fat. So, it's my theory that having crohn's, flips a switch which can cause your body to hold on to the fat, making it hard to lose weight, or even maintain a steady weight.

That's my anthropological explanation, which may be total BS :-D

PV

LOL...PV you BS sounds like it makes total sense to me...but then BS always did...lol

No really, all jokes aside you could have a point!...All the research I have tried to find says that 6% of Crohn's sufferers are obese...whilst there is no true explanation for this (apart from location of crohn's) there is no true explanation for this to occur........

(((hugs)))

MMMNAVY said...
I actually have disease throughout my GI tract and I am about 280 lbs. right now. I was very fit, until I got sick I was also pretty severally injuried at the same time. I gained 90 lbs in 9 months and that was not because of pregnancy. My GI thinks that it is because some people have a "hoarder" metabolism.

Thank you for your reply MMMNAVY

Sorry to hear you have not been very well at all.
May I ask what BMI you have at the moment?...My BMI is around 43 at the moment...I'm only 5'2".
Would your surgeon consider weight loss surgery? (If you required it and indeed if you wanted it)
I have not heard of hoarder metabolism...I would like to know more about that too.

Take care

(((hugs)))

Hi Snow,   My stats are pretty similar to yours (5'2" and a bmi of 42).  I think mmmnavy and her GI are onto something with the hoarder metabolism - that's the way I always thought of it with me.  I always had weight issues, but not as bad as currently.  When I go into a flare, I will tend to drop about 15-20 pounds in the first week.  Once the latest med starts kicking in, I will start gaining the weight back fairly quickly.  The way I always thought of it was that my body was in starvation mode at the start of a flare (even if I did eat, nothing was being absorbed); once I start being able to absorb some, my body starts hoarding the calories, fat, etc. waiting for the next starvation period.  Unfortunately I gain for much longer than I lose plus a bad reaction to steroids left me at my current weight.    Regarding weight loss surgery, I'd talk to your GI before talking to any more surgeons.  Granted I have a few other stomach issues on top of the crohn's (including gastroparesis -- delayed stomach motility), but when I was talking to my GI about weight issues, gastric bypass and other weight loss surgeries came up at one point.  It's now 2 years later, but her words have stuck with me -- "I wouldn't touch you with a 10-foot pole and wouldn't trust any surgeon who would."  I've heard of people with no prior GI issues coming out of gastric bypass with problems, and then there are people like the woman you mentioned that has crohn's and had a successful gastric bypass.  Your GI should be able to give you a better idea of what your personal risks are and armed with that info, you can make a decision as to whether it's a risk you want to take.   My GI did mention weight watchers at that point, but I didn't pursue it at that time.  I haven't had much luck dieting since I can't handle many vegetables, but just before I signed on here tonight, I saw that WW was giving away a free month of their online service (not sure if it's the US only), so I was thinking I might give it a try.  I did end up getting a Wii earlier this year with the intent of using it primarily for the weight loss/fitness programs.  At my current weight, I'm too self-conscious to go to the gym but find that some of the programs give you a good home workout.  When I used it regularly (i.e., arthritis isn't flaring and not swamped at work), I did lose a few pounds.   Melissa

I actually gain weight during a flare, and I wake up every 2-3 hours because of hunger pains. I was not overweight (granted I have never been skinny) until I was severely injuried and got very ill. In fact I was a military officer who had run over 30 marathons. But I think that severe of an injury flipped a metabolism switch for me (there was a point in time that I was being feed by IV and it was about 1200-1500 cals a day and I was steadly gaining on it). I think whatever may trigger this disease may flip that switch for a small amount of those of us with this hoarder metabolism (kinda like PV was saying).

I also have a couple of other health issues such as thyriod crashed about 3 years after being dx, even though I felt it sooner. I have explored baratric surgery, and might do the lap band if I could ever get my crohns in remission. But I am not going to do any surgery until I can get my crohns in remission, because I know it takes me at least a year to recover from major surgery and that having autoimmune issues can make it much more risky. (I have always taken longer to heal then others I know, but usually I heal pretty well.)
Plus I have horrendous bone pain that other then my fractures have not been able to explain, and of course lupus. I think those issues infringe upon my ablility to move, and especially exercise.

I am about six feet tall (I have also lost some height, so I have some spinal compression and other bone issues going on) so I think our BMI's would be about the same. (At my heaviest I was 302 lbs., but I have gone into a semi-remission if semi-remission is only going about 12-15 times a day and that has helped some with my weight loss.) But I have to admit if I could exercise more then what I can now it would make a huge difference.
Is that a problem for you? Is exercising too painful?

I'm 48 yr old female and have been overwieight all my life to some degree. Currently I'm 5'7" and 207 lbs. The only time I've successfully lost weight is during a really bad flare. Exercise only seems to aggrevate my disease -- from my "neo"illeum up through my esophagus.

I have to agree with the "hoarder" metabolism theory, I think my body stores fat "just in case".