No appetite with anxiety

[Mozie]

Evening all

I'm new to the forum and suffer with anxiety, I'm not normally to bad but since Christmas my anxiety has been pretty bad I also suffer with Ibs aswell.
Just before Christmas I had bad ibs then got some sort of bug to go with the ibs which kicked the anxiety off resulting in me loosing my appetite completely, some days just the smell of food makes me feel sick but not actually been sick, the ibs has eased not but I'm still suffering with the anxiety weight loss which is about a stone now I've gone from around 12st-10/12 to 11st-10 now, some days I can eat a proper meal it's like the anxiety has just switched itself off I maybe ok for a few days then bang no appetite nausea and can't eat again.

I think the problem is I get worried about my weight loss ie my wrists look thin watch strap loose and having to tighten my belt, I was a 34 waist but I'm close to getting back to a 32 again, jumping in the scales just makes things worse I know I shouldn't but I'm thinking what have I lost now, it's just really frustrating I know I won't gain weight if I don't eat but if I have no appetite and don't eat I won't regain the weight it's a vicious circle and hard to get out of with the anxiety which makes my stomach feel horrible.

Currently I'm taking citalopram 30 mg and have booked an appointment for cbt which I have an appointment for on the 22nd of this month, I'm also going to try and get an appointment tomoz to see my gp again to see if she can help, I want to be able eat I hate loosing weight but the anxiety is certainly not helping me get back on track if anything it's just makes it worse as well as the lack of sleep feeling tired and not wanting to go out at times even doing things I enjoy doing or going to

Today I had to nip to a village next to me to pick up a parcel just going out I felt the anxiousness kick in but I just went anyway sometimes silly little things set it off.

Anyway I think that's enough for now is anyone else going through a similar thing with the not eating or being able to eat properly..

Thanks paul..

[Istherehope?]

Hi Paul, sorry to hear you're going through a rough time.

I lost a stone over a month or so when I had a bad relapse of anxiety. Was about ten and a half stone and went under nine and a half. Normally I eat quite a lot but once my anxiety gets to a certain level I find it very difficult to eat. Either I feel nauseous, or I'm retching, or it just goes straight through. I'm now on two antidepressants and feeling much better so the weight is definitely going back on!

It probably is worth talking about it to your GP, they might be able to suggest something. The only advice I can give is to try not to overthink about weight loss (easier said than done I know) and make the most of the times when you are able to eat and get as many calories in as you can then. Also, even if you don't feel hungry, eating just toast with butter is a good way to get a few more calories in.

[Mozie]

Thanks for the reply, the days when I find it hard to stomach food I normally have a complan shake and sometimes once u e had that it seems to settle my stomach after about 30 mins and can sometimes eat alittle more but not all the time.

I know why I can't eat and why u loose the weight and not eating only makes it worse but once the anxiety starts it's overwhelming and makes it 100 times worse,

I think the thing that worries me more is its taken me years to,actually put on weight as I've always been a fun y eater as such and for years I was 9.8 to 10st for along time I stopped smoking nearly three years ago and finally put weight on going to my highest weight of 13.2 but my weight fluctuates with my ibs anyway so iwas normally around the 12st 10 mark give or take depending on my ibs, ibs in itself is horrible when it kicks in and when the anxiety starts aswell then it gets even worse

It's amazing what the mind is capable of but we can't seem to turn it back into good thoughts and tell ourselves it's just anxiety and nothing serious

[Mozie]

So still struggling today all I had yesterday was a complan shake and today feel like crap and tired all the time, my stomach is empty food wise but I can drink fine, I'm constantly thinking about my not eating which I think is making it worse but I can't help it, I hate the stomach issues you get not just from the anxiety but the not eating aswell which makes it harder, Im just drained at times as if someone has put an hoover pipe up my backside and drained all my energy it'll soon ne a week now we're I've not eaten much at all and I wonder how long i can go before its starts to get serious, I don't want it to but it's hard to snap out of it and eat a proper meal, I try and tell the wife but I don't like telling her alot of stuff as she has suffered with depression all her life and worrying about me won't help her so I suffer in silence at times, that's prbly the reason I joined this forum to try and get abit of
help and to just get it off my chest alittle

Anyway thanks for reading hopefully I can try and eat something alittle later

[unspoken]

I was having great difficulty eating in November and December last year. I kept feeling anxious and then my mouth would go dry and I'd feel sick. I found eating things that aren't too dry and don't taste of too much helps. At times anything that had a strong flavour, like salty foods, made me feel sick. Perhaps try to eat yogurt and things like that. If you can, try to distract yourself with something else while you eat, like watching TV or browsing the net. I find focusing too much on eating makes me anxious.

Last month my GP put me on Mirtazapine alongside the Sertraline I was already taking. Mirtazapine is known for increasing appetite and it does seem to have worked. I have stopped losing weight and managed to regain a small amount and my IBS has settled down a bit. Mirtazapine did make me very sleepy at first, but it might be something to ask your GP about.

[Peaceful123]

Hello Mozie, I'm really sorry to hear about that. I think that people suffering from GAD are either having very much lack of appetite or they are extremely prone on eating continuously thus gaining weight. i just think that if you're going to find some medications that would really start working for your GAD then your appetite would normalize. good luck to you ;)

[Mozie]

Many thanks for the reply

I've been taking 30 mg of citalopram for a while now upped from 20 mg which I've been on for a few years now, winter months always seems my worse time of the year as far as the anxiety goes, through the summer Im normally ok as I'm able to more and get out the house which obviously helps my appetite, I've never had much of an appetite if I'm sat doing nothing but this time of year the anxiety just saps what appetite I do or did have recently as I've not been able to get out and do what I normally do due to the weather

My stomach,started to feel alittle better earlier tonight until my son came down to our house and the dog went mad in excitement jumped on the sette over our boxer who was stood up and landed straight on my stomach with all her weight, let's just say the air turned blue very quickly and the dog did one sharpish, after that,that was it I ended up going to lie down to ease the pain, just got up and had an apple and one of the granddaughters yoghurts I might even have some crabstick we have in the fridge

Anyway thanks for the replys hopefully Friday I can get in and see my gp I Tryed today but by the time I got through all appointments for her had gone, it's a joke sometimes even trying to get through on the phone nearly 30 mins of trying this morning, please don't take racially but Im thinking of changing my name to a polish one as the surgery is constantly full of them as we have a massive amount of them who work close to were i live :scared15:

[AnxietySufferer]

I know exactly how you feel. Gradually over time I sorted this out but I had such a thing with food. I just felt sick all the time, I knew I had to eat but I never had an appetite and I hated trying to force myself to eat it used to get me so down.

It got to the point where I was carrying food with me because I new I needed to eat and I would just eat what i could when I felt like it. This used to stress me out a LOT because I was skinny anyway and the last thing I needed was weight loss. I also suffered with IBS so i had started trying to cut out wheat and was taking tablets for that. I look back, and I didn't realise at the time how bad my anxiety was. I was so worried I was going to become anorexic and I felt like I looked way too skinny whenever I wore dresses etc. Now I realise it wasn't anorexia because I didn't want to lose weight I just physically felt too ill to eat. I promise over time it will get easier. Just eat foods that are easy to swallow, I used to eat yoghurts / scrambled egg and lots of smoothies which are high in calories. And then whoever you do feel like eating something high in calories make the most of it! Now, I realise how far I have come and I never want to go back there EVER.

[Chocolateface]

Sorry to hear you are suffering, my anxiety takes my appetite too and I don't have other health worries with it. Try not to focus on your weight focus more on your health. Eating small and often can be easier too rather than one larger meal. I also agree with distracting ypurself whilst eating so you aren't as aware of what you are doing.

Hope you feel better soon

Clare

[Mozie]

Thanks for the replys much appreciated

It is hard to eat or force myself to I'm also having excess acid issues aswell which is probably why my stomach feels so sicky and warm sometimes,

If this wasn't so bad I'd prbly feel or able to eat better or even feel like eating

It's amazing the mind can cause all the problems and worrys and other symptoms but we can't easily tell ourself it's just a thought or a worry or just switch off from the thoughts, I wish I could I sit sometimes an think why do I think like this or worry about things when the anxiety is not bad but soon has it starts it's like your took over by your mind and anxiety takes over

[Mozie]

Evening all finally got into see my doctor today about my anxiety and eating problems she hasn't altered my medication has I have a cbt appointment Monday so wants to see what they say, she says I'm suffering excess acid reflux and has prescribed omeprazole two tablets for the first couple of days then down the one per day.

I took two when I got home this morning and my stomach feels worse but we'll see how it goes, she did say I've got to be wary of side effects with omeprazole whilst also on citalopram, if I get bad palpitations I've got to stop them and must contact them about it, apparently citalopram when you dont eat properly can strip the lining from your stomach according to my doctor which don't help aswell..

About a month ago or just over I had various test bloods and stool etc to check fro other thing as it's been along time since i was diagnosed with Ibs she wanted to check it's was nothing else causing stomach problems all came back fine apart from a stroll sample for calprotectin was alittle high but wants me to do another sample to recheck has sometimes if you have diarrhea it can cause it to be high apart from that everything was OK and says it is ibs and nothing else like ibd or chrohns..

Thanks for reading and hopefully things will settle down one thing she did say is get out and do something you enjoy instead of sitting in the house it's hard but I'll certainly try and do more weather permitting..

[PanchoGoz]

Little and often! I have suffered with loss of appetite a lot and also gagging after and during eating.
The smell of someone cooking can turn your stomach.
Eat what you fancy. I found I ran through a list of food in my head and it went: ergh no, ergh no, ergh no, ergh no, oooh beans on toast will go down nicely. Or something on toast. Spaghetti hoops on toast. Cheese on toast. Dry stuff makes you gag less.
Try to eat every meal time, and if you can't manage much, supplement it with snacks you like. Sounds awful to but you might have to really force that food down. It feels like it isn't doing you any good doesn't it? But it is doing you good, you just can't feel it. If you get gaggy, distract your mind with your surroundings. Focus on the wall paper. Count the lines on the carpet. Focus on everything but the food so you don't focus on eating, until you start to enjoy it again. It will settle down with the anxiety...and you might find you have a good day where your mood is lifted and you can stuff as much food in as possible! I had the odd hyper day like that and would eat twice as much as possible and I think my body needed it.

[Mozie]

Lol sorry that about looking for food to eat is just like me at the minute open the fridge erm no,no definitely no blur yack no, three o clock this morning still awake mmm fancy some sausage rolls the small party type so had eleven of them and a bag of crispsafter a couple if hours went back to bed and eventually fell asleep, seems the only time I feel any type of hunger lately is silly o clock normally between 3/4 in the morning.

Somethings I do normally nibble on bits like an apple or a few grapes or the odd sweets like wine gums or sports mixture or a complan shake, like you say I need to get out and actually do something to take my mind off things, easy yes but even things I like doing I get a rush of anxiety before I go but soon has I'm there I'm fine it's laughable at times thinking why do iget so anxious before I go to do what I enjoy ie fishing or shooting :ohmy: shooting I hear you cry, yes Im not depressed or suicidal just anxiety which I'm not normally this bad and summer time I'm always out so very rarely suffer apart from the odd day

Obviously I had to have doctors letters etc before I got my licenses to shoot, in a way it was a god send as I'm normally out more but due to weather and the land being so wet it's abit hard to get around the estate were i do shoot.. So I'm stuck in the house twiddling my thumbs and letting anxiety get the better of me

Ps.. I only shoot pest and vermin as land management control not for fun as it may look please don't think bad of me I'm just doing a job...

Thanks for reading have a good night...

[lbhardy_]

I know exactly how you feel! This is exactly what i went through before i even understood what anxiety really was and that my IBS was simply anxiety-based. I'm so sorry about how you're feeling because i know how truly unhappy it made me. The only tips i can give is to try and find certain foods that don't trigger the IBS (or atleast too much) and although its not the best form of diet to stick to just them things but it gives you reassurance that you won't be losing too much weight if there are certain things you can eat. This is what i started with when i was feeling particularly bad and then i would slowly introduce 1 more thing to try and if i was ok with it, i knew it was another thing i could eat - i would make a list of the things that were ok to give me a bit more confidence.
I know exactly how you feel though, the smell of food used to make me feel ill and i would get to the point where i physically couldn't swallow food.
The only things i used to do was above and also trying to eat a decent and healthy meal for dinner as i knew i wouldn't be leaving the house most evenings. It may not be the best method but little things like that can help when you're at your worst, but you have to slowly push yourself so that you don't stop yourself from leaving the house (which i did often).

I used to remind myself that wherever i went there would be a bathroom (there has to be in the UK for any public place) and so you'll never be a few metres away from one in an emergency and drink lots of water because you will dehydrate fast.
Any pains i would recommend going to the doctor and asking about as this is something i didn't do and wish i had as this was the worst part for me because it would set my anxiety off thinking that it meant i would need the bathroom and so i would panic. Other than that, i found myself not going out for dinner for 6 months and when i finally had the confidence to try, i would just go somewhere fairly close to where i live and that i knew would be fast service, or i would go somewhere where i would feel comfortable going to the toilet if i need to and i would wait longer at these places.
It is difficult not to think about it but try and focus on ways to overcome it rather than letting it get you down because i understand how much it can do this!
Good luck and all the best! I hope CBT is good for you, it can be really helpful!

[Mozie]

Thanks for the reply ibs is horrible I have food times with it at times ok for months then bang I could suffer a bout for weeks, normally if I'm out I'm normally in the countryside and always carry toilet roll or paper on me, if I do get caught out without paper I've had to use my socks if I get multiple bout of the dreaded D I've even used my t shirt ripped inside pockets out of jackets etc,

I try not to go into town I hate the place unless I really have to least nowadays supermarkets have toilets which ain't so bad but I try to stay clear if I can

This bout of anxiety started with the ibs just before Christmas the ibs has eased now but I'm left with the no appetite and anxiety now, sleep uh what's that at the minute my body clock has popped a few springs I think through the day I'm mot hungry at all but 3/4 in the morning I do get those mmmm I fancy this or that like this morning a bowel of cornflakes two boxes of microchips,bag of crisps and a few sausage rolls and a complan shake went back to bed and was still awake at six this morning I eventually nod off then soon awake again then nod off again, obviously this in itself makes you feel crap, drained,tired lol but can't sleep

Oh the joys of anxiety at least the excess acid meds are working slowly which is helping it's just that first meal is the worse part once I've eaten it does settle my stomach but it's easy to sit here and write about it but actually doing it is the worse part those first few mouth fulls are not a nice sensation I know once I eat I do actually feel alot better my stomach feels better,if I can get the sleep side sorted then things will be better all round.

[winter-blues]

Hey Mozie,

I've been dealing with a somewhat related issue for about 8 weeks now. I would get panicky after I eat, sometimes just from the feeling of being full. Anyhow, it's starting to get a little better for me know. I've lost 10 pounds myself (so a little less then a stone ) guess. I'm in the states so I'm not exactly sure).

Anyhow, I did find one trick which seem to help a little which was I notice that drinking did not make me as panicky so I picked up some protein shakes at the pharmacy. I also stared eating more small meals through out the day which help some as well. So a snack every couple of hours.

Okay, I hope your doing a better. Post here and let us know how you are doing.

[Mozie]

Hiya winter blues

Ye 10lb just under a stone UK 14 lb in stone I'm just over a stone since just before Christmas, Im the same drinking us fine so yes I do have shakes called complan which are replacement meal shakes or equivalent to a small light meal, I do eat but not proper meals as such and it's at silly times very early morning but I think that's my body clock gone awol with not sleeping properly, I'm sat here at the minute with a bowl of special fried rice from the Chinese the wife had earlier yet to take a mouthfull as my stomach is doing the summersaults, it's as if you feel the excess acid build up throughout the day and eases when I do eat alittle of something like an apple or something else .
I'm hoping the weather is ok tomorrow I maybe going out if it's not raining just to break the cycle and get some fresh air and hopefully a few rabbits but we'll have to see what the weather says,

I've never as far as I can remember had a appetite or much of one if I'm sat about allday doing nothing, I like to keep busy but easier said then done with anxiety or when I have a bout of it,, I will say though this is the worst episode I've had while suffering with it normally a few days then I'm fine but this one seems never ending, I feel for the people who are really bad with it and have bad panic attacks, I've only ever had one in the years I've had anxiety and it scared me to death so I feel for them who have them on a regular basis,

My anxiety is nothing compared to some of the members on here I can normally snap out of it but I guess it sometimes gets to a point were we have a bad episode and you feel your the only one with those symptoms but thanks to this forum we find out were not alone and there's others out there who have sometimes the nearly exact same thing which does help in a way

It also helps to speak to others like the people who have replied it's much appreciated and certainly does help.

[boyyo]

I often find that being hungry everything is more raw and this makes me more aware of all the small things and it doesn't help at all. <<<also some of my anxiety is on the way I look as I am so anxious about being too thin and puny looking.

[Mojo61]

My appetite has completely gone too, I don't even feel thirsty and have to set the timer on my phone so that I can force water down myself to prevent dehydration. It seems that the switch for hunger, thirst and sleep has completely switched off. It is awful.

[Mozie]

Certainly know were your coming from with the hunger switch, I can drink fine it's just the hunger part is none existent at the moment only time I do seem to get that feeling of mmmm I could just eat something is around 3/4 in the morning as I'm still awake so I get up and go and nibble on something, like this morning again two slices of Ham a pork pie and some crisps, through the day though Ive no appetite at all and.

Yes the anxiety for me is a problem as I've lost just over a stone now I'm down to 11-8/9 from around 12st 10/12 since just before Christmas my appetite has come back a couple of times but then I got a bug and lost it again then had a cold or flu lost it again and not for it back really now for about ten days or so.

I wouldn't mind if I had plenty of fat to spare but I've always like you been slim and always struggled to get to a decent weight especially with the ibs aswell, it's hard to force yourself to eat when your stomach feels sicky and sometimes just to smell of food makes you feel sick but roll on the day when I actually get to eat a proper cooked meal without feeling like this, makes you wonder will it ever end..

Good luck and if at anytime you do feel like something try and eat I have an apple because my mouth is dry which is ideal it dies help settle my stomach aswell and helps with the dryness of the mouth..