Weight loss - stlll coming off and i'm very very afraid

[chinadoll19]

I am having a terrible time at the moment. I got an extremely bad cough and fever for three weeks. I saw the doctor and she gave me a course of antibiotics which I finished a couple of days ago, and my temperature has been normal for the last few days and my cough is heaps better. So all good there now, but over the three weeks I have lost 6 lbs, which as I only weighed 8st 3lbs before means I now weigh 7st. 11lbs and I am just skin and bone and my clothes hanging off. I understand an infection and fever does cause weight to come off. I wasn't eating well either, but I am now eating near normal and the weight is still coming off which is really panicking me. The illness has also caused me to be extremely weak and I am crawling around trying to do things. (two days before I became ill I was out dancing and felt good). I was terrified about my weight today I rang the doctor, she said she understood my body had taken a bashing with the illness, she is concerned about my weight and wants to do full blood tests etc. to make sure nothing else is going on as she put it. That is really frightening me as I am often paranoid about my weight. She says she will compare it with my weight in 2019, well I weighed 9st then but a lot of things have happened since then and I was about 8st 6lbs when they did full blood tests last May which were normal. So I take it I was OK then. That means until this illness I had only lost 3lbs in nearly a year. So that doesn't sound bad but now at this present weight it sounds awful.

Do you think I must have been OK last year with the blood tests, and does anyone understand why my weight is still coming off when I am now eating so much better. I am suffering with anxiety all the time. Can anyone relate to any of this. I am very afaid I would appreciate any replies.

[NancyW]

How tall are you ? I'd like to post your healthy weight range to see if you're there or not.

When my anxiety has been at it's worst, I lose too ... for one, my appetite is gone, and for another I feel like the anxiety itself ramps up my metabolism.

You may be there.

An idea for you is to download the My Fitness Pal app, set it to gain weight. Track all of your food and get your calories in each day.

Just like wanting to lose weight, wanting to gain is challenging, this is the only free app I know of that will allow you to set your goal to GAIN weight.

[chinadoll19]

NancyW thank you for your reply. I am 5ft 5ins tall. An older lady and have always been a fairly low weight. In the last couple of years I have hovered around 8st 9lbs/8st 6lbs. However recently my normal weight was 8st 3lbs, i was not unhappy with this as I had plenty of energy. Then I caught this virus and the weight just fell off. I was not eating well at all but am now eating much better, my weight seems fairly stable at 7st 9lbs now, but it is way too low, and I look awful, also am very weak. Possible post viral weakness. I have lost a bit of weight with illness in the past but it usually goes back on. At the moment I just cannot put any on. I must say this is causing me great anxiety which I think may not help me to put weight on as I can lose a little with panic attacks etc.

[kyllikki]

Hello, your situation sounds familiar, though maybe more drastic than mine. I am a few inches shorter than you, and typically at about 7st + 8-10lbs... but I lost about 6lbs in about a week in August following a virus and a HUGE spike in anxiety, and it took me about 4-5 months to even get my appetite back to normal let alone start to gain even slightly. I've now put 3 lbs back but it's still slow going. (It may not sound like much in either direction but I am small to start with...)

I wrestle with trying to eat well while still putting weight on and my compromise is that I will let myself eat anything I like so long as it isn't heavily processed or a snack food. For example, I'll eat a second breakfast but not chocolates in the afternoon. Also, I have had great success eating extremely cheesy mac and cheese with about a third of a cup of vegetables (usually peas or broccoli) added. Almost healthy! Lots of calcium! Puts the pounds right on!

You make it sound like you're past middle age so I will guess I am younger than you... and even so, I have been knocked on my butt with viruses and HA this year. So I wouldn't stress too much. Best of luck to you with the tests -- but I would bet that you're going to be just fine.

[chinadoll19]

Thank you for your reply kylilkki. There is some similarity which makes me feel not so alone with it. The 6lbs I lost I feel sure were due to the virus and not eating much, but its hard to be rational when you have HA. My weight had gone down a little before but not that much and I know I wasn't eating that well. I seem to be always anxious about something. I went to the nurse yesterday, and that has made me feel more anxious. She had a terrible job getting any blood, which worried me. She said she hoped it was enough. The good thing about the visit was she said my blood pressure was the best its been in ages (its often up a bit at the doctors) and my heart sounded good. She weighed me and was going on about how I weighed a lot more 3 years ago. I am comparing it with my weight a year ago when I last had blood tests whiich were fine, and until the virus I had only lost about 3 lbs in that time. I've always struggled to put weight on but its really getting to me this time. I am dreading the results. I put 1/2 lb on yesterday which cheered me up a little as I'm grateful for every 1/2lb.It comes off so quickly and is so slow putting any on. Thanks again

[pulisa]

It really won't help your anxiety if you monitor your weight so frequently though.