Weight Issues and Health Anxiety

[kittykat]

Hi thought i would do a poll on this as i've always been curious about this question, I was just wondering if anyone has the same problems as me.
One of my fears is anything relating to cancer, so I know wieght loss can be a sign of this or some other serious illness. I really need to lose some more weight but I feel that by keeping the weight on or putting some on I know at least I don't have one of the signs of cancer and I cant be dying with a serious illness, and you here so many people saying '' oh you'd lose weight if you had anything serious wrong with you''. So I manage to lose not too bad amounts of weight , then I get some symptom that I put down to being cancer, and I start putting weight on again to see if my body can, now I know being overweight isn't good either for your health, all this yo-yo stuff has caused my metabolisim to be absolute crap. Does any of this make sense and can anyone relate, it's like at least i'm in control of something xx

[Lissy43]

I am very underweight, well not as much as I was but when I do get anxious I lose my apetite.

[leah22]

kittykat i am exactly the same! ive lost 8 stone in 2 years through doing slimming world but since i've had bowel problems that i think straight away this must be cancer! so i am eating chocolate and crisps now and then so i dont loose weight ( not gaining either as i'm not totally pigging out) but then i think if i still loose weight whilst eating theses that i must be ill !! but i havn't lost weight so i'm keeping that as a good sign at the moment. It's funny that we seem to do the same things us anxiety sufferers.

[Mondie]

I strangley try to put on weight so that I'm not worried that I have a disease which causes weightloss - go figure!!

[Kraggy]

I know exactly how you feel, Mondie. :P

I got the Metabolism of a Nasa rocket, so I burn my fuel & weight extremely fast..so just imagine how much I eat to gain weight xP

[daniel22]

I used to weigh 7.5 stone before i started to suffer from anxiety, 3 months on i now weigh 10stone, spoke to my doctor but he says its the medication not the anxiety which i dont belive.

[Nikky]

Since the age of 12, i have a minor problem of weight. I was not obese, but i had a minimum of 12 to 15 kilos to lose. When i started having anxiety problems, and since i started the treatment, i have gained 35 kilos. This is really bad, and is affecting my depression a lot. I don't know if gaining weight is a result of anxiety or the treatment.

[Mich1111]

years ago I was on venlafaxine - over the years my weight went up. Two years ago I came off the medication and the weight fell off. Now friends and family call me boney. I am now on prozac but can eat and eat and still not put on any weight - guess it depends on your metabolism and medication.

[pd]

My weight goes up and down quite a lot, I have a fast metabolism, so I've always found it far too easy to lose weight and quite hard to put it on, when I lose weight it usually sparks cancer fears, so I then deliberately gain a few pounds to make myself feel better. Since using a different hormonal contaceptive however, I've gained half a stone, which has reduced cancer fears, because I wouldn't be putting on weight if I had cancer. I know what people mean about losing weight being a symptom of a serious illness, so putting on some weight helps that, if that makes any sense?

[Trixie]

I used to weigh 7.5 stone before i started to suffer from anxiety, 3 months on i now weigh 10stone, spoke to my doctor but he says its the medication not the anxiety which i dont belive.

Take my word for it is the medication.

I am on Cipralex and I put on 3 stone. I am eating things I never ate before and more of them.

I am quite annoyed as I lost 3 stone and yet when I was put on Cipralex (I don't suffer from HA but anxiety focused on my oldest Siamese cat-long story) I put it all back on in 6 months.

If you type in on Google the name of your medication and weight gain you will see what I mean.

When I put the 3 stone back on the doctor told me that the medication causes increased appetite change in taste and weight gain.:weep:

[jaynem]

Hi there

I have polycystic ovarian syndrome which does not help with weight issues, I hate being overweight but if I loose weight I start to think I have a serious health issue mainly cancer.

I hate myself for thinking this but can not help it, I become obssessive with checking myself for things, everthing leads to thinking I have this.

I totally understand how you feel its not a nice feeling to have it takes over your life I think

Some days I try to block it out but its always there somewhere ready to leap out at you

Just wanted to say you are not alone xxxx

[snoozy24]

hi everyone,

Im a very active 25 yr old who suffers from HA.i weigh 9 stone but over the last couple of weeks i have lost acouple of pounds!!!im eating as normal but playing golf everyday!!!think there is somethng seriously wrong with me, scared of the big 'C' so immediately think that i have it!!!

reassurance required.

[george08]

when ever i go through a real bad patch i loose weight and then every one coments that i have lost weight and look good which then freaks me out because if they have noticed i have lost weight i must have cancer! Then i start eating loads of fattening foods like pizza takeawys so i can put the weight back on because if i can put on weight i dont have cancer! how silly!

[allyp82]

I put on about 3-4 stone after going on Cipralex (esciptalopram) it increased my appetitie and gave me alcohol cravings (really strong cravings - i never used to drink before going on the meds!)

I decided i wanted to lose weight so started weight watchers. I managed to lose 2.5 stone and it was hard work. The i came off the tablets and started losing weight without trying. In total i have now lost 4 stone.

I am now convinced that the weight loss is because i have a serious disease (a specific disease that I am too embarrassed to go into) I am not losing huge amounts of weight - maybe half to 1 pound a week. But people keep telling me how well i am doing and it make me feel sick with dread because I am not trying any more.

I also have other symptoms of the condition i am worried about (gastric symptoms).

I also keep trying to eat more to see if i put on weight, but i don;t!

Equally, i wanted to maybe try the Cipralex again as i am feeling so bad, but as much as i am worried about the weight loss, i don;t want to put on 4 stone again just by taking the meds!

[magpie girl]

i have gained 3 stone from mirtazapine,then cipralex,Im starting slimming world again to see if a change in diet will help.But i know its the meds and not my life style as i have always had a healthy diet

[MandySlade]

when ever i go through a real bad patch i loose weight and then every one coments that i have lost weight and look good which then freaks me out because if they have noticed i have lost weight i must have cancer! Then i start eating loads of fattening foods like pizza takeawys so i can put the weight back on because if i can put on weight i dont have cancer! how silly!

Ohhhh trust me, I go through this all the time. I'm 5ft6 and (right now, I just checked) 121 lbs... but I have a really small frame. I've always been thin, naturally. The most I've ever weighed was 125. I always fret about being too thin and if I lose any weight I start freaking out. Recently I went through a really bad anxiety patch and I wasn't eating as much as normal (normally I eat A LOT, I have to because my body burns it off). I dropped down to 116 and started panicking thinking I have cancer. I started eating everything in site and got back up to 120 in a couple weeks. I asked the doctor last time I went if my weight was ok. He basically said I have a really tiny frame and I have a healthy body fat percentage (I actually have curves, despite my weight). Even then, as soon as a couple lbs comes off I fret.

The funniest part (in retrospect) is I was so worried during the last drop, convinced I have cancer, etc...
Then I started being less picky about food, trying to eat more protein, etc..
and I gained those 5 lbs back in a couple weeks. So, what do I do?

I start googling "rapid weight gain" and "health issues" associated with it.

*SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH*