Anyone underweight??

[nikkinik]

Hi,

I'll cut to the point..as no doubt I'll be making another, more detailed post soon!

Currently I weigh about 7 stone 5.. Ideally I need to be another 1.5 stone to be borderline 'normal weight'.

I look ill. Ppl keep passing comments on how thin I am too.

I feel ill! I can't gain any for love nor money and my ibs just keeps flaring,so everytime I gain the odd lb it just drops back off, and then some!

The GP wouldnt entertain the idea of a dietician, his words "they'll just tell you to eat more.. But you can't, so heres a prescription for an antispasmodic'

Great

No one else seems to speak of this problem, which only serves to make me worry it not Ibs and is something more, like the start of chrons

[sammi]

I weigh 7.1 and look ill everyone says how thin I look, I put it down to been an anxious mess all the time. When my anxiety was at its worst I dropped right down to 6 stone something. X

[nikkinik]

its awful isn't it :(

I feel like all I do sometimes is focus on all the pretty, curvy women on tv.. or even all the size 6 celebs who dont even look half as ill as i do. Im absolutely dreading Summer (not being able to hide under 20 layers!).
Everytime Im at the doctors they pass comment, yet don't seem to want to help.. as though Im happy like this. Im actually scared, its just creeping down and down and its flaring up much more often

[sammi]

When I got weighed at the doctors last year I think I was 6 stone 9 and he just shrugged it off like it was ok to be that thin. I'm only small height wise but still shouldn't be so thin:( I can't seem to put weight on no matter what I do and I eat loads lol so don't know why I can't gain weight. X

[nikkinik]

I wish I could eat loads..
Im lactose intolerant, so that rules out milk, cheese, yoghurts, choc, and everything else..

When I could no longer tolerate the chocolate the weight just fell off!

Now the IBS rules out potatoes, fatty foods.. more dropped off when i couldnt touch potatoes!

I was seeing progress with symptoms recently by cutting out wheat, but yet more weight has dropped off because i cant eat biscuits or nice bread etc etc... (And wheat and diary is in just about every packet/jar food stuff). And now more symtoms have kicked back in, so Im probably intolerant to something else on top of all that!

Im left wondering a) whats left to eat, b) how will i ever gain anything with all these symptoms and restrictions, and c) how bad will this all get!

I think if we were telling them we were anorexic or making ourselves sick they would be more open to help, but for me, because ibs is the cause its like its ok and just 'normal'.. yet they comment on my weight so often, so even they must realise its not normal, healthy or right!

Urgh.

Im on the verge of asking for some steroids for weight gain!

x

[sammi]

I never actually thought to ask the doctor for something to gain weight but I might

My brother is lactose intolerant but still eats what he likes but your intolerant to a lot of things your gp should maybe refer you to someone or give you alternatives so you are gettin the nutriants you need.

I've never been curvy or carried a lot of weight when I had my little girl you could hardly tell I was pregnant and when I had her I went straight back into a size 6 clothes, I know most women would love to be able to do that after a baby but its not all that fun been that thin x

[kah]

Hi ladies,

I can identify with you both. I weigh almost 9 stone which sounds a lot but I am 5ft 9in so I am in fact quite underweight. I only have to have anxiety for a couple of days and the weight just drops off, it's so much harder to put it back on than it is to lose it!!!

My CBT therapist put me on mirtazipine (anti-depressants) for the anxiety, they have actually made no difference to the HA but they do make me feel hungry which is great. However, as soon as I have a bad bout of HA like I am at the moment, I find I can't eat hardly anything, my appetite is non-existant. It's a vicious circle and I can't seem to break free from it.

Of course the IBS doesn't help, having constant abdominal pains hardly makes you want to eat....and so the cycle continues. I'm pretty sure that I will be able to manage my weight much better as soon as I can get a grip on the HA, easier said than done though!

Just wanted to say to you both that there are lots of people in the same position as you, so don't ever feel like you are alone xx

K xx

[sammi]

Thankyou hun xx

[vicky23]

hi
I really feel for you Nik, is there another Doctor you could go and see?
I'm underweight but my Dr has been really good she sent me to a dietician who helped a bit in that I didn't use to eat dairy cos of ibs but she told me it should be ok in little bits so that really helped the weight come up but you are all so right it's really very hard to put on weight!
Have you tried something like 'build up' or 'complan' I'm not sure if they are suitable for someone with a lactose intolerance.
How often do you eat? smaller meals throughout the day are better than bigger meals 3 times a day.
I hope you find some relief soon!

[nikkinik]

Sammi, the same happened with me when I had my son, I went straight back to an 8 within the fortnight. Throughout my pregnancy the biggest was a 12, and that was only for the waist, they didnt fit anywhere else!
My son came out and I had the carrier bag belly, but I was shocked at how flat my stomach was, i expected to have gained something decent! I kept on a few lbs for a while, but as soon as I was not sleeping (getting up for feeds etc), looking after him, running about the place etc, it all fell back off and more. I loved being a bit bigger though, it was nice to blend in and look 'normal' rather than have people either look down on you or pity you!

Thanks Kah,
Im pretty much the same as you.. I went on an anti depressant about 4 yrs ago, they gave me a bit of my appetite back, but as soon as i came off them it all went back to normal.. Depression, anxiety, no appetite, it just crept back to the way it was.
I also suffer from HA. The second I think something is wrong its like a shut down.. I feel that anxious I dont even want a drink let alone food, I can sometimes force myself but i end up feeling sick.. then I go into a panic (emetophobia!). If Im ill the first thing to go is my appetite.. I had swine flu over christmas, that lasted about 5 wks in total (the cough lasted the longest), then I got shingles at the same time.. Then I had about 1 wk of normality then a cold! But for the first week with SF I barely ate a thing, I no appetite, the sickness and everything else..

Vicky23,
Ive been through all the doctors pretty much, they just seem all too happy to prescribe something, rather than treat the actual cause.. Which has often been the case in the past too.
I think I need to go back, possibly taking someone else with me as I can't carry on like this.. No dairy, now no wheat, potatoes/carbs now a struggle, and now possibly sugar being a trigger too.. I do fear whats next, what will I be unable to tolerate next.. Then that fear and others bring me down, the fact I have to look at myself in this mess, being unable to let my fiance near me because I feel so ugly/thin, sometimes I stress about it all, most of the time I cry.. all meaning I lose what tiny appetite I have left!
With all the ingredients checking, not being able to just get something out the freezer and whack it in the oven, having to cook from scratch when Im a terrible cook - which also means I cant keep a good track of the calories, its just guess work..

The misery! lol

Thanks for your replies ladies. Im sorry we're all in this position, but I REALLY appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post, it makes me feel less alone xx