@vanessa2022
I have Long Covid, after having it in January-February 2023. Hospitalized in ICU for 3 weeks and on a ventilator. When I was released I weighed 99 pounds. I am very petite and 5 feet tall so that isn't real skinny for me. Within 4 months I gained 37 pounds. All in my trunk, boobs to belly. I look pregnant. I have never weighed this much even full term pregnant. No matter what I do, diet etc...I still hold at 137.
It's been a year like this and I'm very frustrated. I'm on Blood Pressure meds now because of my weight gain.

Hi,
I’m 52 and have the same symptoms as you with 40 pound unexplainable weight gain. I was worked up for Cushing’s and other possibilities but nothing came back conclusive.

It’s been over a year now since the sudden weight gain. For me, my weight gain felt like I was blown up all over with puffiness. The worst was in my upper torso area….

I’m happy to report that my weight is slowly decreasing over the past 3 months. I’ve lost 25 pounds now. I still have 15 more to go and still have swelling in my fingers and ankles, and my breasts are still sooo big. But my “pregnant” looking stomach is getting better!

I attribute my weight loss to treatment of my gut. I’ve been on Rifaximin off and on for 2 months now. I was tested for SIBO and it came back positive. It seems that the Rifaximin alone doesn’t completely take care of things so I see my LC doc on Monday to hopefully hear about more things to try in combination. 🙏🏻

When I’m on antibiotics, I feel better- bloat, brain fog, heart palps, everything is better… then when I’m off, I slowly start feeling worse again. I also had improvement with Paxlovid. But not with valacyclovir.

I’m wondering if the virus is continuing to replicate in the gut bacteria and that’s why Paxlovid and the antibiotics for the gut help. It’s my theory…

Just thought I’d share as it might be helpful for you 😉

I know how frustrating it is to suddenly have all of the weight and unable to fit into clothes. It’s really hard on the self esteem!

Also, more activities and stress can cause cortisol spikes which may also be contributing to this weight gain… the very things that are said to lose weight can make you gain unfortunately. So if you’re pushing yourself too hard to lose, this might actually be a cause. Mine all got triggered by me working out too hard and restricting my calories. I think LC causes cortisol imbalances more easily.