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Weight loss with out an explanation
My mom took a pretty hard fall last November, since then she said none of her food tastes good, she's dropped 40# in 3 months. She says she's always full. None of her Drs seem to be concerned at all. She keeps losing at least 1 lb a week. Her weight is 97lbs. She's wasting away to nothing and I'm at a lose as to what to do next.
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My GI doc told me to call him if I ever get unexplainable weight loss.
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1 ReactionI was diagnosed with MS in 2010. I've also suffered GI problems for years. Never knew a correlation was plausible.
I suffered acute pancreatitis in 2017 which became chronic pancreatitis. In less than 60 days from July to Sept 2022. I lost 52lbs. My GI was complacent. I finally found a Hepatologist @ University of Miami. I tested positive for "SIBO" (small intestine bacteria overgrowth):. It can only be detected by a 4 hour hydrogen breath test with glucose administered. I hadn't heard of it prior. No other doctor ever mentioned it. The treatment was "Xiflaxin" $2,800.00 for 42 tablets (a 14 day supply) i also take "Zenpep" digestive enzymes & "Trulance" which is dehydratingly effective. Next is a "endoscopic ultrasound" next month. I had never heard of them being combined.
Sorry if I shared too much but I can certainly relate. Sending positive vibes!
Michael
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2 ReactionsI experienced unexplained weight loss from 2020. I had gastric bypass we years ago, but before this had gained most of my weight back. I finally had stool fat testing, a fecal elastase and gastric emptying study. I was diagnosed with both Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency and Gastroparesis. The cause is uncertain, but believe to be related to my previous gastric surgery. Best wishes to you.
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1 ReactionKeep believing, but don't leave any rock unturned. In case you haven't had a Gastroenterologist appointment yet. Suggest you look for one whom can test you properly for SIBO.
Bacteria that get into the small intestine can bloom out of control and steal even the wonderful nutrients you eat. If you have it, go to Cedars-Sinai website and look up Dr. Mark Pimentel (think that's the spelling). He's on the cutting edge of the research, but thankfully is also a practitioner. He posts info that can help doctors to discover if you have SIBO via a 2-gas breathtest (make sure it checks both gases), as well as makes recommendations on antibiotics (herbal remedies also exist but you'd have to find someone practiced with using those correctly). Also, he suggests ways to prevent SIBO from coming back.
My Mom has suffered a lifetime of constipation; so I'd not worried when constipation was my body's normal state. It's not something polite to talk about and doctors often don't inquire into this basic biological function anymore. It wasn't until going through this pre-menopausal and now again post-menopausal that I start to connect the dots between my own symptoms and some of the ones my Mom suffered through her adult life that only got worse and expanded into other realms later.
Please do everything you can to find a Gastro that has specialized experience with whatever your own condition is and learn as much about it so you can avoid any worsening of your own condition. The body is still such a beautifully complicated mystery.
I kept being thankful when the SIBO was gone; and I'd jump back into regular life -- raring to catch up on all that had derailed my personal and work and volunteer To Do lists, my exercise, my personal growth, and my social life.
Keep the faith. It will carry you through, but don't give up the search yourself. Best wishes!
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2 ReactionsMy gadtroenterologist has done a EDG and a colonoscopy. But not the gas test. I don't even knows where it can be performed because he hasn't suggested it. Instead he is sending me a the Mayo clinic for testing to see if there are issues with my liver that are causing the problems. He thinks I only have a mild case of IBD. So there's not much I can do unless the Mayo clinic decides to do testing in this area as well. I'm scheduled for 1 day of testing. But things can change or we may need to go back at a later date. My insurance co-pay are high when it comes to testing. Blood work doesn't cost us anything. I'll talk to my GI doctor about the breathing test to see if he can get authorization for it and can find someone who does this. Thanks for the suggestion.
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2 ReactionsI eat raisin bread to help keep me regular and well as drinking non sweet organic coconut milk but I still can't gain weight. So my endocrinologist is going to be testing my adrenaline glands to see if that is the problem. The last time I saw her last week she spent an hour with me talking about all the issues I'm having and she recommended starting a pea powder protein shake but from researching it they taste awful. So I need to do more research to see if I can find one that is unsweetened and tasteless as well. I hope that it's even available. It seems as if God is the only one who can heal me. He created me so he knows how to heal me too.
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1 ReactionI’m sorry you are not feeling well and have lost so much weight. As have I. Finally Dx… gastroparesis. Found “Very High Calorie Boost”(530 cal/carton)online by case only… helping me add back weight. Also I drink Carnation Instant Breakfast w/Fairlife whole milk(never a fan of cows milk but need cal)… and Glucerna Strawberry shake per day. Many people I see online drink up to 4 of the Very High Calorie Boost 530 cal shakes per day with extreme weight loss and nutritional deficiencies. It’s thick. I often “cut” my vanilla(most preferred) by half with whole Fairlife milk. Fairlife milk has higher protein than regular milk and is lactose free. It’s helping me maintain… and gain slowly. Wishing you the best of all health in the future.
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2 Reactionsin reply to @lildiva4jc I can sympathize with your situation, having lost 40 percent of my body weight as a result of dilation of my liver and pancreatic ducts, and I completely understand you concern about your appearance. In fact, the majority of people in my community now shun me as a result of my appearance, as I do look rather anatomical. Like you, I am unable to gain any substantial amount of weight no matter what I eat. The result of the dilation of my bile ducts is that I have zero appetite, and therefore am unable to eat like "normal" people. Often I must force myself to eat, and when I do, it is usually one of those protein bars found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, The Perfect Bar. I eat these because of the amount of protein, not necessarily the calories. When I began losing weight, I started a weight lifting program so that I would not lose muscle mass, and everyday after my shower I have a routine lifting 2 pound weights, and the habit has paid off quite well.
I have always been one of those people who care about their appearance, and have this mantra: "If I look good, I feel good." It took a long time for me to accept the fact that I was losing friends simply because of my appearance which has drastically changed. However, I have realized that those, including many who I thought of as "friends", obviously do not share the same value system as I do, and therefore, the loss of my friendship because of my physical appearance is their loss and not mine. Obviously, it took me some time to accept that many do not have a sense of humanity as I. I have been told by others that I look like a Holocaust victim and that I should purchase makeup in an effort to make myself look less gaunt. I have found on an average, women are the worst culprits, as the guys are always very complimentary, asking me how I am feeling, telling me I look great and things of that nature. The loss of my friendship is on "them" and not me. A friend of mine told me that people in general think I have cancer and they do not know what to say. Whether this is true or not is up to question.
Unlike you, I am not a "believer", however, I do believe that "God" has a plan for me, as one of my doctors recently told me. After she said this to me, it became another mantra that has brought me some comfort. This is not to say that I identify as a Christian, but I do respect your beliefs, and if they help you that is a good thing. In all honesty, I still occasionally look at myself in the mirror and am disgusted with my appearance, but also know that I am doing the best that I can in order to function and be a member of society in the best way I know how: helping others, having a lot of humility and generally being selfless, which often creates a problem, which I am working on. Just as religion brings you comfort, art gives me comfort as I am very creative and have the ability to make beautiful things. My art is my therapy. If religion works for you, I commend you for finding something that gives you the strength to get through what often feels for me, a terrible trial.
Like others have suggested, seeing a gastroenterologist is a good idea. I only found out about my bile duct issue when I went to urgent care during COVID and expressed to the doctor an ongoing pain in my upper right abdomen that I had been complaining about to my PCP for quite some time. He ordered a CT scan three years ago, and despite multiple tests and procedures, my doctors are no closer to determining my problem than they were nearly four years ago. It can be frustrating, yes, However, I have not lost sight of the fact that I can still function fairly well, and for this I have an abundance of gratitude.
Best of luck to you.
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3 ReactionsHi @nbens. Welcome to Mayo Connect and thanks for telling us about your loss of weight from gastroparesis -- weak muscular contractions of the stomach. As a result, food and liquid remain in the stomach too long rather than passing into the small intestine. This can result in irregular absorption of nutrients, inadequate nutrition, and poor glycemic control. I found an interesting speculation that weakened stomach muscles may be caused by neuropathy -- a nerve problem in the great Vegas Nerve that controls functions of large organs in the abdomen. That's one of a half-dozen possibilities that my medical team is going to study to deal with my digestive problems of the past six weeks. Perhaps my experience will suggest some questions for you to raise with your medical team. Martin
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1 ReactionI just now learned of a research report that links gastroparesis and other digestive issues to off-label use of Ozempic and Wegovy to attack obesity. The report is in a letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Researchers analyzed 16 million patient prescriptions from 2006 to 2020 and found strong links between the drugs and more severe complications -- intestinal blockage, pancreatitis, and gastroparesis risks were "significantly higher" with use of Ozempic and Wegovy and other GLP-1 drugs. The FDA has updated labeling for GLP-1 drugs with warnings about intestinal blockage but allows them to remain available because so far the risks are rare.
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