Uncontrollable weight gain
My sister is 32 yrs old and for the past year has experienced a significant increase in her weight. It started with a pain in her stomach and was hospitalized, however nothing was found to cause the pain and when it ceased some she was released, however she was in so much pain when she would eat that she just stopped eating. She had to take a leave from work. First they thought it was parasites they treated her for that with no success. She lost about 25-30 pound.
Her Dr. said that due to some extra stress in her life (home forclosure) that it may be a manifestation of her stress and recommeded a psychologist. They put her on antidepressants. She felt a bit better, of course, but other things began to happen. SHe began to gain weight rapidly. She began to feel like her sugar level was dropping after she ate and several times throughout the day.
They gave her a machine to monitor her blood sugar and it showed that it was elevating after eating which is normal but no one addressed the issue of her feeling dizzy and tired and uncontrollable shaking. She said that when this occured, which was often, eating or drinking something sweet kind of curbs the reaction. A visit to the endocrinolgist who told her to fast from the night before completed a full day test. Her blood sugar was tested every hour with no food for several hours and it showed no elevation and did not decrease, it stayed at the same level. Continuous testing still show her blood sugar to be in the normal range.
Her GYN took her off of the birth control that she had been taking for the past 7 years with no problems too see if that might help, but has made no difference. She has gained approximatly 50 pounds in the past 4-5 months. Dr after Dr has found nothing. She doest eat much now, sometimes skipping diner due to a heavy work schedule and in the past two weeks gained 10 pounds. They have done several blood tests to test for thyroid problems but every test comes back normal.
She returned to work so we cant monitor her eating, but she says that she cut out any extra sweets, cookies, cakes and other things from her diet, however, still eats fast foods at times.
She is constantly fatigued, her skin color is a pale yellow, and she cannot stop gaining weight. Now her hips and legs are beginning to pain i think due to the rapid weight gain. We don't know what to do anymore. I have been researching and found several things that it could be, cushings, a tumor in the thyroid gland, bad bacteria in the stomach, side effects from the antidepressants, but what to do? Dr.s wont test unless they have a reason and none have run any scans to test for the above.. In the past few months they have decrease her antidepressant dosage slowly and only remains on one now at 30mg and continues to ween off that. Is there anything else that it could be? What can we tell them to test for? HELP!!!
You gave alot of details and yet it is really hard to even begin to try and figure out someone complicated like this so let me advise a couple of things. Anti-depressant very often cause weight gain - for a variety of reasons, though some can cause weight loss so i would at least re-visit the medication issue. A number of women's gynecological issues - fibroids, hormones can also cause weight gain. Eating causes weight gain and though I don't want to sound unkind or make the assumption that something physical is not the cause - it sounds like there are eating issues going on here and I would get help from a therapist or therapist/dietician team to help with stabilizing your sister's diet so her blood sugars stay steady and so she gets off "fast food' and on to a healthy eating program. It may help with her other issues and it will certainly be a way for her to safely drop these excess pounds if they have no medical origin or cause.
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Dear Distraught,
Your sister may have a tumor or other condition, though it may not be so serious. There is a show called medical mysteries which deal with such conditions which are not diagnosed or are done incorrectly.
Please do not accept even the hospital's word and assume that the condition will just cure itslef if your sister is in pain, or think that your sister's condition is due to her overeating0. Find the doctor which you and your sister feel is truly helpful.
( The show once even displayed a case in which a bright college student stated that she was experiencing such depression and pain that she could often not get out of bed. The doctors which she originally went to, could find nothing wrong, and she was though to be experiencing a psychosomatic condition brought on by issues of independence. However, the show found that the young lady actually had LYME disease, started her on medication, and helped her so much that she even completed her education!).
Lots of luck, please do not give up, or become immobilized ( which I sometimes feel like giving into).
Sincerely,
Barfe
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Try a different doctor. My daughter was in serious pain. Her doctor scolded her for being overweight, and sent her home. One emergency room sent her home telling her to learn to deal with pre-menstrual symptoms. A doctor at another emergency room discovered an ovarian cyst so large the ultrasound looked right through it, so the dummies at the other ER didn't recognize it. By the time I got someone to pay attention to my daughter she needed emergency surgery, and lost an ovary becasue it had twisted with the cyst. You might also want to try an osteopathic doctor (D.O.) They are MDs with additional chiropractic training, and seem to be more open to looking for solutions even if they don't fit exactly into the standard treatment/non-treatment category. There is obviously something wrong with your sister. Thank-you for being her advocate.
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my name is sheryl deskins i am a obesity eater i"ve been this way since i was 6 yrs.old and i am still an obesity eater at the age of 50 yrs.old and i way 291 lbs. and it is hard for me to lose it today. if you have a way for me to take it off please tell me how to do it and i will try it.
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I'VE HAD AN ALMOST LIFELONG STRUGGLE WITH BEING OVERWEIGHT,AND HAVE 'YO-YO'D UP AND DOWN SINCE ADOLESCENCE. NEITHER OF MY PARENTS NOR MY SISTER HAVE THIS PROBLEM. aLL i KNOW IS THAT TO BECOME AND MAINTAIN A NORMAL WEIGHT, i must eat no more than about 1200 calories. I am 74 years old and not in shape to do very invigorating exercise. Help!
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Maybe she might want to get tested for PCOS. PCOS stands for Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome. Before I knew what was wrong with me I had gained lots of weight and despite what I did the weight kept piling on. I had lots of abdomen pains because the change of hormones was affecting a lot of stuff in my body like my pancreas, metabolism, and causing infections in my body. Every woman who suffers from PCOS has some similarites but also their symptoms vary. She might want to look into that.
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I am so intrested in your topic as I have been doing the same looking for answers in my 12 year rapid weight gain 33 pounds since August. She has allthe othe symptoms as well. She has also had leukmia but is off treatment for that now. I am very intrested as we dont know what to do either. The doctors dont seem to know either.
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I fit this exact bill. I read the whole blog it was like reading my life. i am 27 years old and have gained 30 lbs in 6 months. I am in the military and work out all the time and eat right. Plus being in the military it is monitored. they have checked me for all of that. plus i get the shakes just like she says when she eats. I even had a seizure, however the could not find any real cause for it. I am getting ready to start a full body work up including every test known to man. Lucky for me being in the military they need to keep me in shape so they will pay for it.
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If she really is eating a reasonable diet, there is only one thing that causes that kind of weight gain: cushing's. Does your sister have the other classic cushing's symptoms (stretch marks, buffalo hump, etc)?
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