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View Full Version : Sudden/rapid weight loss (don't hate me)



Twoboos
05-01-2011, 08:46 PM
So I've noticed, and a few people have commented, that I have lost weight. I haven't done anything to actively try to lose anything. :duck:

Once I got a couple of comments and started thinking about it and weighed myself (I don't weigh myself too often, go more by how my clothes fit) I realized I had lost about 10-15lbs maybe over 1-2mos.

I was sick (cold/flu) for about 3 days in Feb and basically didn't eat then. About a month ago I had a stomach bug and didn't eat then for about 1 or 2 days. But once better I was back to eating I think I was back to my normal (not great/not bad) habits.

I haven't worked out in months (maybe 4? UGH!!) so I know some of it is loss of muscle mass. <sigh> But I don't think there was 15lbs of muscle out there.

I have a regular annual dr appt in a couple of weeks. What should I be asking about? Thyroid is at the top of my list.

It's crazy, there is probably something wrong but I am glad this happened right before bathing suit season. :o

SnuggleBuggles
05-01-2011, 08:53 PM
I've had that happen too and I didn't really question it much because I felt well otherwise. :) Thyroid is what I thought too.

Beth

hellokitty
05-01-2011, 08:58 PM
It could be just the two stomach flus or the thyroid. My DH lost about 15 lbs in a span of maybe 6 mo and everyone noticed (except for me, I was in a stupor from being a mom to a newborn), and it was his thyroid.

DrSally
05-01-2011, 09:39 PM
You don't have any sx of diabetes, do you?

infomama
05-01-2011, 09:40 PM
That would be a lot of weight for me to loose without doing much of anything to try to loose it. I would be a little concerned...hopefully it's just related to your recent bouts with the flu.

Twoboos
05-01-2011, 09:49 PM
You don't have any sx of diabetes, do you?

Hmm, just googled the symptoms... maybe. Weight loss and fatigue/irritability. But I feel like those could be sooo many things, kwim? I do drink a lot of water just b/c I always have, so that leads to frequent urination! So no changes here. But I will look into it some more.

AshleyAnn
05-02-2011, 12:53 AM
I do that occassionally. I think my thyroid in funky but I tested fine the last time it was checked.

bisous
05-02-2011, 02:27 AM
My first thought was diabetes, also to be honest. But it sounds like you feel okay.

I don't hate you but I do wish I had your particular "affliction", lol!

tiapam
05-03-2011, 01:15 AM
Weight loss and fatigue/irritability. But I feel like those could be sooo many things, kwim?

But what is most likely? I think the thyroid because you are a woman of a certain age who is postpartum. I don't care how many years since you last had a baby, I feel like I am permanently postpartum, KWIM?

Since the weight loss is pretty recent, your test results may not show any problem right now. So if you do have the tests and they are "normal", you should def have them redone in 3 months (max) if symptoms persist.
Ask me how I know!

You should def have a full panel of thyroid tests not just the TSH and you need the antibodies tests, as Graves Disease or Hashimoto's need to be ruled out.

I really feel that thyroid symptoms (which can be mental or emotional in addition to physical) come out first in the areas where each person is most vulnerable. Then move on slowly to other parts of the body and mind! So the onset and progression (if undiagnosed) is experienced very individually.

If people are saying things to you about an unintended weight loss, then it is usually a bad sign. How much do you weigh and how tall are you? How long have you had fatigue and irritability?

Twoboos
05-03-2011, 08:49 AM
I am 5'5" and according to my scale (which I am not totally sure I trust) this morning I weigh 114. Even if that's not a real number, a few months ago on this scale I was weighing in the 125-130 range. I am going to the gym this morning and will weigh myself there, too and adjust for bfast/clothes.

Fatigue/irritability has been ongoing for... oh about 5-6 years, since DD2 arrived. :) I really feel like I never "caught up" after her. Of course I'm not going to bed early, get woken frequently by DH and sometimes DDs, and have a chocolate/junk habit. But I also eat a lot of healthy stuff and once our CSA starts up will be piling on the fresh veggies.

I am thinking thyroid or maybe depression, or a combo. There is a lot that has gone on in my life in the past 5yrs that I don't really feel like I've recovered from. I was on meds for a while but didn't feel like they helped. I would have to try a new med.

But I really wanted to try going "natural" first, to see if I could get symptoms under control. I am going to the gym today and will work to get back into that habit.

BabbyO
05-03-2011, 03:02 PM
On a totally different train of thought. Have you changed any of the foods/brands that you typically ate recently?

I lost about 15-20 lbs in 6-8 weeks when I cut soy out of my diet. Now, that was on purpose because of DS' allergies and it was a pretty big shift (soy is not easily avoided in the typical American diet)...but I was amazed at how much of an impact it had and how quickly.

kboyle
05-06-2011, 03:15 PM
Same thing happened to me about 2 hrs ago...they checked for thyroid stuff, they did all sorts of tests with no results other than low vit d...I just upped. My diet and have gained it back since then...fwiw I'm REALLY underweight so a loss of 15 lbs was scary.

Twoboos
05-18-2011, 01:48 PM
Small update - went to the dr today and told her my symptoms. (One of which I had forgotten to post here is a LOT of hair loss. Like that post-partum hair loss you get after you have a baby.) She said it definitely sounded like thyroid and they would do the full panel.

Using the scale there, I have lost 16lbs in the past year. She said I looked great but was too thin. (My BMI was below 20, it wasn't even on the chart.)

I expect test results by Monday. We'll see what happens. I'll report back.

kochh2
05-20-2011, 11:11 AM
yikes, just reading this... If you look at my siggie, you will be scared to see that i am "weighing" in on this-- I lost nearly 1/3 of my body weight in a short period of time, like 2 months, so, if they find your thyroid to be fine, DOn't take NO for an aswer and see it as a gift from God... Continue to search for an answer, because, I agree, if it were that easy... we'd all be models LOL!!

Twoboos
05-23-2011, 08:54 AM
OK, the dr called this morning (at 7:15, wth!).

She said all the blood work and test results look fine. Great, in fact.

I am having her send me all the results so I can see everything and research what's up. But Thyroid was 2.19, and she mentioned another one (TH4?) that was .99. Apparently my blood sugar was 2pts low, whatever that means. Lyme disease was negative.

And so... she recommends me starting on Lyme treatment! WTH?! I'm supposed to take the antibx for a week and let her know how I feel, and schedule more blood work for 6 weeks from now. Um, not feeling too confident about this.

I am not sure if I'll really start the abx. I have to do some more looking into what the symptoms could be. Even though we live in a high-tick area, I doubt it's lyme. I've never seen a bullseye rash or found any ticks recently, even though I know it's not required. Just not excited about a potential 6week course of abx for no concrete reason.

Ugh I was looking forward to getting an answer as to why I feel like such crap all the time. <sigh>

artvandalay
05-23-2011, 09:04 AM
Hmm. Can't comment on the thyroid stuff (I know there are lots of people here really knowledgable about thryoid levels and imagine they will chime in) but taking antibiotics for lyme disease when you tested negative seems really weird to me.

I hope you find answers soon.

tiapam
05-23-2011, 10:53 AM
i'm going to repeat from my previous post in this thread:

Since the weight loss is pretty recent, your test results may not show any problem right now. So if you do have the tests and they are "normal", you should def have them redone in 3 months (max) if symptoms persist.
Ask me how I know!

You and I are the same height. I weighed 104 lbs. and was still testing "fine". Thankfully a retest some months later confirmed I was hyperthyroid and i got treatment.

IIWY I would print out a symptoms checklist and go over it very carefully. there may be stuff going on that you have not noticed yet. mary shomon's about.com website has a good one but i don't think it's exhaustive, so you could look for others too.

also, you really should read The Thyroid Solution by Ridha Arem. a lot of thyroid books concentrate more on hypo but IIRC this one has quite a bit on hyper, including a lot on the mental/emotional aspect of it. ask your spouse to read it and see if he "sees" you in it. It has a lot of patient stories in it.

don't know that to think of the lyme thing. i did just watch a documentary about it and it scared the crap out of me. i actually thought that a lot of the people who suffered lingering symptoms could actually have undiagnosed thyroid disease. not so crazy when you consider that thyroid disease can be triggered by a physical illness. though i suspect if you have thyroid disease, the loss of your mom and dad so close together could have triggered it,

did you have the thyroid antibodies test? i think that one could be useful to rule out grave's or hashimoto's.

BelleoftheBallFlagstaff
05-31-2011, 03:13 PM
Thyroid is my guess!

lovin2shop
05-31-2011, 03:45 PM
I recently had Thyroiditis, which was presumably triggered by a previous infection that then traveled to my thyroid. Since you said you were recently sick, I immediately thought of thyroiditis. My OB first noticed my that my thyroid was enlarged, but all the blood work came out fine so he didn't have me pursue any further treatment. Fast forward a couple of months, and my bloodwork came back very hyperthyroid and I was definitely feeling the symptoms strongly. For me, it was an unrelenting feeling over being overheated, which led to insomnia, forgetfullness, and jitters bordering on anxiety. I didn't get the weightloss (sigh!). The good news is that Thyroiditis will usually go away with no treatment. Other than take lots of blood tests to see what was happening and nuclear scan to rule out other problems, I haven't had to do any treatment.

Whether you do the antibiotics or not, I hightly recommend follow up tests on the thyroid.