Does anyone suffer from lack of appetite?

[Tikell]

Hi all,
I posted a message about have a severe lack of appetite. I have Ankylosing Spondylitis with associated IBD. A segment of my small bowel in he right mid abdomen and right abdominal pelvic junction is thickened however my terminal ileum appears to be normal in appearance. My tummy never growls for food. The only time I am hungry is shortly after having a humira injection. Has anyone experienced this? I am so worried. I am surviving on less then 1,000 calories a day and I have to put my food in the blender and liquify it to get it down. Please, Please, is this normal for people with IBD or Crohn's. thanks so much for helping me.

 

[hawkeye]

I had a lack of appetite last year and earlier this year before I had my stricture removed.

 

[Sef0912]

I either have a severe lack of appetite or am extremely hungry. Some days I eat a lot and some days I eat nothing. I would recommend seeing a nutritionist and having him or her work with your GI as a team to find some sort of supplementation so that you are getting your daily recommended amount of nutrients, regardless if you are hungry or not. I am not an expert by any means, but I think it is more about getting the nutrients that are needed, not about how much you eat or don't eat. I also have started to notice that when I am on hormones, mainly birth control, that it effects my CD medication and this can cause me to not have an appetite. We are working on this, but I have been referred to a nutritionist to help address all of the issues.

 

[IofNewt]

I am either completely without an appetite for weeks or I am completely ravenous for weeks.

Never just a regular appetite.

If I start having symptoms or a full on flare up, my appetite stays away for months. That part I believe to be more of a mental thing... fear of eating something to cause yet another flare.. than an actual symptom.

 

[UnXmas]

I never have any appetite. I don't remember what being hungry even feels like. I'm having a gastric emptying study soon, because I have gastroparesis. There's a thread on this here: http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=58833
Your reasons for lacking appetite may differ from gastroparesis, but some of the advice on that thread may still be helpful to you.

Liquids often are easier to get down than solids.Can you manage semi-solids, like yoghurt, thick soup, custard and other puddings? Eating little and often is standard advice for lack of appetite also, and eat calorie-condense foods. You don't want to be filling up on low-calorie fruits and vegetables, so instead make sure you get your vitamins from meal replacement shakes (Ensure, Fortisip, etc.) or vitamin pills. Smoothies are a good way to get fruit in too.
You will have to force yourself to eat, even if you're not at all hungry.

You will not survive long on less than 1000 calories a day. If you can't improve on this soon you should seek more medical help to address the cause of your lack of appetite.

 

[Tikell]

hey Unxmas, I too rarely if ever have an appetite. My tummy never growls except after I take a humira injection. Then I will have random bouts of hunger but it is not consistent. My last MRI showed a thickened segment of my small bowel in my right mid abdomen BUT, my terminal ileum is not involved which is unusual for crohn's. So, who knows what is going on but all I do know is that I am so tired of struggling to get food down. If I could take humira every few days then maybe I could eat but I know I can't do that. Geezz, this has been a nightmare for years and years now. My doc is thinking of putting me on 6 MP. But am so scared of side effects. Thanks for any help.