Weight loss

[Colt]

For those of you who have trouble keeping weight on, how much of it is inability to eat normally, and how much is malabsorption?

 

[ThatGuy2006]

For me, it starts as malabsorption. I can usually tell because I start getting diarrhea real bad. Then, the pain after I eat is so bad, that I can't stand to even eat anything.

 

[NatalieMT]

I think it's probably more of the inability to eat for me, having been in and out with anorexia for the past 6 years it's very difficult anyway but I know with the Crohn's that if I do choose to eat I will end up with awful D in most situations (there we go with the malabsorption part!) and quite a lot of pain and the thought scares me. When I do eat I also often end up purging for the same reason named above, I think some of that might also be guilt associated with being eating disordered.

The whole food thing at the moment is proving very, very difficult. I was on the Elemental diet but all I could do was think of each carton as 215 calories and it was not easy to drink the required volume even though for me it was a 'safe' diet. Now with the reintroduction process it's not going well, I have an extremely limited intake at present. Dietitician wasn't happy with me for most part, I found it difficult to be open with her and psych are now trying to work the situation out for me. Most people can't understand that losing weight is comforting to me.

 

[ChefShazzy]

They go hand-in-hand, at least in my case. As soon as I start feeling unwell and get on the 'D'-train... I lose my appetite and stop eating the healthy foods I normally eat... I start turning to things like jello and pudding and sugary cereals... Maybe not the best idea, but the only food I can stomach.

 

[mRae85]

For me it is both but mostly I'd say it is malabsorption. I can feel well and eat like crazy but my body just never seems to take it in, keep it there, and turn it into weight. That has been a battle all my life. I have tried and tried many times to gain weight over the years, but just as things start to look up, I start shrinking again for no reason. There are some times when I have really bad stomach issues and just dont want to look at food let alone eat it, but I have tried to force myself to eat anyways. For the most part even when I don't feel well, like now, I still eat as much as I can... even when it means take a few bites then waite and come back 15-20 mins later for a few more bites.

 

[katiesue1506]

Mines both... malabsorption start first... then I flare really bad and just stop eating. Its a toss up between eating a little and not absorbing much and getting the feeling of pooing shards of glass or just not eating. Sometimes just not eating seems so logical.

 

[markymark19857]

Mines both, similar to you katiesue...except i dont usually get pain - when i flare i tend to get acid/ nausea/constipation instead of D and pain

 

[Colt]

Do you guys feel horribly nauseated after eating something while flaring?

 

[katiesue1506]

Only occasionally. If I've eaten too much a couple hours later I'll get really nauseous until I either fight it off or throw up.

 

[drew_wymore]

Both. Like others it sort of goes hand in hand. I am usually capable of eating 1 good solid meal a day otherwise it's a toss up. If I'm battling D then I eat and it goes right through me. If I'm battling C then I eat for a few days if I don't have a BM then I'm forced to take a laxative in order to not start throwing up which doesn't help the situation.