# I'm losing weight and not in a good way **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 27, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187 "2020-08-27T22:02:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/1 "2020-08-27T22:02:17Z")
In the past three months I’ve gone from 210 to 183. The problem is, I’m not eating. I get hungry but nothing sounds good. And when I try to force myself to eat, I get “full” after just a few bites. And if I continue to force myself to eat, I gag and can’t swallow the food. I have no idea what’s going on. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/2 "2020-08-27T22:09:01Z")
I have the idea that you really really need to make an appointment with your doctor. Bad things could be going on and you need a medical professional to rule those out ASAP. It’s probably just stress or situational depression or something — or even a healthy subconscious modification of your relationship to food that allows you to lose weight without feeling deprived — but let’s make sure the bad things aren’t going on. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/3 "2020-08-27T22:19:01Z")
Bezoar. 😁 I agree with **Hunter** ; Hie y’self to an MD, PDQ. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/4 "2020-08-27T22:36:50Z")
Thanks guys. I plan on seeing a doctor next week. I don’t know which to root for: Psychological or medical. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/5 "2020-08-27T22:45:49Z")
Does food smell or taste any differently to you now? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/6 "2020-08-27T23:38:45Z")
Some of your symptoms sound like when my mother suffered from a hiatal hernia. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/7 "2020-08-27T23:43:09Z")
You sound like my cat, who just had an appointment with the vet today. But you probably don’t have tapeworms. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/8 "2020-08-27T23:56:24Z")
I had to look that up. But that sounds spot on, Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![HammondsCollapse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecb155/32.png) [@HammondsCollapse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HammondsCollapse)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/9 "2020-08-28T01:26:58Z")
It could be anything really, hope the doctor gives you good news. People with pancreatic cancer lose a lot of weight preceding a diagnosis. I once developed what I think was an ulcer from taking too many NSAID’s and I felt full very fast and it was painful to make myself eat anymore than a few bites. I stopped taking the medicine and it went away. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/10 "2020-08-28T01:50:23Z")
See a doctor, ASAP, and please update us. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/11 "2020-08-28T02:10:34Z")
Never mind! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/12 "2020-08-28T03:56:41Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Any ideas? I felt this was for about 5 weeks following contracting Lyme disease. Have you been outside a lot? Any weird rashes? If no rash (many people never get a rash!!) did you at any point three months have any weird but brief flu symptoms, especially with strange muscle pain? The latter for me was horrific neck and thigh pain in addition to extreme fatigue - that is the one other symptom that ultimately lasted weeks, - fever, headache, and chills in the 3 days before I started spouting rashes all over. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/13 "2020-08-28T04:08:47Z")
Please let us know what the doctor says. This definitely sounds like a medical issue. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/14 "2020-08-28T04:44:40Z")
I got the same thing going on, but not so drastic. Just plain and simply apathy. I’m tired of cooking for people who don’t appreciate it, and tired of dealing with left-overs. So, I’ll just sit in my garage with the stereo cranked up and skip cooking for 2-4 nights in a row. Drink beer and be happy. Lost about 5 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Incognito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guy_incognito/32/3920_2.png) [@Guy\_Incognito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Incognito)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/15 "2020-08-28T14:39:13Z")
Grrr, you haven’t been dragging your butt across the carpet, have you? JK, make sure you see that doctor next week! ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/16 "2020-08-28T16:44:40Z")
Nearly 30 pounds in 3 months - does not sound ideal. Does sound like a hiatal hernia might be at play, especially the occasional difficulty swallowing. How do you do with liquids? If you can tolerate them, adding some protein shakes might be a way to get needed calories and nutrients. How are you feeling overall? Tireder? Peppier? (supposedly if someone loses excess weight they feel more energetic though it didn’t work that way for me). Any changes in your skin condition (dryness, easier bruising etc.)? Any changes in your bowel habits that aren’t explained by the lower volume of food? These are all questions I imagine your doctor will ask you. I suspect they’ll want to do an upper endoscopy. Those are easy. You skip breakfast that morning, go to the facility, they sedate you, then you go home, remembering nothing about it. Or perhaps a barium swallow or something - never had one of those, though I gather they are less-than-delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2020, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/17 "2020-08-29T09:37:46Z")
Yup. See a doctor and get checked out. Real soon. Two people I knew had a weight loss that was the first stage of cancer. That might not apply to you, but make sure that that is indeed the case. ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2020, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/18 "2020-08-29T11:04:25Z")
Google “symptom checker”, there’s one on WebMD, Just type in your symptoms in the box, then follow the arrows to go to successive pages and fill out additional boxes (medications, etc). At the end you will receive a list of possible conditions you can explore with your doctor. Write a list of your symptoms so you you don’t forget any or let the doctor rush you. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2020, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/19 "2020-08-29T12:05:55Z")
> [@Marion\_Wormer](#): > > Google “symptom checker”, there’s one on WebMD, Just type in your symptoms in the box, then follow the arrows to go to successive pages and fill out additional boxes (medications, etc) I typed OP’s symptoms into the thing and it said he may have [network connectivity problems](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LinpRhB4aWU). My first thought was also hiatal hernia. I had a coworker with one, she must have dropped 25 pounds over the course of a month. She was noticeably skinnier. As I recall, in her case, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to eat, she did. She physically couldn’t. IIRC, hers manifested as really bad heartburn, to the point where she was fighting to get every single bite down. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2020, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187/20 "2020-08-29T14:42:48Z")
Any chance you could have had covid, and lost your sense of smell & taste? It could be difficult to get food down if your brain isn’t sensing it as really food. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-losing-weight-and-not-in-a-good-way/919187.md?page=2)