Do you lose weight during tx.

I'm in week 3 and haven't lost 1 pound. Do everybody lose weight. I'm eating as much food before the tx. Why is it people lose weight becuase they lose their appetite or the medicine makes you lose weight.

[portann]

I treated for 48 weeks and didn't lose weight. I can think of one person (Isobella) who I believe gained weight during treatment.

I did lose my appetite -  as well as muscle mass. :(

My impression is that most people lose weight on treatment and many gain weight after treatment.

[CoStudy]

I am in week six of treatment and am up and down in weight by about 5lbs. I seem to be hungry all the time and try to eat something as ofton as possible. A friend of mine was in treatment for 12 weeks (nonresponder) and lost 25lbs. He gained it all back as soon as he was off treatment.

[carol411]

I took my 9th shot yesterday.  Starting tx I was 50 pounds overweight.  I'm losing about 2 pounds a week.  If I were in my 30s this would be a wonderful side effect, but one of the many appalling discoveries of being in mid 50s is that there are wrinkles lurking under the padding!!  

[pcds]

I gained 10 pounds during 12 weeks of tx.  Couldn't eat properly, now I plan to return to my prior eating habits after a few weeks and my anemia is gone.

[WriteItDown]

My husband did not lose weight. His appetite decreased slightly, but he exercised less and ate more sweets, so it evened out.  I think many people lose because of lost appetite, but certainly not everyone.

[RobertBeWell]

Doggone it, I was hoping to drop 20 when I start treating :-(

[IMstacie]

Well, I lost about 20 lbs during tx.  I think I ate as much, I even made myself protein drinks every morning. I could hardly walk so exercise was non-existent.   I have gained about 10 lbs back.  

[mountainair]

Hi, I am in the Bocep anemia trial - in wk 9, I lost 5 lbs in the first 2 weeks but then gained it back over the next month when I discovered the ice cream 'diet' made me feel a little better.  I was 50 lb overweight when I started and was hoping to lose some.  I am having great tx results: VL went from 21M c/ml on day 1 to undetected at wk 6, but I am having a lot of sx.  I used to be very active and now it's all I can do to go up the stairs to bed!!

[vik97]

During my first treatment 2 years ago, I gained about 15 pounds.  This time I have been very careful about what I eat and I lost 20 pounds, so far.   My present height and weight is 6' 0", 170 pounds.

[positude]

I am in week 18 of treatment and have lost 30 lbs. so far. My appetite is poor, most of the time nothing sounds good at all, but I think it is mainly due to the vomiting I have struggled with.

[nygirl7]

I lost about 20 pounds in the first few months (no appetite and then I went hyperthyroid before flip flopping to hypothyroid).  After treatment I gainned it all back plus a ton more and that took me a few years to fight away again.

People have to be careful after treatment it seems to all come back in your stomach for some reason.........and it's terrible to try and get rid of it just doesn't want to go, nothing like pre-treatment (also could be my hypothyroid but I don't think so because it's pretty common)!

[Diane12855]

I'm glad you asked this question because I have been wondering why I'm the only one who is gaining weight while everybody else is loosing it... now I know it isn't just me.

My problem is that the nausea is worse if my stomach is empty... or approaching empty, and smooth, creamy stuff feels the best, so it's ice cream or yogurt to the rescue. I've been trying to cut back on the ice cream but....... Plus the fact that I'm not moving around nearly as much as I did before tx, so my muscles are going to pot too... (not literally)

On my last labs my T3 was a little on the low side, so my thyroid may be running a bit slow too. I guess that's just the price we have to pay to get a healthy liver.

Diane

[mikesimon]

I lost about 35 to 40 pounds. I was so nauseous that I couldn't look at food. That was the worst side effect I had - constant nausea. I had that throughout my 2 treatments with Peg-Intron. My 3rd treatment was with Pegasys and nausea was not much of an issue during that treatment.

Mike

[Trinity4]

I got skinny, very skinny and I ate anything and everything I wanted and just could not keep any weight on.

[springroll]

I can't eat at all when I'm nauseaous.  Just thinking about ice cream makes me woozy.  

[nygirl7]

I couldn't look at food either the nausea was just overwhelming.  I remember gingerale being hard to keep down.  If it weren't for the fact I was so completely emaciated I would have stuck to my ice pops and left it at that. Desperate times call for desperate measures.  ;)

[tjrusert]

I lost almost 20 lbs while I was on tx.  But I was a non responder and I stopped tx last Dec.   I have gained 7lbs back since I stopped.  But I think part of the reason that I lost weight was because I ended up with a throat infection and couldnt stand to eat.  Everyone is different as far as the weight thing is concerned.  I lost most of my weight later in the tx.  But it isnt a weight lose program I would recommend to anyone.  The main thing is to take care of yourself.  Be kind to yourself because tx is hard.

[hcvJames]

I'm into shot #30 (week 36, they've stopped tx 3 times for 2 wks) and I've lost 30 lbs. I don't think it's tx though, it's what I've given up eating for the tx. Cut out added salt, and beef/pork cuz of the fat content, a few other things. The weight just keeps coming off. Only loss of appetite is cuz I eat tasteless food.