Sudden Weight Gain but Not Pregnant

[joeshell]

I'll be 46 at the end of this month & just moved to a new state so I don't have the luxury of knowing any doctors.  In the last 1-2 months I suddenly gained 40 + lbs & look pregnant.   That seems to be where the weight all is.  A urinalysis proved negative for pregnancy on Monday & with my 3 grown kids I did not gain this much weight &/or so fast.  I just look pregnant & feel "full - heavy - tired & short of breath" most of the time.  Tomorrow I go for a Pelvic ultrasound w/a full bladder.  The day after I am scheduled for an Abdomen ultrasound - w/fasting.  Any idea what we are looking for or what could cause this?  I can barely eat because I feel so full & yet it's lately that I've gained the most weight.  I am not in pain, I just feel miserable - like over due.  When I asked at the doctor's office what could cause this & what we are looking for they said 'a cyst, tumor, or cancer'...... I would kind of like a bit more information if at all possible.  In the last week I gained another 10lbs & I know this can not be good or keep on.  

Thanks,
JoeShell

[QueenieC]

Are you seeing a naturopathic dr as well? Medical Drs are hesitant to do much and if your blood work was off on thyroid, something should be being done to help with that.

CHECK YOUR PROGESTERONE LEVELS!!! EVERYONE!!!! VERY simple blood test, count 21 days from your period and get a blood test. That is when you are supposed to be the highest, so if it is low, or low normal, you got problems...

[DwarfBread]

I am about to see if I can get a referral to the fertility clinic here where the doctor is supposedly a god!!

I've even read that in a lot of cases he finds an underlying illness rather than infertility, things doctors have missed for years - so I figured it killed 2 birds with one stone!

I'll keep people updated but I've heard there is a long waiting list so it may be a while.

I am also getting my progesterone levels checked this month which is something they've not done before!

[MotherHoefler]

I am a 42 year old mother of 5, in my last three pregnancies I had gestational diabetes.  Although, I wasn't properly tested in two of the pregnancies for it, so it went undetected.  I went from being 104 pounds prior to my third pregnancy to 173 pounds by the time I delivered.  I shot to that weight in the last two pregnancies.  After my 5th child was born, I went in to have a partial vaginal hysterectomy. I had a 6 pound fibroid tumor in my uterus, that the Dr. removed.  Amazing.  I thought for sure I would drop a ton of weight after that.I didn't.  Instead, I held my weight at 145 pounds, I had dropped weight at one point after spending 5 dys at Disneyland walking about the park for 12 hours a day. I dropped to 137, but within a month my weight shot back up to 145.  I tried weight watchers, I gained 10 pounds, I went to my local hospital to take a diabetes class since I am also a hypoglycemic, I wanted to cut through the nonsense and learn proper nutrition.  I followed the diet that was given to me and instead of dropping weight I gained.  Now I am 165 pounds, I am only 5'3.  I eat healthy, very balanced meals.  I went to my Dr. and told her my concerns, since I also suffer from panic attack disorder, I wanted to make sure more wasn't going on.  I had my blood tested, fasted for the test, it showed I wasn't peri- menopausal however my thyroid was just slightly off, but not enough that she felt giving me meds would be necessary. She had me redo my thyroid test, I cannot think of the name of it now, but it was more extensive then the first one. It came back with my thyroid being just slightly off, hypothyroid~ meaning it was slower, I tested my thyroid again six months later, again the number was the same.  She recommended continuing with my diabetic diet plan and adding at least 30 min of exercise 6 days a week to my routine. Her thought was that this would help with my weight, be a more natural way to control my anxiety and could fix my thyroid.  I have to admit, on the days I could find motivation even weeks, to work out, I did feel better and noticed some what of a decrease in the fat around my middle.  My stomach on any given day looks like I am 5 to 8 months pregnant.  It doesn't hurt, but its embarrassing.  People think I am pregnant, when clearly I am not.  The rest of my body looks normal size, not fatty.  My breasts are larger and my face is fuller.  I have depression, lack of motivation to do what I know will help me, I cry sometimes out of frustration and have nights where I just can't sleep well, so I am tired all the time, moody as all get out, and lazy.  I don't want to clean my house or do the things I need too to care for my home or family.  I am a stay at home mom.  My husband thought it might help me to figure out if there is something wrong or I am just gaining weight in the stomach area. If I  worked out my 6 days a week, lifting weights, and playing on the wii fit, since I don't like to be seen, and after two months , because it takes about that long for the body to respond, if I haven't lost any weight, then request more tests to be done.  I will say this, I did notice when I did work out daily, my anxiety was less, I slept better and over all had more energy throughout each day.  I even handled the heat better.  I think I will accept my husbands challenge, it makes sense to give anything a try at this point, and I promise to post on here what the results are at the end of the two months.  

[scissors38]

Have the same thing!, about 2 stone over the last 6 months, no change in eating pattern or anything else! It's horrid I feel heavy and stressed as I've tried everything to lose this weight and it won't go!, I'm 39 years old and weigh now what I weighed when last pregnant :(

[sweetifiwannabe]

Has anyone ever copied all these posts and taken it in to their Dr.??
Does anyone ever wonder why so many women are feeling the same
stuff and no one ever seems to have any real answers?
I know I do.
I cant afford to see a Dr and get a gazillion tests only to find out nothing.
I know I have put on an extreme amount of weight in the last few years
and some can be chalked off to menopause but I also see other women
older than I am that are NOT fat like this.
What are they doing? Does anyone know?
I don't ever ask an elderly lady why she is still thin and/or what she did to
maintain it ,,, nor do I ask them why or when they started putting on weight.
My boyfriends older sister commented to me one time , '' you got that menopause gut ''.
Ok well WTF is that exactly and what can be done about it.?!!
My whole life I weighed between 115 & 120 never having to exercise at all unless I wanted to,,,
then all of sudden a few years ago I start putting on weight and look like I'm 9 months pregnant,
and just as uncomfortable if not worse.!
It ***** and someone somewhere should be able to get some real answers without having to
go bankrupt...
We deserve some answers. We are NOT ALL crazy here and this thread
has been going on now for quite some time with more and more women
dealing with practically the same issues as when it first started out.
I don't get it.
Plus,, any time I try to diet,, It just seems like I add on more weight so I stopped even trying.
There is some common denominator here that were missing, OR that Dr's are missing or something.
It cant be just some huge coincidence that so many women are feeling the
same way with nearly the same symptoms each time.
Yet no real answers....

[tamdevon]

Did you find out what it was?