Worrying about weight/muscle loss

[CrazyFozzie]

I am a 32-year old male.  About two months ago, I had a severe anxiety attack while I was on a trip to Vegas.  I had been drinking and smoking for the whole weekend, and on the day we were supposed to fly back, my arms went cold, I got really dizzy, and I made my friends take me to the ER.  They diagnosed anxiety and possible dehydration.  Over the next few weeks, I got the dizziness again on occasion, and noticed that fatigue and weakness started to creep in.  For the most part, I am a healthy person - I also haven't smoked and have barely drank since the incident.  I had my GP run a lot of bloodwork, including liver function, a CBC, anemia, B12, thyroid, and diabetes test.  All came back normal.  However, my weight is down from about 143 (my normal weight at 5'6") to about 130.  It has been around 130 for about two weeks, in spite of the fact that I am eating at least 2000-2500 calories a day, which normally would make me gain weight in my non-exercising state.
I am constantly worried that I have cancer now.  I present no other symptoms other than fatigue and weakness, but I can't make my weight go back up in spite of me eating, and I feel like I am treading water.  I have a follow-up in ten days with my GP, and I'm likely going to ask him to test for every cancer under the sun, because I can't convince myself that anxiety can make my body burn calories faster than the rate I'm ingesting them.
I can't find any cases online of people experiencing the same thing.  I know I have anxiety, and I know it's not making this better, but I can't fathom where my weight has gone, especially since I'm eating.  I feel that the only way for me to combat my anxiety is for a doctor to run every test and tell me definitively that I am cancer-free.
My question to you all is:  is it possible that the anxiety is causing all of this?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[CrazyFozzie]

I'm glad to hear you've rebounded.  15 lbs down is pretty much where I am too.

[CrazyFozzie]

I've been pretty stable at about 130 for the last couple of weeks, but I've been eating what feels like a lot more than I used to eat.  In all honesty, I'm just coming around to the notion that it's all caused by anxiety.  Thanks to you guys and other stories online, as well as my wife telling me it's all in my head, I think I might finally be accepting the idea that I don't have some sort of giant tumor taking all my calories.
One thing I did today that made me feel better was work out a little.  I was glad to find that I could still lift the weights, because I was sure that all my muscles had left me.  That's another thing that's telling me that it's probably all mental.
I'm glad to hear that your exercising again.  Three months ago, I was riding a stationary bike an hour a day, and I was upset that I couldn't lose five pounds off of my lovehandles.  Now I'm thinking back to those days thinking that I was so much healthier than I am right now.  My goal is to work back up to that point, and not be so concerned with appearance - just enjoy being healthy.  I hope you stick with it!

[elhille]

when my anxiety was at it's peak, i lost 15 pounds in a month.  i'm slowly gaining it back.

[jess990]

I did gain back some of the weight, about 10 pounds, it took a while. I am trying to exercise again, but since I have been idle so long, it is a slow process. Don't worry too much about it. Are you staying at the same weight? I know I was scared when I was losing quickly, but it is common with anxiety.

[CrazyFozzie]

Thanks.  It sounds like you had a rough time, but maybe you've rebounded?  I'm hoping that I can do the same.  Let me ask you - did you put back any of the weight, or have you done any working out to gain it back?

[jess990]

Last year, when my anxiety was at it's peak, I lost about 15 pounds, really quick. I eat a lot, but don't gain either. I think that because we are using so much energy with anxiety, that our body burns it quicker, during anxiety, you are really using a LOT of energy. I also lost all of my muscle during this time from being idle. I am thin, but all mymuscle is gone!

[CrazyFozzie]

Thanks for the quick response.  I concur that weight loss does seem to be a common symptom with anxiety.  The thing that I'm having trouble with is that I'm eating enough to be gaining weight, and I'm not sure if most people lose weight from anxiety due to eating less.  Can you tell me how your experience was?  Were you eating normal amounts during your intense anxiety period?  And also - it sounds like you pulled yourself out of it and recovered.  Is that the case?

[jdb7560]

Speaking from experience, you can lose weight with anxiety. I lost around 25 pounds during three months of intense anxiety. I think on this forum weight loss from anxiety it is quite common.