weightloss during treatment

[ktee319]

How common is weightloss or weightgain during treatment?  I lost 7lbs in a month my first month of treatment.

[hopefulgirl38]

Hi there,

My partner has also lost weight, apparently according to his doc your metobolism goes into over drive.  Go with mygirl's suggestion, its an accuse to eat icecream and other good food.  Also, my partner has found the carnation instant breakfast and ensures are easier to handle than a lot of food.  Hope this helps,

[nygirl7]

You will be just fine I'm telling you those - milkshakes saved my life (heck they were just fun too different flavors different days......never got tired of them the whole time!)    ;)  It was one of the best parts of treatment for sure!

PS Just eat whatever you can when you can...........and make sure to use sprinkles and whipped cream!

[brianmo]

Thanks Trinity, I figured a few small gals would jump on and help. That all makes sense, I happen to love Ensure and those products I use for working out so I will contunue with those during tx. Also, milkshakes????  Can not get enough....

[Trinity4]

Hi Brianmo,

Hopefully you won't lose too much weight.  A healthy diet is important all through our life but during treatment don't worry so much about what you are eating.  If there are foods you enjoy regardless of fat content stick with them.  We need foods with a little extra fat when treating.  I didn't avoid sugar but tried not to consume too much.  Lots of us found ice cream really delightful during treatment.  I was around your weight going into treatment and lost almost 20 lbs at one point.  My doctor became concerned and so did I so I started supplementing my diet with Insure.  It really helped stabilize my weight and provided the nutrition I needed.  A few other liquid nutritional supplements are:  Boost,  Resource and Sustacal.
Try to keep eating even if it's only small amounts throughout the day.  Sometimes a large meal sitting in front of me was overwhelming and seemed to diminish my appetite.  I found eating small amounts throughout the day helped keep my appetite going.

Good Luck
Trinity

[nygirl7]

I too was very thin and the doctor was worried about me losing too much weight while on treatment.   It did happen and I looked like a skeleton. I just didn't want or couldn't eat like normal and then in addition I had a problem with my thyroid where i became hyperthyroid so it was a mess.

Anyway, if you can't eat make sure you drink things like Ensure and other high calorie type things (I never turned down one milkshake on treatment they were great in fact!)  and do your best.  After treatment the weight will come back (unfortunately it comes back too fast...adios milkshakes) and you'll be fine.

Plus - some people don't lose a pound on treatment and they gain weight (it's rare but happens). And also usually it does level out after a few months and you stop dropping such drastic pounds so fast.

Try to remember WHY you are doing treatment and when you look in the mirror think of all of the people that are jealous of you for looking like a supermodel. As dreadful as I looked there WERE people (women) that thought I was lucky.  Oh boy!

[brianmo]

this is a good question, one I had going on in my mind. I will be starting tx soon and weight is 116, normal for me  but I can not imagine loosing 10 or so lbs. What did folks do to keep weight on?  

[Trinity4]

Weight loss is very common during antiviral therapy due to loss of appetite.  I lost a considerable amount of weight during treatment and no matter what or how much I ate I couldn't gain.  After treatment ended, so did the weight loss and I'm back to my normal weight but it's a constant stuggle keeping the weight off.

I have read where several have gained weight during treatment.  I would think the more sedentary a person becomes during tx the less likely they are to lose a lot of weight unless of course they are not eating properly.   It's very difficult to eat some days but you have to force yourself so that the body gets the nutrition it needs.  The immune system is accelerated by the meds and needs fuel to keep the fight going.  

Good luck with your treatment,
Trinity