I'm never hungry & seeing/smelling food makes me sick

[TheCheeseLady]

I used to always love food. I never had a problem with it. I'll admit that I was and still am a picky eater, but for the past 6-7 years, I've never really been hungry. I seemed to have forgotten what hunger feels like.

I have no problem with my wieght or with the way I look. I'm active because I play sports year round. I'm currently 17 years old and this never being hungry thing tends to get in the way of many activities. Being that most people my age enjoy going out to eat or pigging out at a friends house, it poses many problems for me.

I can't eat big meals at one sitting, and I must force myself to eat small snacky stuff. Some times throughout the day, if I see or smell food, it can make me sick to my stomach. I've been to the doctor concerning the stomach issues, but the only thing they came up with was that I had a little more acid in my stomach than normal. That wasn't what was making me not hungry though.

I went to a psychologist just to see if it was something to do with, well...me. But nothing came out of it. It is quite frustrating to deal with and nobody seems to understand. Some people even take it as rude when I don't eat. I guess I could live with the eating snacky stuff throughout the day thing, but my biggest concern is me being sick to my stomach most of the time.

I feel sick every morning. The sickness usually tapers off by the afternoon. Some people I've talked to said to try to eat breakfast, since I never do/can. I've tried to force myself, but it jsut seems to make matters worse. Are there any people out there with some of the same symptoms? Are there anyways to stop myself from feeling nauseous?

[sheamus]

whats up this is my first post. to be honest i have had similar symptoms. i never eat cuz it makes my stomach sick. i dont know whats going on ive gone to a gastro doc and they think its stress. i have trouble with almost everything and i feel like im losing it. I use to love food. give me feedback if you know of anything

[shay_shayL]

When i see or think about food it makes me sick. I love food but for the past week or so i don't even want to think about food. It is mostly meat. I always loved meat and now i can't stand the sight,smell.or thought of it. Meat is not the only food that does that to me but i don't know what it could be.i never want to eat now because i am scared of what i am going to feel like after words.. I want to go to the doctors but i am scared that they will tell me i have a eating disorder or something. Honestly I LOVE FOOD. I have love the weight that i am! I am 17 years old and a female and i cant be losing my appetite. If you know anything please tell me what i could do?

[sunny1978]

My mother has dealt with this problem her entire life she has also been extremely skinny her entire life, My mother also is/was an alcoholic, so she did get calories from beer. The doctors never listened to her because she started gaining weight a few years ago and was even told she needed to watch her weight. When she explained that she doesn't eat, she is never hungry the smell of food makes her nauseus and even throws up.
A few moths ago she started vomiting and couldn't even hold down water. Trips back and forth to the doctor did no good, they could not find anything wrong, About a month ago she was hospitalized and she was completely depleted of all her vitamins, she lost her ability to walk and has been completely confused, they diagnosed her with encepalopthy  and it was caused from her not eating for so many years and then throwing up. My mother is not anerexic or belemic she just could not eat she was never hungry and if she smelled food it made her sick. She has been getting treated with vitamins, folic acid, B1 (thiamin), potassium and several other things. She literally was starving to death. Even though they still do not know why.  They are currently treating her with Remeron, it is suppose to make you hungry, help with the nausea and vomiting, she is showing great improvement. We still do not know if she will be able to walk again because she had starved for so long, but she is back to her senses again, so that is a start.
Just like with my mother Doctors will not listen, and I do not know why, but do not let this continue. It could kill you it almost did my mother.. Make someone listen, in the mean time make sure you take vitamins because you can starve your brain, especially of B1 Thiamin, and I promise you do not want to go through what we have been threw. Ask your doctor about Remeron.

[nlcgrnhlgh]

your 'problem' is very similar to mine.
i came across this site when looking for an answer on the web. no look. all i came close to seeing as a possible answer, was either diabetes or a form of depression.
i myself have always been a fussy eater, never being able to eat a full meal, or if i am to go out to a restaurant for tea, this means that if i want to finish that meal, i am best not eating anything else all day.

it's been like this for around 3 years now.
it's more of a 'faze' for me, completely going off my food and not even realising i haven't eaten. the smell and sight of food will make me feel sick to my stomach, most of the time i will just heave as there isn't anything inside of me to throw up.
my longest 'faze' lasted around a month, i just drank constantly. but i knew it was bad when i ended up fainting in the showering. yet, i seem to just pray it will end. the few people who know, either think i am doing this intentionally or give me some advice to go to the doctors. but really, what can they do? i would rather to just go through the 'faze'
but it scares me and i want an answer, i'm just worried of what it will be.

nicola--***@****

[SassyLassie]

My dad has this problem, and I do too at times. For me it is depression and anxiety, but for dad, I am sure it is a Zinc deficiency. I did some research on Zinc, and I found that if you are low in this mineral, you will not be hungry and food will taste "weird". My doc did a zinc test on me and sure enough, I am low. I would add a zinc supplement to your diet and give it a couple of weeks to really kick in.  

Oh, how is your sense of smell? If you do not smell things, like food, then it won't taste good either, zinc will help this problem as well.

Food allergies can sometimes cause the problems that everyone is mentioning, but that is not too common.

For all of you, try adding a good multi-vitamin with a large amount of vitamin "B" in it, the B vitamins will help the nervous system and they have been known to stimulate the appetite as well. Also, take a multi-mineral, this will give you the needed minerals your body needs. Also, try eating smaller amounts of food through-out the day, and eat what you crave, don't worry at this point about the calories, sugar, etc, just start getting some nourishment into you. Smoothies are a good start and are good for you. If you like yogurt, try eating some of that, just anything that you crave, this will be a good start and hopefully, the stomach aches and nauseated feelings will get better.

[Nearlyblonde087]

So I also have the same problem. It does matter whether I want to eat or not... as soon as I take a bite of something my stomach says no way and I feel like gagging. I haven't been to the doctor but I'm sure it's not anything physically wrong. I have always been able to eat and I think it may just be stress from my last couple years of college that's making me lose my appetite. Either way... I found a website that gives a few suggestions on how to increase your appetite (legally). I haven't tried any of it yet but I figured I would put it up here for everyone...

http://www.ehow.com/how_2252323_increase-appetite.html

Hope this is helpful.

[charles_darwin]

Hello, my situation is very similar to yours. I rarely feel hungry and most of the time have to force feed myself meals, then often throw most of it up(often being like once in every 6-7 meals). Also like you, the smell of food can make me sick, especially if I have recently eaten.
The only thing that I have found to help without fail is cannabis... sorry if you didn't want to hear that. It really works though, give me one joint and ill be able to eat a supersized meal and still be starving. Munchies are absolutely amazing.

[sum12stupid4u]

Hey I'm kinda going through something similar right now. I never feel hungry anymore at all, and I always feel dizzy, tired and nauseous. This gets especially bad if I eat... Most of the time I don't even want food, but if I do try to eat, just a few bites in I'll start feeling dizzy and nauseous, and I'll have pain in my upper abdomen. I recently discovered that meat greatly exaggerates this reaction. But, when I was around your age, the smell of certain foods would make me so sick that I sometimes would have to go to sleep and I would sleep for nearly an entire day just trying to get myself to stop feeling sick. I couldn't eat breakfast or I'd hurl. I also couldn't remember what it felt like to be *actually* hungry and when I was in school people mistakenly thought I was an anorexic because I would read through lunch and let someone else use my food card. So here goes:

I have neurocardiogenic syncope which counts for a substantial amount of my problems, but isn't likely to account for me getting sick when I smell food, and I don't think it causes appetite loss.

I will say though... that when I was in school, I *always* felt sick. It was especially bad in the mornings, just like you. I eventually figured out what was doing it. It was definitely emotional/mental, but I could never pinpoint why. When I'd wake up in the morning (even though I barely realized it) I was always filled with a sense of dread. The idea of going to school was worse than actually being at school. It was the weirdest thing, I would be sick to my stomach  five mornings out of the week, and then (unless something was planned for that day) I was fine for two.I would go all day during the week without eating.. and sometimes would go 2+ days with no food at all. Then on the weekend I felt good enough to eat normal sized meals. I barely payed any attention to this pattern, but did one day realize what was going on. My anxiety just runs *that* deep. I have a horrific fear of the unknown, even if the unknown is something simple or stupid.

Such as: I love the show Family Guy. I also love Smallville and Young at the Restless. When the latter two come on, their almost always or always brand new episodes. So no matter how bad I want to watch them, sometimes I'll wait for long periods of time before I watch them and when I go to turn it on, I just feel sick to my stomach. Whereas when I watch Family Guy, I'm familiar with 100% of the episodes, and since there is no storyline that moves from episode to episode, I feel no sense of impending doom if I watch it. So I'll watch the same episode of Family Guy 30 times even if I have a list full of brand new shows that I love.

Although I doubt watching tv or going to school is what is making you feel ill, (but hey, ya never know), you might think to sit down and consider if such a psychological trigger exists. It might even be hard to find one, because I went 21 years before I figured out that anxiety had that big of an impact on my life. So you might not think you're anxious... but nausea feel surprisingly similar to anxiety.

[ruffmagruff]

ok, you are all saying you are not hungry, and FOOD makes you sick. and when you take a bite of SOMETHING you want to throw up.

FIRST THING  we have to ask is: WHAT DO YOU EAT...???

i fear that you are meaning doritos, or cupcakes or prepared soups or some mysterious processed food, like bread

FOOD INTOLERANCE/ALLERGIES/SENSITIVITY ARE MORE COMMON THAN MOST PEOPLE THINK.

digestion is a fickle thing sometimes, a food that you could eat alone might make you sick combined with another.

FIRST THING TO DO: try WHOLE foods seperately. as in eat just one fruit. or one vegetable, or rice, or beans, or meat. alone, separate from anything else. not any processed food as they are high in cotaminants and allergy prone foods.this should help you identify what is ok for you to eat, and what you are reacting to.

common food intolerances are to: wheat, dairy, peanuts, treenuts, soy, yeast, vinegar, citric acid...looking in preprepared or processed foods almost every kind has a potential allergen of some kind. you may always be trying to eat FOOD, or SOMETHING that is harmful to you, but there may be plenty whole foods you can tolerate

so try this and post again, and you may just see you all have certain foods that you dont want to eat and certain foods that you can eat...

try steamed vegetables (preferably organic to avoid pesticides), rice, beans, meat, or rice with vegetables, beans with vegetables, meat with vegetables. avoid using additives or sugar at first. next try adding spices such as ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, turmeric, and herbs such as rosemary, basil to improve digestion and add flavor.

towards health!
good luck
and much peace

~ruff

[bbq33]

I had the same problem you have. I had a colonascopy and found out my large intestent where it meets the small intestant was very enlarged. The doctor said this could be caused by constipation once in a while. It will make you not want to eat. He put me on over the counter citrical and the condition cleared up in a few months. you might give it a try.
bbq33

[mikes1992]

You should try cannabis it may not legal but its the best way. Its used in some countrys to treat anorexia and nausea (suffered by aids and chemotherapy patients). Cannabis is one of the worlds greatest medicines and can be used to treat hundreds of illnesses.

[spongee]

i get the same, but even the sight of food make me want to be physicly sick, the smell on food is horrible and im getting headaches as well as pain in my stomach, the doctor said thers nothing they can do, they gave me some medicine for acid reflex and it made it worse, they gave me 2 rounds of different tablets and that didn't work either, it just made things worse. i just want to be able to eat like a normal 17 year old, help.

[moonsilverk]

Hi I just recently started up with the same thing... I'm a 17 year old girl and everyone thinks it's strange how a food-lover suddenly looses her appetite... Most foods and smells make me feel like crap, especially greasy foods. The only foods I can eat is hot tea with lots of sugar and sugary pastries. I can eat other things, too, but only in nibbles. When I skip a meal and then eat later, even when it's a small amount, the feeling is terrible. I get a wierd form of heart burn with it too. It acts like heart burn but instead of a burning sensation, it's cold and I feel like I drank a gallon of water. I still get the burps like normal heart burn but other than that... yeah... I've had a past with anxiety and depression, but the last time I was really anxious, I couldn't fill my stomache fast enough so I doubt it's anxiety. Hoping for some advice on what it might be and how I can eat again. Thanks~

[alli336]

I have had these same symptoms for the past year. After discussing this issue with my doctor, a neurologist, a nurse practitioner, and 2 psychologists, we have come to the general consensus that it all relates to my depression. I am so focused on my issues dealing with depression that food is the last thing on my mind. However, the longer I go without eating, the sicker I feel and the harder it is to eat again. The best thing you can do for yourself is continue to stay active, reach out to others, and maybe see a psychologist on a regular basis to figure out where the problem is really coming from. Good luck to you!

[smardiamond]

Cannabis is the only way. I'm a 21 year old full time student/ part time worker. I have had the same symptoms now for about 4 months. Food grosses me out. I get super sick to my stomach and If I don't smoke then I don't even think about eating. I also work at a resturant, when I'm in the back the smells of all the different foods make me sick to my stomach. I never have energy, it honestly is a struggle everyday. I just wanna go back to eating normal and having a normal appetite. I am super nausues in the morning from  6-9am usually. After that I dont have nausia, I just have 0 appetite.

[QuanYin]

Your body is wise. Listen to it. If you don't like the smell of cooked food- don't eat it. If you don't like the smell of meat- don't eat it.
Eat raw vegetarian foods- they smell great, your body will love them and you will be healthy as long as you learn a little about raw food nutrition and listen to your body.

[ysimon]

Eat when u hungry, don't when you are not. When you feel like eating choose wholesome healthy food. Love your body!

[Badlilgrrlie]

I second the getting your zinc levels tested comment. I used to have a lot of off and on years where my appetite was either normal or non-existent. Being thirty now I can clearly see that during the times my appetite was gone, I was also eating a poor diet (mostly because I was poor, lol) and often partaking in other unhealthy habits like smoking and drinking. Ramen noodles don't exact top the nutritional charts and I believe I read somewhere that smoking and drinking can negatively affect your zinc levels as well, so I had a triple whammy going on. Zinc supplements helped restore my appetite and as a bonus it helped clear up my face.  I also find that it relaxes me (like a high spaced out feeling) but I don't think that's a common or expected side affect. Of course, the long term solution was to eat healthier whole foods, quit smoking and limit my drinking.  I wouldn't recommend zinc supplements as a long term solution since they can deplete other elements your body needs. If you work to create a healthy lifestyle, your body will get all that it needs in order to function well. If you want to try zinc out to see if it helps, I'd recommend 50mgs daily and cutting them in half to 25mgs if they cause you any discomfort (tummy problems). You MUST take WITH food because it will absolutely cause an upset stomach otherwise. Good luck!

[helper_21]

as of now, my friend is going through this. where she doesn't have a good appetite and doesnt like the smell of food. so she's wondering if its a disease or if its just her. if anybody has any information, id like to know so i can help her figure out what's going wrong. thanks in advance.
P.S. im telling her if it has anything to do with depression or if its her vitamins. she takes her vitamins but she doesnt know if she's actually depressed or not.

[conceredblonde]

I seem to have the same problem as a lot of you. I have always been athletic with a healthy appetite. I would eat 3main meals a day and snacks. The past year just the thought of food turns my stomach or watching someone else eat makes me sick. I can cook big dinners but I can't eat them. I can't even eat an apple or a sweet. Literally nothing! What the hell is wrong with me??? I'm not losing weight which is odd and I'm not trying to. I get a constant pain in my stomache just under the rib cage on the right. Have been to the drs and had scans but they can't find anything wrong so what is wrong??

[SomethingsWrongWithMe]

I have had the same problem for the last 13 years. I used to have a normal appetite, loved food. During a period in which I was financially strapped, I didn't have the means to eat more than one meal a day, if that. I lost a lot of weight, and since then, I have had problems with my appetite. My stomach can grumble, but I don't have a desire to eat. I have normal thirst, but the thought of eating makes me sick. If I try to eat, it takes me hours just to finish one small meal. It is so depressing. The only thing that helped me was a drug my doctor prescribed years ago that helped to stimulate my appetite. I haven't had insurance for a while now, so I haven't been able to get the meds anymore.

I have always had depression, so I don't think the depression is a cause of this. Something went haywire with my body during the time I wasn't eating, and it has never righted itself. I am so desperate, I think I may try cannabis, but the few times I tried it in the past, I don't recall it giving me an appetite.  

[Bettyhumpter]

I'm the same age and I eat really balanced and healthy. I never drink soda or eat junk food anymore. I feel horrible and I don't know why :(

[GRITSbybirth]

I HAVE A POINT! I was raised knowing the importance of whole natural food and i havn't had a problem with my weight, but within the last year or so I have had the problem where i will not get hungry for 2-3 days and during those days i force myself to munch (1 snack size chip will last me the 2-3 days) then after that, out of no where it feels like a knife is stapping me in the gut. That is when i know i have to get something in there and the ONLY thing that will not make me gag is Mirical whip and white bread, and there is no nutrition in that. The only time I fell like I can really eat and enjoy food is after enjoying cannibis. The way it is being treated as a "narcotic" is truly terrible. From what i have read in these posts is that people have gone to the doctor and recieve no results.I belive that cannibis is our medication for this and you can disagree with me and put all these "facts" in my face, but i guarentee you have never even tried it with a good frame of mind. Every one wants the pills and artificial drugs to make them better,and if you do that is alright, modern medicine is amazing and helps many, but you are also ok with all of the side effects that drug is going to give you to treat this ONE problem. As long as you do not have that stupid frame of mind from all of  comercials,ads,ect... have told you, you will enjoy food again. And to all the nay sayers, i take a multi vitamin,a multi mineral, potassium,magnesium,liquid B12, Royal jelly and zinc,and i take them all within two days. Most of those are supposed to help with appetite. Help is right infront of you, we have suffured too much and people have come close to death beacuse of this.

[TheCheeseLady]

Wow, this is so old. I don't even remember writing it. Man, that was a bad time.

I'll give an update.

I will say, overall, I'm doing better. Not as sensitive to food. Went to a specialist and the doc said I had MALS (Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome). It was a relatively new concept. Stating that most of the people who have it are young, athletic girls. I fit the description. The ONE key effect I didn't have was pain. But everything else fit the bill. Did a scan and found the ligament was indeed cutting off an artery, a staple in their findings.

I underwent laparoscopic surgery to correct it. The before and after pictures they showed were astounding. That one artery was really squished, and they relieved the pressure by cutting the ligament.

So, if anyone is having pain or anything similar to that, this is a new concept you should at least bring up to your doctor. I was actually a part of the study.

Unfortunately, the surgery did not help me much. I think it works well for the pain, not the general nausea.

Went on for a year struggling after that. Finally got so depressed from the condition that I signed myself up to see a therapist. I was not depressed before the nausea. Depression came from having the nausea and not being able to do "normal" things.

We talked and came to the conclusion that my anxiety was probably the contributing factor. I didn't have bad anxiety when this first started (when I was 17). I functioned just fine. Didn't want to go to school, but wasn't anxious about it.

I eventual gave Paxil a try for anxiety. At around 30 mg, I felt MUCH better. Really, that was a high point in my life. I no longer dreaded going out to eat.

The doc who was giving me Paxil was mean, and for various other reasons not related to the drug itself, I stopped taking it. It's been around 5-6 months now without Paxil, and those sick feelings are coming back. Despite trying to think positive and doing breathing exercises from the therapist, it is really starting to take over again. It *****.

It's a bit of a trainwreck. My anxiety is heightened by these symptoms, and these symptoms are heightened by my anxiety. A vicious circle.

I'm now considering going back to the doc (a new one that isn't mean) and trying the prescription meds again. I feel that I stopped the Paxil too soon. I saw improvements, but I wasn't yet set in my life. Anyway, that's what has been going on.