Steady Weight Gain no change in diet/exercise

[Miffny]

For the past 2 years my weight has gone from 55 kilos to 67.6 last time I saw the Dr it was 66.6 than within 6 days another kilos plus was gained I have not changed my diet other than cutting out red meat/poultry& fish I have kept a food &exercise diary for 3 years noting if anything I eat much better now .I am tired ,stomach bloated 24/7 ave been diagnosed lactose intolerant by endoscope stomach biopsies a well as Gastric emptying  testing showed my stomach was not emptying so I am on Motilium TID I am at my wits end I have MS also & am exercising so much I am fatigued I don't know what to do.I saw a Endocrine Dr he was so vague & focused only on bloated stomach & sex drive (which is dead) I am 47 yo female going crazy with night sweats & all the above but tests show nothing but stomach problems.
I asked for another test as i feel it may be my thyroid
Test  June 2006
TSH 3.0
FREE T4 11

Test taken 16th Jan 2008
TSH was 1.84  so it has dropped a little but no test was done that showed the Free T4.

What do I ask for & what can I do I am eating whole foods no junk never have & only drink water or tea with rice milk/lactose free skim no sugar.

[Miffny]

Hi there, where about are you in Oz ?, my Dr is useless .Been absent as I'm so darn tired I feel as if I could sleep forever :-(

[tiredforever]

Hey I am also from Oz!  Perhaps you  could come visit my dr!  You are right to keep trying as I just put my weight aside (try going from 60 to 95kg!) and tried to concentrate on all my other issues instead  (& so missed getting my thyroid tested until recently).  I know some of these immune things have similar symptoms & I don't know much about MS, but first I was told I had IBS and then Crohns disease (& to eat more fibre even tho I kept telling them it made me sicker!!!!!!!) (both wrong!!)  But I think malabsorption might present in a number of these illnesses, and perhaps protein is naturally harder to digest. If your gut isn't emptying then is can't be digesting properly I would think.  The worst part is when I got down to eating not much more that stewed fruit & moosh, I still couldn't lose weight as the body just shuts down in the end.  If you are gluten intolerant, it only takes a tiny bit to give you a reaction, it took me a bit to realise gluten was in so much food.  I don't have much to suggest other than keep trying & don't let the doctors wear you down.  Best of luck

[Miffny]

I am almost Gluten free as I thought what with being diagnosed lactose intolerant I may have developed gluten/wheat hassles too so I have nearly phased them out ,I will have to see a Dr specialising in nutrition before I go crazy I have seen a nutritionist but she just said cause I also have IBS ,MS & the gut emptying problem just up the fibre which  did & bloated even more as the multiple health probs I also am hard to get a 100% diagnosis the Dr's get so cross with me as if I am vain !, it's my health I am worried about & the extra weight is not helping at all.I was never much of a meat eater but I did love chicken but even that gives me gut pain so you are right I am probably deficient and a bit malnourished as I am to the point I stress so much I even weigh out 10 grams of raw nuts & a cup of fresh vegetables for dinner.

So glad you saw someone that really helped you out & I too would be eternally grateful as I feel like a fat anorexic !!.

Cheers from Australia  & thanks so much for posting:)

[tiredforever]

Have you tried a gluten free diet?  I am hypothyroid but also gluten intolerant  (some of the symptoms are similar) & also pernicious anemia (also some similar complaints).  I knew straight away that the celiac diet was right for me (within a week I had improved significantly).  I am close to your age & it has taken me 15 years to get worked out finally, so keep trying anything you can think of, as I am a new person compared to me six months ago.  Doctors often focus on one thing, & most often decide its nothing important (stress!), but in my case in was several things making me hard to diagnose.  Also I gave up eating meat a long time ago as I coudn't digest it (it just sat in my stomach giving me cramps) but that too caused me deficiencies, so even tho I was getting fatter, I was malnourished. (a fat anorexic!) I now take Bpep capsules (hydrochloric acid) when I eat meat. I went to a doctor specializing in nutrition & he tested everything he could think of to get me worked out (eternally grateful)  I don't know if that will help you, but good luck.