To be fair she has always-always! commented on my weight. And it has always bothered me-lately since I have been more anxious than usual-(even for me) she said 'oh you've lost weight' and I said stop it right there. Please stop mentioning my weight. I hadn't lost but maybe a pound.
It is just with the skin biopsy and the other health issues-it keeps me on edge for her to keep saying it. It is probably a mother-daughter thing. The other thing is when my Dad was sick, friends used to comment on his weight loss and he denied it saying he was trying to lose weight.
Is loss of appetite normal? at this stage of post menopause? I have never been a breakfast person and now it's late into the day when I will start scrounging around for something to eat. Sometimes it's something good for me-other times totally not. I eat when I'm hungry I guess you could say. Also, I'm not on any bhrt. Just the occasional xanax to help me sleep.
Here is another weird piece of info. Ihave almost quit smoking, never smoked that much anyway. Now a pack last me 2 weeks or more. ach!
What a fix this meno mess has me in!!!

Hi there,

My appetite always takes a nose dive when health anxiety rears it,s ugly head,and then I get worried when people comment!!

Can loose pounds in a week from fretting,can feel my body surging with fear(adrenaline),then in turn doesn,t help with upset stomachs,which then leads to more anxiety!!

Also if of any help totally went off food few months ago,almost like "morning sickness" feeling,you know you should eat but the mere thought of food....... YUK

Take care

KathS

My family only ever notice weight loss, I have never been a breakfast eater for some reason when I wake up I feel like I have morning sickness very weird, by mid morning I start to feel peckish, I too have had to stop smoking but I have had to take Champix this is day 2 without a smoke which is a record for me but I still feel ikky in the morning if I put weight on my family will comment but thats not good either then you have to worry about the heart etc you can't win
I found that stress was a big thing with weight loss if I was extra stressed the weight would come straight off, meno is a very stressful time so my weight will be going up and down.

I also cannot eat when stressed or full of anxiety which is everyday. I'm very small framed so every little bit of weight I lose you can tell. I also was never a breakfast person. I can't drink coffee any more either. I will get an appetite in the evening so thats when I eat. My family just doesn't understand why I can't eat because they are just the opposite. I got a little upset when my gyno told me I was annorexic. I would love to put on weight. They should make a pill for appetite and if they do tell me!

I have been dealing with anxiety BIG TIME this past month. Appetite is definitely way down and losing weight like crazy. I'd say 10-12 lbs so far this month. This is scaring me ALOT. Which = more anxiety. A vicious, vicious cyle. Two years ago I attended Weight Watchers and fought for every .2 and .4 lb I could lose. This is definitely my first experience with appetite problems and weight loss.

I have been dealing with this for a few years. I'm 5'3" and weigh only 95 lbs. (although that's up from 91 lbs at my worst point). I have had lots of tests - colonoscopy, abdominal and pelvic ultrasounds, abdominal CT scan, celiac testing, thyroid testing, etc.. and everything comes back negative. I think that my hormone fluctuations have caused both IBS (diarrhea) and anxiety which then feed off of each other. That in turn has caused an aversion to food. When I'm feeling anxious about my stomach acting up, I lose my appetite. Then even when my stomach seems fine, I get anxious that it will start acting up again. While all the doctors that I've seen (primary, gyn and GI) all want to say that it can't be hormones, I see enough of a pattern that I believe they're wrong. It is hard to find sympathy from people because most people are struggling to lose weight - not gain it. Even my family members (including husband) get frustrated and tell me "just to eat more". Before all of this started I would work out 6 days/week and the scale wouldn't budge. Now if I have a couple of bad days I'll lose 2-3 lbs and have to work hard over the next few weeks to gain it back. The only benefit of all the testing is that I now know that I don't have a disease. I would love to get back above 100 lbs. I focus on eating healthy and forcing myself to eat something even when I have no appetite. That has at least allowed me to maintain my current weight for the past 6 months. I'm almost 41 and my other peri symptoms include short cycles (23 days), breast pain, disturbed sleep, occasional hot flashes and chills, muscle spasms/twitches and other misc fun things. However, the IBS and anxiety are the two biggest burdens.
If you find a pill that returns your appetite, I'd love to hear about it!!

nhgirl,
Finally someone who understands. I've been through the meno state already and wish this would end already. I'm 46 and never really had meno symptoms. Now 7 yrs later with no period the anxiety is killing me. I wake up every morning with this. It's so hard to function when your dragging butt just to get off the couch. And I know it has to be lack of food, but if I try to eat my stomach hurts.
I try and eat at night when usually I'm calm. So I eat whatever I can which somtimes it's not good for you but I need something. I totally agree with you about some people not understanding not being able to eat when they are trying to diet. Let me tell you it's just as a struggle.
I would love to hear other women who suffer this too.....
(((char))))

In the peri menopausal period I developed severe IBS. It manifested itself as spastic colon/ slow transit rather than diarhoea but was equally awful. I got to the stage where I had constant abdominal pain. I was stick thin and nosey neighbours even spread the rumour that I was suffering from anorexia nervosa which was of course, rubbish. I always felt as if something was eating up my insides. It was a sort of burning knawing pain. I felt as though I was intolerant to almost everything. At one stage I was having to manage on weak tea and rich tea biscuits. At full menopause all the pain and hypersensitivity stopped just as if someone had flicked a switch. Looking back, I realise that the hormonal imbalance affected my gut very badly and the doctors were ignorant and clueless!


XIII