Health going downhill-determined to make a turnaround

I had an appointment with a physician yesterday and went from being concerned and frustrated with my health to terrified.  I now feel like and invalid, a disaster waiting to happen.  I know an online forum can’t solve my problems, but I’m hoping I can find support and advice as I go through the process of trying to sort this out and fix it.

A brief history, I have been a pretty serious athlete all my life and seemed to be pretty healthy.  I’ve always been “too skinny” but it was always just laughed at and joked about my “fast metabolism.”  Since college though I’ve started having a lot of digestion problems.  I won’t go into detail there, but they progressively got worse. I also got interested in nutrition, and started making my own meal plans and calorie goals, trying to digest better, fuel my performance, and also gain weight.  I gained some weight, improved my performance, but felt progressively worse.  I also started dealing with a lot of injuries.  My dr. proposed a bone density scan, which revealed the beginnings of osteopenia—likely due to the absence of menstruation.

Since I graduated things have only gotten worse, although it didn’t really feel like it at first.  Actually, my training got better. I ran some great races last spring and progressed to train successfully at a high level this summer.  Then old injuries came back to haunt me.  And I started running slower and slower for no good reason.  I went back to my physician who ordered blood tests that showed I was severely anemic and have a low white blood cell count. 

I also started seeing gastroenterology because the problems I was having in my gut got worse, making it challenging to eat and also embarrassing me when I try to live a normal life.

I hadn’t really found any solutions from them, though.  They tell me there is a problem but not how to fix it.  The gastro Dr. told me to take mirilax which made everything worse.  I semi-recovered from my injuries only to have up and down training—great one day, feeling breakable the next.  Overall I feel like a physical mess.

So back at my followup today my physician wasn’t much help, but she did scare me.  She said she is honestly afraid for my life.  She said my organs and heart are at risk as well.  Then I went to work and had my boss talk to me and ask me if I had an eating disorder.  I just answered with what I know—which is that I don’t know, but if I do then I want to get better because I want my health back so bad.  Whatever’s going on I need to get it taken care of, but I feel like I’m helpless.  I have people telling me I’m underweight, anemic, and losing my bones, but don’t know how to fix it.  I hate being sick. I hate not running.  I miss my team, my running, and I’m scared I’ll never get it back. Plus I’d just love to have a body that works, not be freezing all the time, have better and more prolonged concentration, and not be so self conscious and embarrassed for my scrawniness!

Now I’m terrified.  I weighed myself this morning and am the lowest I’ve been this year. My doctors haven’t told me to stop training altogether, but I did.  I feel okay but I don’t want to find out the hard way that I’m not. 

I’m trying to make my training plan right now a nutritional therapy plan, the only thing I can think of to fix me.

I set weight quotas where I can start some Pilates and toning, easy cardio, and eventually a more restricted running plan when I reach my first target weight range.

I made a daily calorie goal of 3000, because that’s about what I was averaging with 2 hour practices every day.  I’m hoping without the physical training this intake will make me gain weight and hopefully heal me too.

I’m also making a strict meal plan with amounts I have to eat during the day.  In the past I prefer to just eat as I go and make sure I meet my calorie goal before bed.  But right now I think I need to make sure I’m getting a steady intake rather than starving when my stomach is acting out then binging to make up  for it.  I know that just messes me up more.

I know this isn’t a medical board, but do you know if there is an expert here who can tell me if my plan looks good?  The site told me to eat 1600 calories but I know I would be starving on that amount, which seems ridiculous when I need to gain.

I know this is a really weird scenario and I don’t expect anyone to have experience or a magic fix, but just in case anyone knows anything about such things:

What do you think of my plan?  Am I doing the right things?  Is there anything I should be doing differently?

I apologize if this comes across as a debbie-downer post. I am not trying to whine and be oh-so-sorry for myself.  Rather, I am determined to fix it.  Even if no one has a clue what I can do here, just a place to check in with my journey is maybe what I need to help me sort it out and make the turnaround I am determined to achieve.

Thank you to anyone who simply took the time to read this all. 

Well, I certainly took the time to read it even if I have absolutely no advice for you. I hate the fact that the physicians you seek help from can't help you. I wish you all the luck in the world and hope you quickly find the answers you are looking for to get healthy.

I suggest you take a look at the Weight Gain forum, specifically: The Aim is to Gain: Advice on Weight Gain, Whatever Your Reason. If you're physically active as well as gaining you may need even more than 3000 but 3000 is a good number to start on.

Have you been tested for celiac disease?

Im no professional, but this is what I would do (after getting my doctor's approval ofcourse - you should do the same).

  hey there. I took the time to read your post and honestly..the best thing you can do is eat those 3,000 calories and weigh yourself each week at the same time , same day, without any clothes on, first thing in the morning right after peeing.

this way you can see if you are gaining or losing in this amount after about 2 weeks or so.

If you are losing, then by all means increase your calories by 500, then once again keep a close watch of your weight changes.

All these problems seem to be a cause of being extremely underweight for a prolonged time...too long for your body to handle. Once you gain up to a BMI of 20 which is the ultimate best state your body can be in after malnourishment, you can maybe start seeing some major improvement.

You should rest. Dont train. Walk if anything everyday, at a normal steady pace so that your body takes it easy after so many years of intense training.

Have you had your thyroid checked? I know of so many women who are extremely underweight because they're hyperthyroid...It can also be some sort of gastrointestinal disease that you should really look into. I know the web is not the place to get diagnosed, only a professional can do this for you, but there are some great sites that give you a lot of information on all sorts of diseases that you might want to check out. I know there's thi sone site that you can check out all your symptoms, and they give you a long list of a lot of diseases that can be causing them. Once you have that you can ask your doctor about the diseases you might want to check and maybe that'll help a bit more. Either that or get a new doctor and have more tests done. 

But by all means, if you are at your lowest UNINTENTIONALLY then that's something to really worry about.

do the whole calorie thing...even if you have to eat 5,000 to gain DO SO. But you must gain.

Weight has so much influence on health..specialy the foods we chose to eat. Make sure you have plenty of healthy and calorie dense foods, as well a nutritionaly dense foods as well.

I hope you find a solution to all of this and you get your life and health back.

I know how it feels to feel unhealthy and at the brink of death...and I know how scary it is...so I can only wish you the best of luck and hope to hear the best of news again from you.

let us know kay?

take much care! and best of luck-xo

I think emilyd22222 hit the nail on the head. I'm not a doctor, but what you are describing sounds like it could be celiac. See this link: http://www.celiaccentral.org/What_is_Celiac_/ 13/gclid__CKuxl4nJ15cCFQEpGgodvyWzDA/

I hope you feel better soon.

So many replies already!  Thank you very much.  These forums can certainly distracted me with all this "extra time" without practice 2X a day!  I still can't wait to get my "real life" back--but I know when I do it will be a much better one.

To those who asked about Celiac:
I don't know, but I've had a host of blood tests these past couple months.  Don't you think they would have found a disease?

Lalabanana:
I'm going to have to check out that forum later, because I'm about to go Christmas shopping now [or never!].  I started reading the link and it looks helpful.  I surely  might gain on 2500 now that I'm not moving, but I'm going to go for 3000 just in case.

Bananee:
Yes, that's basically what I'm trying to do.  My  main concern is that while it sounds so simple, I have been doing that sort of thing for years now.  Not only has it gotten harder and harder to eat "whatever it takes, even 5000," but even getting close to that hasn't helped.  Since the stomach problems have been worse though I haven't been consistent, so I'm hoping consistency on top of copletelely resetting with a break from training altogether [not just less] will help.  It's all I can think to do since so much is linked to malnourishment.  And of course it's unintentional!  Heaven knows what I'd do to fix it--even now I am sacrificing my comfort and what I love most [my sports] in a desperate effort-so I certainly wouldn't be intentionally causing it.

Thank you again for all the kind words and wishes.  I will surely be back to update and explore the other posts!

Yours seems a complicated situation.

In your search for answers, your biggest problem - as mine was - will be finding the right advice. May I suggest that you consider an ayurvedic approach.  Once you get past the 'foreign' terminology,  this is simply a holistic, time-tested method that treats you as a human being, an not some disconnected group of internal organs.     Mind - Body - Spirit

In my own simple case, I had a history of 'gut' symptoms that were only made worse by doctor's opinions/ prescriptions.  A few years ago, I did some research and was fortunate to discover a safe, effective, inexpensive ayurvedic tea called Triphala. After taking it for a week, my lifelong gut problems began to improve and today they are but a memory.  With the aid of this Triphala - as a kind of digestion monitor -  I am now able to correct my diet so that I know what foods I can tolerate and what foods I should avoid.

Ayurveda is definitely worth some study. Here's a link: http://www.allayurveda.com

Good luck and God bless.

I agree with the other two posters that suggested Celiac's disease... although blood tests may determine whether you have it or not, you have to be tested for it specifically. I believe that a regular blood work will not test for the antibodies related to Celiac's and even then, you may need additional testing.

Take a look at this link - Celiac's disease...

I am a big believer in helping your doctor find the right diagnosis and not settling for a 'we don't know' diagnosis.. I really hope you find out what is ailing you so you.

Please keep us posted..

There is no bottom limit for gaining, so do aim for 3000 if you feel comfortable with that. :] Also, even if coeliacs may be a viable problem DO NOT cut anything out of your diet with a doctor's sayso.

Just to reiterate with Ellie said - do not eliminate anything from your diet until you have seen your doctor and she/he has tested you for Celiac's as this may cause a negative read on your blood work even if you do have it...

I hope you make an appointment to speak with your doc soon..

I would love to just do what my doctors say, but they won't tell me anything about what to do, except go to new doctors.  My Pediatrician and PCP through college just said "eat more."  I was rigorous about this throughout college to no avail.  Granted that's the core of my plan now, but hopefully I can tend to other variables so it works this time.  But I have to figure it out on my own, because the more I ask doctors the more they just keep telling me how screwed I am.  I need a solution!

hi, t2t,

you really really want this to get better soon, but it sounds like this is a problem that has been building up for a long time.   I'm sorry that your docs haven't been able to identify the causes yet, and you haven't gotten great medical advice.  "Eat more" is probably part of it but not enough, there are likely other medical issues.   Please be persistent. You will need to take charge of your medical care and keep going to doctors until you find a plausible explanation and treatment that works.

Doctors are also human. Sometimes they don't know what to do, and sometimes they are wrong.  Please keep at it and don't get discouraged.  You clearly have a tremendous amount of discipline to attain the athletic level you have. Now, you need to use that disclipline to take charge of your health care.

All I can say is, if you are SURE that there is a physical problem causing your weightloss and not 'just' chronic overtraining and undereating, then keep looking for answers! There are all sorts of food intolerances and allergies that could be causing your symptoms.

Hey,I dont have a right answer for you but really wish you the best and hope you feel better soon. I do a bit of rowing and was thinking while reading how in the lightweight category this same thing actually happens a lot of the girls.. a few were even knocked out of the sport for good because they trained through it and failed to face it. I know a few lightweights so I could try ask them.. in the meantime maybe you could look around the internet on that?? What you're doing now sounds good, upping the food & rest..I do sports science in university and although we havent done much on this yet, its sounds like a really good start.

Hi,

I agree with the poster Roncos who says you should give Ayurvedic treatment a try at least to solve one of your health problems. I also treated my past bad digestion with aryurvedic medicines. Though bodies react differently, it really worked for me. And had recommended it to a friend who used it and also her family. You'll be surprised that once your digestion is in order, every other thing may go back to normal 'cos the digestive system is like a power house which needs good care and maintenance for better digestion of healthy foods and assimilation of nutrients. Malnutrition is a disaster. So try to take sometime to study, ask more questions about holistic treatment and healing then go for it if you are convinced.

Best Wishe

Were you ever intentionally trying to lose weight? Or have your gastro problems been causing this?  You may have developed a food allergen.  Maybe try to eliminate one food group a week and see if anything improves....dairy, nuts, wheat, even meat.  I know that could be hard to do when you are trying to gain but it may also be easier to gain if you aren't in pain after eating. 

I work with a fellow who had really bad intestinal issues when he was in his 20's, he was even hospitalized for a fair amount of time because of it.  He said nothing fixed it until he became a vegan. Since then he hasn't had any real problems (like 20 years now).  Now I'm not saying that you need to do anything drastic and become a vegan, you may just have a really sensitive stomach to chemicals that go into processed foods or even chemicals put on fruits and veggies that we think are "natural".

Or this could be completely anxiety related.  I am a counselor and I worked with a girl who had severe intestinal issues before any anxiety provoking events (basically school).  She said she was fine on the weekends and even during the summer.  Any pattern to when this problem comes on?  If it is happening frequently, like daily, you are probably losing any nutrients you had and dehydrating yourself, which may be causing the bone density loss and other issues.  But I am just babbling now and I am certainly no doctor, those are just the thoughts that first entered my head after reading your post.

My Pediatrician and PCP through college just said "eat more." 

Ugh. I can sympathise with that. Okay, yes. Underweight, solution, eat more. But to just fob someone off with that is so rude. :\

Moving on... I've only ever heard about ayurveda, but while it may be worth trying I still strongly recommend trying a new doc. When was your last appointment with one? As frustrating as it must be to be so trial and error with your doctors, be persistent. Take a list of your symptoms to them and approach them with the possibility of coeliacs or an intolerance of some form. Be pushy if you have to be ESPECIALLY if you are paying to see them. It's your health in the end.

Lala:
First I just wanted to say that all your posts have been so helpful!  I am trying to catch up with everything since I got back, and just in case I don’t get back to everything you wrote I wanted to let you know thanks…and also that I hope things improve for your Christmas.  Hopefully you got all the kinks out early, right?

About the “solution” yes that is what is so frustrating.  Obviously I know to eat more.  But what about when that didn’t work?  What about when my stomach problems got worse and worse through college, and even TRYING to “eat more” became a painful chore? Took over my life?  Being blown off like that by my Dr. was almost hurtful—if I could fix it like that I would have gained weight ages ago!

Erin:
In response to your questions, I think you got it backwards.  The weight I need to gain isn’t weight I lost intentionally –rather it’s been weight I’ve been “intentionally trying to gain” for years now!  I don’t know what caused it, again, if I did I wouldn’t be so confused as to how to solve it.  I was underweight long before things got really bad [though I always needed to use the restroom as a kid I wasn’t always in distress/discomfort].  So was the stomach stuff another result of being too skinny or is it something that caused it?  And if the stomach stuff would be solved by eating more, how come I increased my calories by 1000 in college and things only got worse + no weight gained?  Those are the enigmas that leave me wondering if my current gameplan, so centered [again] around eating as the fix, is really going to work even if logically it should.

Cici:
That’s neat that you were a rower!  Do you still do crew?  I loved it and miss the team like crazy [I did it in college].  I am definitely better and more passionate about rowing, but both have been best parts of my life.  I’d love to hear any advice your lightweights may have used to turn things around.  The hardest part is that standard solutions don’t seem to apply to me.  But obviously I’m willing to try anything!

You would have to specifically request a test for celiac disease since it's not part of routine testing. A lot of doctors aren't familiar with it, even though it's fairly common. I've hear horror stories of people seeing doctors for years and giving up, then discovering that they have celiac disease. If I were you, I would request the test from my doc- the worst that happens is you rule it out.

This sounds like TEXTBOOK celiac! Funny, because I was just studying about it today (I am currently in medical school).  Many people are misdiagnosed with celiac, but yours sounds classic, because symptoms start presenting in childhood, with unexplained weight loss (diarrhea??) and major "stomach problems".  Kids/preteens tend to be short and thin (although this is a generalization). Are you of northern european descent by any chance? (IE: it is very common in Irish/Scottish/Scandinavian).

PLEASE call your gastroenterologist or pcp and ask for a celiac antibody test. If it is negative it could also be caused by a variety of other things: severe lactase (or other enzyme) deficiency, pancreatic or liver disease, diverticulitis or other structural problems with the bowel...

I know I am not a doctor, but you can message me if you do have questions-I have alot of material I can share. In the meantime, I would say try eliminating wheat from your diet and see if it helps (and barley and rye) and MAKE AN APPT!!!