not hungry, not eating

hi all--

its been a week since my knee surgery and i'm still just not hungry.

i'm 16, 5'4", 118 lbs prior to surgery. i obviously am completely sedentary since i'm on crutches and living off my couch for the last week. but i haven't been hungry at all, and i'm only eating when i have to in order to have something in my stomach to take my painkillers. this tops out at about 800-900 calories a day. 

i know this is bad... but i'm just not hungry, and not doing ANYTHING at all. any advice? should i push it up to 1,200 even though i'm not hungry for it?

thanks--

You can try to increase your liquid intake, drink some of your calories. I was laid up early this year for 3 weeks basically unable to get out of bed, didn't have much of an appetite, a lot of the calories at first where simple foods, and gatorade/juice/soda....

Most narcotic painkillers really mess with the digestive track, and can supress appetite, so that may be a large part of why your not hungry (or don't feel it).

Are you sure you're not hungry? Or are you convincing yourself to eat less because of your eating disorder?

Wow, Prudence; that's pretty rude! You're making an assumption that doesn't need to be made. She's asking if she needs to eat more. If she had an eating disorder, I'm sure she wouldn't be asking a question like that. I know that there are people on CC that do have that problem, but I'm beginning to notice a lot of people on here are beginning to assume that everyone who asks a question has one! & if any of you do happen to assume such, I'd really recommended being nicer about it. Who's going to listen to someone that comes off that rude? Seriously!

Anyways, try to do what the previous poster recommend & get your calories from what ever you can. Gatorade, a snack here or there, soup is a good one. I know it's a pain. I'm rarely hungry when I'm sick or on pain meds, so I know what you mean, but do try. & make sure to drink LOTS of liquids! I know when I'm sick or on meds, I tend to drink much less than I should & dehydration can be a scary thing.

Hope you feel better soon!

Uhhh, from Claireabelle's profile:

i'm currently in treatment for anorexia/EDNOS/OCD.

I think Prudence's question was a legitimate one.  Being sick and having a wooshy tummy is a perfect excuse to convince ourselves we don't need to be eating.

To answer the OP, you need to eat as much as you can handle.  For one, it will help you heal.  Two, eating so low of calories will make your body cannibalize your muscles.  You're gonna need all your strength to hobble around. 

Maybe something like a protein shake would be good.  You need that protein.  Eating/drinking mostly simple sugars (soda, juice, gatorade) is never a good idea and it definately won't make your stomach feel any better.

Get well soon.

Original Post by claireabelle0:

any advice?

 

 Yes.  Since you have eating problems already, call in support.  Parents are the best first step since presumably you live with them.  You're going to need lots of care, encouragement and supervision to get past this point.  It's very easy for  a drop in appetite to lead to a relapse in ED recoverers.  You need 2000 cals a day to maintain your weight so start at 1200, then go 1500 then 2000...... Nourishing soups/broths/drinks aren't a bad place to start when trying to get your appetite back.

Good luck