Appetite, hungry one minute, appetite gone the next

[hope23]

Weight gain has unfortunately been a side effect of Amitriptiline for me, an added 18kgs i didnt need,
Im 5 foot 6inches or 165cm and have floated around 60kgs since i was 18(now 28). Started the Amitriptiline(in December 2021) and as we increased the dose to effective levels, it unfortunately increases your appetite hence the weight gain. Very frustrating and also confusing as i still have the loss of appetite issue at the same time
I feel your pain at cookiebaker

 

[cookiebaker]

yeah, i have been tried on several different meds over the last year & a half (more for the neuropathy and anxiety than anything).. and weight gain was a side effect of many of them..

if i could figure out what is causing my leg edema and fix that, i bet i could lose at least 10lbs just in excess fluid

 

[hope23]

Its never just straight forward is it!! Wouldnt it be nice to just have straight forward issues every now and again

 

[sunkacola]

I have been on amitriptyline for years, although it has been years now since I took that. I never gained an ounce while I was taking it.
In fact, weight gain has never been a side effect of any medication I have taken in my life.
Too bad, in a way. I might even take a drug if it would help me gain weight, unless of course it would all be lost again once I stopped taking it. I am close to the same height as you are, Hope, and struggle to stay above 100lbs.

 

[hope23]

I have been on amitriptyline for years, although it has been years now since I took that. I never gained an ounce while I was taking it.
In fact, weight gain has never been a side effect of any medication I have taken in my life.
Too bad, in a way. I might even take a drug if it would help me gain weight, unless of course it would all be lost again once I stopped taking it. I am close to the same height as you are, Hope, and struggle to stay above 100lbs.

My dose of Amitriptiline is very high as low doses had no effect, im on 125mg a day with the max dose being 150mg. We used the low titration increase until we got to a level where it helped manage my symptoms.
Its such a hard one because being overweight or underweight isnt helpful either way and has its own downsides and effects

 

[JayCS]

an added 18kgs i didnt need,
it unfortunately increases your appetite hence the weight gain
as i still have the loss of appetite issue at the same time

Wow 18kg! It put 6kg on me and I thought that (10%) was a lot. In 4 months, I spose longer 'd've added more. But it wasn't via increasing my appetite, and my appetite never makes that much difference to my weight... that'd second the last bit ('loss').

 

[hope23]

Wow 18kg! It put 6kg on me and I thought that (10%) was a lot. In 4 months, I spose longer 'd've added more. But it wasn't via increasing my appetite, and my appetite never makes that much difference to my weight... that'd second the last bit ('loss').

Yip, mine was definitely an increase in appetite, ive always been a little eater and that definitely changed, i went from almost never clearing my plate so pretty much always clearing it and being hungry for a snack a few hours later, my snacking definitely increased, it wasnt so much id eat like a boat load more at each meal but i was constantly hungry so snacked a lot more, they were still healthy snacks but still, and pair that with my ability to exercise plummeting due to how bad my FM was was just a terrible combination. Ive learnt to do i guess youd call it micro exercising like short bits but often and working myself up gradually to doing more, but current flare up has made even that little bit really challenging. I fatigue very quickly and that usually leads to then not being able to do much at a time, im trying to persist in doing short bits and focusing on exercises i know dont exacerbate or aggravate my symptoms or that days problem areas

 

[cookiebaker]

trying to persist in doing short bits and focusing on exercises i know dont exacerbate or aggravate my symptoms

all we can do is try..
I am kind of in a similar boat right now.. seems everything is flaring up all at once.. makes it hard to do even little bits.. but i keep trying..
the one thing i think that keeps me from completely stiffening up is living in this old house.. our bedroom is downstairs, bathroom is upstairs.. so, multiple trips a day (and night) up & down the stairs, LOL

 

[hope23]

all we can do is try..

Sometimes it feels like mission impossible but we do have to keep on keeping on
Its such an interesting conundrum because you talk to people who arent sick and they either do the whole push through or go the whole other direction and say when your flaring its your body saying rest, you just need to rest until it ends. Its so hard explaining to healthy people that neither method or option is the right one, its finding that balance and finding ways to do things even when you are flaring up because stopping everything cold turkey(in my experience) has always made my flare ups a million times worse and usually they last longer too, again only my experience,

i try hard not to make generalisations because FM effects individuals so differently so when i say things like the above i try to make it clear that its been my experience and about the way FM effects or works for me not how it will be for everyone

 

[JayCS]

its finding that balance and finding ways to do things even when you are flaring up because stopping everything cold turkey(in my experience) has always made my flare ups a million times worse and usually they last longer too

Hmm, yes... I get my 'balance' to reduce flare ups to a minimum by - if necessary - increasing stints of gentler activities if I need to decrease "big" activities:
For the severe overall Ache I have to take most activity requiring "walking" or "socializing" etc. down to a minimum as long as it takes, and it gets me into trouble quick and long if I don't. I still very often overdo it and my wife rightly chides me for it.
However I then make all the more sure I keep or get all other symptom areas under control, which can mean 2-5h/d of stretches, exercises, acupressure, massaging, relaxation etc.
Best example is my basic back exercises, which I never ever ought to miss out.
Coming back to the weight gain: I think it was the continued gentle exercising kept me fit despite the weight gain, like thru all flares.

 

[hope23]

For me its finding that happy medium which at times isnt possible for me personally but it is always the goal for me. Stretching is something i do multiple times throughout the day which often means me on the floor in the office at my jobs stretching, i have always been extremely flexible which has turned into one of my indicators on how bad i am feeling each day as my flexibility is greatly reduced the worse i am. To put it in perspective i can with my legs locked straight can put my hands flat on the ground with complete ease, on a bad day i struggle to reach halfway down my shins, (and this is in no way sciatica). Just muscles scrunching (is the best description ive got.) And reducing my range of movement.

 

[Badger]

Could be wrong, but I seem to remember hearing that bone broth a good choice for nutrition. They say yogurt is very good for your gut health, I may try some although I find the taste sour. Giving soy milk a try at the moment, just not in my tea yet. It's interesting to hear of other sufferers finding the balance difficult. People may not be able to appreciate what it's like with this vicious cycle of weight gain and low activity.

 

[cookiebaker]

i can with my legs locked straight can put my hands flat on the ground with complete ease,

i used to be able to do that.. but since the lower back problems (and excess weight in the belly area) that is no longer possible..
i can still brush my knuckles on the floor tho, on a good day.

sadly, however.. today is not a good day.. more on that in my own coming thread..

 

[JayCS]

Stretching is something i do multiple times throughout the day which often means me on the floor in the office at my jobs stretching, i have always been extremely flexible which has turned into one of my indicators on how bad i am feeling each day as my flexibility is greatly reduced the worse i am. To put it in perspective i can with my legs locked straight can put my hands flat on the ground with complete ease, on a bad day i struggle to reach halfway down my shins, (and this is in no way sciatica). Just muscles scrunching (is the best description ive got.) And reducing my range of movement.

hope, this is all pretty similar to me!
Differences just being never having been that flexible, and after loads of stretching practice having got back to fingertips on floor every day, even on bad days.
But I do love the word scrunching. Praps scrunching up? I've been saying "seizing up", altho that sounds like cramps/spasms. Sometimes just "shortening". Every time I remain in one posture. It used to be after 10 minutes, but it's got better now. Sometimes then takes 1 minute, sometimes 4, to get moving smoothly again, sometimes only 'more smoothly' is possible.
To me this all fits because while it seems to be my joints it's actually the tendons hurting, and the muscles somehow shortening.

What you're sharing is also similar to the way all my muscles still have full power on good days or at least in good moments, no sedentary weakening at all.