Weight loss

[Chalky2]

I would like to know if you have copd and are losing weight is this the end of the road or can it be managed hope someone has an answer for me. I have been in hospital 3 times this year once for pneumonia once for heart failure and once for a chest infection. My husband couldn’t cope with the care I need and while in hospital he unfortunately took his own life obviously I am devastated and I don’t want my weight loss to cause me to die very shortly after all what has happened I need my kids to not face another death so soon sorry if I haven’t put my story well as I can’t focus at all please help me. Pauline

[CDPO16]

I am so sorry for the loss of your husband, Pauline. Perhaps your situation has some bearing on losing weight along with recurrent illness. I don't think it is necessarily a sign of anything else. I hope that if you are able to take care of yourself, perhaps with the help of your doctor, and get the support you need that your weight may stabilise.

My heartfelt condolences to you and your family, Carole.

[joyce74]

So sorry to hear what you are going through. Unintentional weight loss is something that should be mentioned to your doctor to put your mind at rest. Hope you have family round you that can help you out. Maybe you can get some care at home too. Hope things soon start to feel a little easier for you. Best wishes.

[Hacienda]

My Heart goes out to you Pauline, Your going through a very Stressful Time, no wonder your losing weight. You must go to your GP or get help with a Triage Nurse. So Sorry To hear about your Husband, my Condolences to you & your family. Gentle Hugs Hun. xxxx

[powderpuff]

Hello Pauline 💐

With all you are contending with atm it will be taking it’s toll & the weight loss is more than likely due to shock.

Please don’t leave it, speak to your GP because there are things that can help.

Thinking of you & your family. X

[Gingerboy1960]

How awful for you Pauline, no wonder you are losing weight. I hope you have plenty of support around you. Please speak to your GP about something to help with weight loss and to get you through this difficult time x

[Tetrazzini]

Sorry to heat your worries. I had pneumonia and I lost 10kg, It took me a full year to reco ver and I am still here seven years on.

Good luck and best wishes, John

[Larsson7 in reply to Tetrazzini]

I had three chest infections in 8 months last year,lost nearly 2 stone.

Right off my food,thankfully a holiday in Portugal was the start of my recovery,now back to heath and regained my Weight.

I now have a scarf round my neck each time I’m out in this cold weather(a tip I got on here) and I have anti bacterial hand gel with me all the time.my wife says I’m Paranoid,well I’d rather be well and Paranoid.

Quick story before I stop,was out with some friends for a pint,and went to the toilet in the bar,noticed a guy had not washed his hands before he left the toilet,that is what you are up against.

Good luck

Andy

[Corin1950]

Sorry to read this news Pauline. What a terrible shock for you and your family.

While your weight loss is probably due to the stress you are going through at the moment, decreased appetite is also a feature of Copd as it becomes harder to eat as breathlessness increases. It’s really important to maintain your weight and eat healthily to keep your immune system well.

The doctor can prescribe weight gain drinks but not everyone can tolerate them. There’s lots of information on here and online about weight gain as this subject crops up regularly.

Take good care of yourself and sending you and your family very best wishes

Corin

[Corin1950]

healthline.com/nutrition/18...

Hope the link works

Corin

[Bingo88]

Sorry for your loss,Pauline. Think the others here have given good advice, Love, hugs and Thoughts are with you,, Take Care Brian

[pegbl]

So sorry to hear about the loss of your husband. With all you have been through with illnesses and stress you are bound to lose weigh. It will take some time to recover, do take care of yourself and my deepest condolences. Xxx

[Croydonia]

So sorry for you Pauline, what a sad story. No wonder you’ve lost weight, all that time ill in hospital, and then the loss of your husband. Try to eat as much fattening food as possible, and take it easy, your children need you to be around for them. Best wishes.

[Oshgosh]

How awful for you and your family.i hope you are managing to support each other at this horrible time.

You need to speak to your GPabout the weight loss,perhaps they will prescribe you some diet supplements.

Also need advice about caring support and what’s available to you.

Perhaps contact CITIZENS ADVICE about any benefits you may be entitled to.

Do you have access to a Respiratory Nurse,?.one visited me when I came out of hospital,she gave me loads of support ,answered all my questions,however silly they were.

She offered me Pulmonary. Rehabilitation.

It’s exercise and education.

I was worried it would make me more ill, but the physio was very supportive,they dont expect you to do more than you can.it gets you out as well.

As m disease is life limiting, I go to a Living Well group at the local hospice weekly.

It is so helpful to me.

There are quite a few of us with lung issues,2 with COPD.

It’s good,we support each other.

There’s a wide range of therapies on offer..

Also ,am sending you an online hug.you deserve it.

I’m sorry this is such a long post,it you have emotional and practical issues.it would help you if these were sorted out.look after yourself

[Ergendl]

So sorry for your loss which has come as another hammer blow amid your challenging situation.

Please ask your GP to refer you to a dietitian, who should be able to help guide you with your diet and can also prescribe supplement drinks if those are appropriate.

((((Hugs)))).

[Lance47]

So sorry about your loss. I know from my expeience it is difficult to keep a focus but you can and will carry on. i have had Copd for 16 years, heart failure issues for 10 years, lost my wife/carer to Cancer 3 years ago and now I am nearly blind with Glaucoma.

I lost a lot of weight over an initial period and then found out that the body needs more calories every day as coping with the COPD uses so much more energy.

Get help from Doctor and Social care at home. dont be too proud to ask fr help.

[katieoxo60]

Hello Pauline, sorry to hear you are going through such a bad time. Everyone is different obviously your husband struggled with watching you suffer, that is hard for anyone. I am sure you will stay strong for your children but also greive over your husbands death. This will be a very difficult time for you and my heart goes out to you. Do try to find time to have time to yourself to greive and I hope you can stay as well as possible remebering tears can often help in deep sorrow. xx

[Saracat23]

I’m so very sorry for the loss of your husband Pauline and that you’ve had to go to hospital so much lately. I was diagnosed with stage 4 COPD eight years ago and the first thing that happened was that my weight plummeted and I went to below 8stone (from 11 stone). I realised that such a low weight might make it harder for me to fight off infections and generally make me worse, so I fought to put it back on. Do ask your GP as they can prescribe supplementary drinks to help - they also have all the vitamins and minerals you need too, so are very helpful. Apart from that, if you find meals off putting because they seem like too much at once, try ‘grazing’, where you nibble on smaller things throughout the day. Obviously you should try and eat healthily but when you’ve lost a lot of weight, sometimes eating something ‘naughty’ that you really like can literally be a lifesaver. At my lowest I had no help from the GP, they just said I should “try to eat more”! My daughters kept me supplied with Snickers bars and Guinness crisps between meals and although that wouldn’t be good long term, that helped me climb back up to 9.5stone and eating more helped me want to eat more. Someone else mentioned rehab, I’ve just started that and I think it’s going to help a lot. Please don’t despair about your weight, you can put it back on, preferably with your GPs help. So sorry again for all you’ve been through.

[Chalky2 in reply to Saracat23]

You have helped me so much thank you thank you xxx

[Durcot]

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Please be positive in your day to day a activity. I know it's tough not to think about what has happened but you now have to focus on just you. Read all you can about your illness and dont let your doctor give up on you. Gods not ready for you honey. Stay strong and fight for your life.

God Bless

[Dragonmum]

Pauline, that is heart-rending - please accept my deepest sympathy. I don't think weight-loss should be allowed to add to your burden, discuss it with your GP as there are lots of causes apart from the grief and anxiety you must be feeling, very naturally. My doctor has been trying to find the cause of my loss of weight - 14lb between December and June and just the odd pound since. Have had loads of bloods done, yesterday one for plasma glucose which I think could be for diabetes. It will get sorted in time and you are by no means at the end of the road, though I understand how it must feel like that. My thoughts are with you.

[ClaraC]

Sending sincere condolences to you & your family. You have been through a hard time & no wonder that you've list weight. It's one of the first things to happen with loss & your grief is still raw. Take heart that you still have each other & do your best to stay well with vitamins & minerals to subsidise your diet & make every day count.. Grief is held in the chest so let it out, it's healthy to cry. Healing vibes to you & your family xx

[Hidden]

So sorry for your loss Pauline, Perhaps speak with your doctor about the weight loss and if he can prescribe something that is going to help you gain some weight, as well as eating regular meals. Also if you phone the BLF helpline they will be able to advise you further.

Sending you loads of love, hugs and courage to help you through this most difficult time.

BLG Helpline: blf.org.uk/support-for-you/...

[Chalky2 in reply to Hidden]

I spoke to my gp way back in June when my weight started to decrease I had an endoscopy and two ct scans which didn’t show anything sinister.

[Hidden in reply to Chalky2]

That's good you had those checks, but even so you can still go back and ask for help to gain some weight, like a prescribed food drink in addition to your normal meals. x I had this problem many years ago and the doctor did prescribe food drinks to help me regain weight.

[Comino2]

So sorry for your loss.Wishing you all the strength you need to get through this difficult time. xx

[anng18]

Hi Chalky,

I am so sorry that you have been having such an awful time.

I've also lost a lot of weight since my mother and sister died. I saw a dietician and she advised drinking a lot of milky drinks, which could be fortified further by adding a spoonful of skimmed milk into the ordinary milk.

I think the fear the consultants have if your weight is low is that you will lose more weight, if you get an illness or infection and that could make you incredibly weak and lower your immune system further.

Do take care

[Nicholatracy]

So very sorry to hear about your husband. Hopefully your family will come together so you can support each other. With regard to weight loss, three stays in the hospital and stress are more than enough to make you lose weight. No harm in mentioning to your GP 🐞

[Spacecat1]

So sorry for everything you are going through know from experience how you are feeling for your loss. I have copd and after 3 stays in hospital and down to 6 stones they put me on a high energy drink which had all the vitamins my body needed I do have days where my appetite isn't good. I tend to mash up maybe a banana something not cooked with me. And I found yoghurts good. I had to see a dietician to help me. Have a word with your GP and see if you can be referred to a dietician or maybe speak to councillor to talk what has been happening in your life and about your eating they maybe be able to help you. Take care will light a candle for you and you are in my prayers. The forum are always here to bounce your worries we are here to.listen and help if we can.

[cofdrop-UK]

Oh Pauline I just can’t imagine the shock you must have experienced, especially whilst being in hospital. Please accept my sincere condolences to you and your family.

It’s no wonder you are experiencing loss of weight and I am glad to hear your doctor seems to be on the case with endoscopy and scans. I hope that they can get to the bottom of this for you.

Wishing you well

Love cx

[jackdup]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss and pray you are able to stabilize your weight and your health in general.

[Meg52]

Dear Pauline

I’m so very sorry to hear what you and your family are going through. You all need each other to help you cope with the loss of your husband.

I haven’t got COPD but have Interstitial Lung disease and have lost 11kg in unintentional weight loss in the last year, so I have some idea how difficult it is to put the weight back on. But with the terrible loss you have suffered you must get some professional diet help so you don’t lose any more weight.

I hope your family wrap their arms around you and give you all the support you need.

Sending loving hugs

Meg xx

[Ardraven]

Are you underweight now? Or if not are you in danger of dropping below a healthy weight for your height in the near future?

If neither of these is the case then it might be worth giving yourself a break for a few weeks and not worry about your weight as well as everything else.

If either is the case then definitely speak to doctor again.

If I feel at all anxious, stressed or down then my appetite drops dramatically and if the feelings are strong or don't improve for a while then I can end up losing weight noticeably. Given how you must be feeling it's no wonder you're losing weight. Please be kind to yourself. Do try to eat and do get help if you're worried about it or you lose more than you can afford while staying a healthy weight but don't worry even more or beat yourself up about it if you're struggling to eat. Help is available and it's not your fault and it's totally understandable that you have trouble eating enough at this time in your life.

If you don't know what a healthy weight for your height is just say and I can post a link that will tell you.

Hope you get this resolved without it causing any further distress and you have my sympathies for everything you've been through already.

[Susan1200]

My sincere condolences to you and your family.