Chronic Pain - Weight Gain?

[RueBlu3]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone else who suffers with chronic pain/illness has noticed rapid unintentional weight gain during bad flare ups?

I have been pretty much bed bound since May due to pain flare ups, so I completely understand that my lack of exercise would contribute to making me gain some weight. However, I don't eat very much due to chronic nausea and migraines . Sometimes I vomit after every meal so I'm not even technically consuming food at those times. Despite this, I noticed that I have been rapidly gaining weight - I had gained over a stone in 1 month! That feels very unusual to me given my eating habits.

I feel like I am ballooning as if I am eating fast food everyday when I'm not. My clothes that fit me properly months ago are suddenly way too small. It's really affecting my self-esteem which is low enough already due to suffering with chronic pain and illness. Can rapid weight gain like that be caused by simply not exercising enough?

If anyone has similar experiences or any insights I'd really appreciate it.

[Madlegs1]

What medications are you on? Some actually cause weight gain as a side effect by retaining liquid.

You may need a diuretic , since generally this kind of gain is liquid rather than fat or muscle.

[RueBlu3 in reply to Madlegs1]

I'm on quite a few medications but they're mostly pain relief. I did suspect that they might be causing this weight gain but I read the safety leaflets in the boxes and they didn't mention anything about water retention.

However, I'd be inclined to agree with you as the weight doesn't feel like soft fat, it's more tight or stretched - like bloating everywhere.

[Bevvy]

I really think you should speak to your gp about this. From information you have given I am surprised you have gained so much weight in a month. As suggested by Madlegs1 I wonder if something else is happening, possibly water gaining?

[RueBlu3 in reply to Bevvy]

That's a good point. At first I wasn't sure if I was worth telling a GP, because I assumed they would be dismissive and tell me to just diet and exercise.

But you're right, I should contact them anyway and hopefully it turns out I'm just retaining water or gas or something?

[Bevvy in reply to RueBlu3]

Let us know how you get on and definitely don’t be fobbed off!

[RueBlu3 in reply to Bevvy]

Thank you so much for helping me! I'll try to give an update soon

[RueBlu3]

Here's a long overdue update! It has been a roller-coaster and I ended up in hospital a few days after posting this.

I went to my gp for advice and when they examined me they said that my tummy was very bloated and hard. I also had a fever and a high heart rate so I was sent to hospital.

It turned out that I had a distended bowel. I had a scan and there was no blockage that they could see which is good. However, as I am waiting for surgery for endometriosis, the gynecology team checked me and they think I have a lot of inflammation around my pelvis causing gas to be trapped. They said this could be contributing to the rapid weight gain.

I was admitted for a week as a few other things were going wrong but I'm home now. I have medication for the short term but I will probably not get to the bottom of this until I have my surgery, so now it is a waiting game.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply to me!