No appetite, making me ill

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xxlou_lxx

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Its now the back of 4 in the morning and instead of being woken by the baby im up with another hypo... causes by the fact that i cannot eat properly!
This was a problem in my last trimester which thankfully never caused any damage, but nearly 7 weeks on I still cant eat properly and it has gotten worse..
All week i wouldnt be surprised if I had consumed a day and half worth of calories, yesterday i only ate 4 chips and a ski yogurt the day before was 5 pringles and 1 chicken fajhita which made me physically sick! The same story for seven weeks now, I heard it was normal after giving birth but this long is taking its toll on my health, I can hardly sustain good blood sugars after a hypo and then they will go low again an hour later.....
its easy for the doctor to say just eat snacks but i tried toast and put one bit in my mouth then got the gag refex!!
I had anemia post c section due to losing 1350ml of blood, I stopped my ferrous sulphate a few weeks ago but wonder if I should still be taking something since my diet lacks everything at the moment... I feel shocking most days...
Im phoning my dsn today to see if she has any magical suggestions, I very much doubt it though.
Do any of you guys know how i can get around the fast acting then slow acting carb thing after a hypo, taking the lucozade is ok, but having something to maintain it afterward is a real problem at the moment :(
 
I hope you feel more like eating soon. You have been through quite a major op to brinng baby into the world so it will take time for your system to bounce back. Talk to the DSN to see if she can offer more advice or help than the doctor. It is a long time since my big boy was born by emergency cesarean, so things have moved on and changed. Are you still under the midwife? She may be able to help.

I often find the practice nurse at my GPs surgery more help than my doctor. Sorry I can't offer any more help, except to be here and offer support.
 
Hey Lou,

I'd get onto your DSN or a doctor as soon as you can. They'll know best what to do. If you can, try to get carbohydrate into you in liquid form. We all want an excuse to buy a big bottle of Lucozade! I don't know about the supplements so I'd suggest asking whoever is responsible for you as a health care professional.

Hope you're back to normal soon,

Tom
 
Hi Lou sorry to hear you have lost your appetite i cant imagine losing mine , I agree with Tom get in to see your DSN and they can maybe run some tests and nail it down to a certain reason.

Good luck x
 
Some possibilites... though do talk with your nurse.
milk?, milkshakes made with some berries or cocoa; yoghurt; Things made with milk custard or baked custard or blancmange (made in advance), some canned soups, ice cream.
 
Hi Lou, sorry to hear you are having a tough time at the moment.
As the others have said have a word with your DSN and see if they can suggest anything. Hope you feel better soon and get your appetite back.
 
Hi Lou,

I lost my appetite for a few weeks after the c-section but can't say it was anywhere near as bad as your loss of appetite! Having hypo's all the time and the lack of sleep because of Grace can't be helping with you wanting to eat either but I think you need to try and stick at trying to eat even if your not hungry.

Yogurts were good I found when I had morning sickness for 4 months because I didn't want to eat at all because I couldn't keep a thing down and also coke to make sure my levels didn't keep dropping. I would definately go and see the doctor because it could be something else that's causing the lack of appetite.

Let us know how you get on xxx
 
Hi all, thanks for your replies, to be honest I was regretting putting this post up as I thought it was a little too much info lol even my sister who is like my best friend dont know how bad it is...
Anyway I spoke to the dsn who suggested things like yogurt and stuff, then went on to ask me about how i feel and what my sleeping is like... I dont mind getting up and doing the baby stuff I love it as I love her so much! I think they all think im a little depressed, I cant see how though!! My health visitor said last week that she is coming back the final time to see me, so I guess i should of figured she was looking out for me. I think i thought if you had something like PND then you were a bad mum, I know it sounds really stupid when i say it out loud..
I am very anxious about the stupidest things like if I get a pain in my leg does that mean my diabetes has caused it, its rediculous!!
Maybe becoming a mum has made me realise what my diabetes does in regard to life expectancy and things its the only thing that has been playing on my mind, so I figure that its anxiety that has made my appetite dissapear... dunno if that makes sense :confused:
I am going to make some cauliflower cheese for tea so fingers crossed ill eat at least some and avoid ten million hypos tonight.... 🙄
 
S
xxlou_lxx said:
Its now the back of 4 in the morning and instead of being woken by the baby im up with another hypo... causes by the fact that i cannot eat properly!
This was a problem in my last trimester which thankfully never caused any damage, but nearly 7 weeks on I still cant eat properly and it has gotten worse..
All week i wouldnt be surprised if I had consumed a day and half worth of calories, yesterday i only ate 4 chips and a ski yogurt the day before was 5 pringles and 1 chicken fajhita which made me physically sick! The same story for seven weeks now, I heard it was normal after giving birth but this long is taking its toll on my health, I can hardly sustain good blood sugars after a hypo and then they will go low again an hour later.....
its easy for the doctor to say just eat snacks but i tried toast and put one bit in my mouth then got the gag refex!!
I had anemia post c section due to losing 1350ml of blood, I stopped my ferrous sulphate a few weeks ago but wonder if I should still be taking something since my diet lacks everything at the moment... I feel shocking most days...
Im phoning my dsn today to see if she has any magical suggestions, I very much doubt it though.
Do any of you guys know how i can get around the fast acting then slow acting carb thing after a hypo, taking the lucozade is ok, but having something to maintain it afterward is a real problem at the moment :(
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Sorry to hear you are feeling the way you do, a few weeks after having my baby i couldn't eat properly, i found out i was suffering from postnatel depression, i hope you haven't got it and hope you feel much better soon. sheena🙂
 
Im sorry i couldn't give any advice on this but i do hope you feel better and manage to eat something so you dont have all these hypos :( xx
 
Hope things are improving for you. You could try something like complan or buildup which you may find easier to consume - but which are designed to give you vitamins when you are not eating properly.
 
I was actually thinking about looking into something like that, I figured it would be better to try that than have hardly anything at all (not being defeatist just realistic) I did try some cauliflower cheese but had about 3 forkfuls and couldnt face anymore... so have had a yogurt and 3 small glasses of lucozade today, goin to need to cut my lantus for the time being i think 🙄 Ill look like an ethiopian before long 😱 lol its not funny, but if you dont laugh you cry as the saying goes 🙄
 
Hi Lou,

In no way are you a bad mum if you have PND. I think dropping your lantus is a good idea whilst your not really eating as much. I know you only had three mouthfulls of the cauliflower cheese but at least you gave it a go and ate a little, if you try eatng a little everyday you might help your appetite come back again. Hope your feeling better soon xxx
 
xxlou_lxx said:
I was actually thinking about looking into something like that, I figured it would be better to try that than have hardly anything at all (not being defeatist just realistic) I did try some cauliflower cheese but had about 3 forkfuls and couldnt face anymore... so have had a yogurt and 3 small glasses of lucozade today, goin to need to cut my lantus for the time being i think 🙄 Ill look like an ethiopian before long 😱 lol its not funny, but if you dont laugh you cry as the saying goes

There is no shame in suffering from PND - and one of the more noticable symptoms to the outsider is a lack of appetite. If things dont start to improve soon - you *must* go and speak to your GP as these things can get out of hand very quickly and you cannot afford to lose weight in such a dramatic way - you need energy to look after the baby.🙂

I really am not rying to nag you - but please go and speak to someone - even if its someone in the family. You could also be aneamic - this causes lack of appetite and a feeling of fatigue etc - have you had your iron levels checked since giving birth?🙂Bev
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Thanks emma 🙂 And bev, you right I will go see the doctor, I wasnt sure about the anemia thing as i said on an earlier post as i was anemic post c secton cos of blood loss then put on pills for 2 weeks but that was ages ago now so maybe the doc will take bloods, anything to make me feel better hopefully!!
lost 3lbs since last week coz of it geting so bad, time for the gps help lol

Thanks for your advice on this guys 😱
 
Hi Lou,
Congrats on the birth of your baby! Your post struck a cord with me. This was when you mentioned feeling vaguely anxious. I know when I had my daughter, it changed how I saw the world, but more particularly I suddenly became aware of all sorts of stuff I'd never thougt about before, like you said. Its perfectly normal to feel like that, and an anxious reaction is almost automatic. I shave suffered a lot with anxiety, and the first thing to go is my appetite. The strange thing about it is that you may feel like eating something, but fill up after a few mouthfuls. What I find helps is to try to change my thoughts at that time and try to eat a little more than I think I can. Force it down, if you like. I have had to learn mechanisms to get me through stressful situations and they work very well. Definitely speak to you're doctor. New motherhood is very stressful, its such a big life change, and the doctors are used to dealing with this.
I hope you feel better real soon, pm me if you like and I can recommend some books/cds you might find helpful.
Glodee
 
Sorry you're feeling so bad. Your appetite will return it takes time. I lost mine last year and 3 stone and I'm a big bonny bouncing girl again! I even gagged cleaning my teeth - couldn't keep the old Metphormin down. The dietician at the hospital put me on a supplement (can't remember the name but it was the milky one). GP and DN didn't like me being on it said it was too sugary but it kept me alive until my appetite came back.
I know what works for one doesn't always work for another but anything is worth a try when you're feeling desparate. Incidentally I got my supplement on perscription. Sorry I can't remember the name - your local pharmacy will be able to tell you.
Best wishes Joan x
 
Lou - hope you are feeling better today and are managing to eat. I know they are not the healthiest option (but some food is better than none). Try dunking biscuits in tea. Or try having some dried fruit and eating a little of that often. (it can be quite sweet hence small quantities).
 
Hi Lou,

I'm sorry I haven't got any ideas re the food side, but I just wanted to say please please don't feel like a bad mum if you have PND (& I know you might not have it, but just in case...and for anyone else who might be in that situation... 😱) - apparently 1 in 10 ( probably more) mums have it, and it doesn't mean you're not a good mum! When I had PND with my son it presented with extreme anxiety about all sorts of fears - I wouldn't have a window open in case a bird flew in & pecked him for instance!!! (Rational, eh?! 😱) I couldn't let go & let anyone else care for him & more or less burnt out. What I perceived as the stigma of pnd (the stereo type of a mum who's failed to bond with /doesn't care for her baby) put me off getting help until Michael was 5 months old - in hindsight I wish I'd taken the plunge & gone to the docs a lot earler, as by the time I did get help I was really miserable and it took a long time to get better.

I think sometimes pnd can present as excessive anxiety about the baby, and in our case as diabetic mums, having been through what are technically "high risk" pregnancies I would think it's not that surprising really! At the end of the day, pnd is a chemical imbalance, which I guess can be compounded by our experiences...there's no shame in it, and to start with being a diabetic mum can be really tough!! I bet you're actually a lot more appreciative of your baby than a lot of (non diabetic) mums, and are actually a fab mummy! 🙂

I really hope you're feeling better soon,

All the best,

Twitchy x
 
Twitchy said:
I think sometimes pnd can present as excessive anxiety about the baby, and in our case as diabetic mums, having been through what are technically "high risk" pregnancies I would think it's not that surprising really! At the end of the day, pnd is a chemical imbalance, which I guess can be compounded by our experiences...there's no shame in it, and to start with being a diabetic mum can be really tough!! I bet you're actually a lot more appreciative of your baby than a lot of (non diabetic) mums, and are actually a fab mummy! 🙂

I really hope you're feeling better soon,

All the best,

Twitchy x
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I think a lot of what you say is true for me twitchy, I Love my little one so much and I do appreciate her being here and importantly, being healthy... I had a proper talk to my mum and sister today and figured out that most of my anxiety and how I feel now has came from the whole pregnancy until now, I looked at grace last night as she was smiling in her sleep and thought of the time she was growing iin my belly... it was the single most traumatic thing i have ever done carrying her all due to diabetes!!! I thought that with all of the things that tell you how diabetes can affect a baby and how every single day I was too frightened to even think of what she would look like or be like... it must not have been the most pleasant time for her in there 🙄
I cannot believe I let my diabetes spoil my happiness about having a little baby :(
Thinking that I cant be truly happy (just in case)
Its no way to think is it? That is what 21 years of diabetes did to me on what should of been the happiest time!

Dont get me wrong though, I love Grace with all of my heart.....

This is going to sound so selfish but......
I just wish I was normal, and didnt have all of those worries so I could think back on my pregnancy and smile, u know??

I really feel cheated!! Cheated by my body because of diabetes 😡
 
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