Has anyone else experienced this with Sjogren's? I have had a total loss of appetite since early November. I make myself eat, since I'm not a person who needs to lose weight, so I have only lost about 6-7 pounds. I just have no appetite. I also seem to get full really quickly and can't eat a whole lot at one time or I get rather nauseous. I have gastritis which the gastroenterologist found on an endoscopy in December after I had gone to him for stomach pains. The stomach pain got better after treatment, but I still have absolutely no appetitie. I'm having an upper GI with small bowel follow through next week and am taking Prilosec and Pepcid right now to see if that will help (per instructions from the gastro). I see the gastroenterologist on Mar. 22.
I just wondered if this could be related to Sjogren's or not. I'm still very, very tired all the time, and I don't know what to think about this loss of appetite.
Thanks,
Becky
Hi bjnc,
I lost my appetite when I was Sulphasalazine. Could it be a side effect of this or some other medication?
I have a much lower appetite than I used to as well. Even though I get hungry (at times, very hungry), nothing seems to sound good to eat to me, and I get full a lot quicker than I used to.
I have also lost weight (about 10 pounds in total), but I had been a little more than I wanted to be, so I'm where I want to be now. I'm interested in seeing if I lose any more.
I still love my chocolate and my junk food, however, so maybe it's slowing down my weight loss :).
I wish!
I lost my appitite recently, have pains in between my ribs and goes away most of the time when I eat. I had endo test in October. I have gastritis but everything got worse after I went back on gluten. Now I can't get myself straightened out. I had another negative test for celiac. It it frustrating. I was wondering if it could be from the dryness.
Winnie
With the sjogrens it is not uncommon to have gastritis. I had a really bad case of it with my third pregnancy and only gained 10 pounds by the time I delivered.
Anyway, with the sjogrens we have the loss of saliva (mucus) which is supposed to help dilute the acid in our stomach. When we eat the foods will trigger the different mechanisms that kickstarts the secretion of the acid in the stomach. We don't have the saliva to dilute and acid and the acid literally tries to eat a hole in our stomach. This sets us up with the irritated, raw gut that drives us crazy.
This gastritis and heartburn was one of my very early and very common problem symptoms early on in my disease. Most of us are put on the drugs that will cut down on the acid production in our stomach. Thank goodness for those pills. Ice cream will help cool down my gut in the evening and I love to eat it anyway.
Also, there is a drug out there called Carafate. It used to be given a lot many years ago, but I think some of the docs have sort of forgotten about it. There are some drugs that it can't be taken with and also have to follow the dosing schedule pretty well. But it works.
You place the big tablet in about 1/2 cup (or less) of water and when stirred the pill dissolves into a "slurry" that you drink. It is sort of like drinking chalk, but it coats the gut and after a few doses you can feel the fire going out. I started taking it this week again. It also helps a lot for people with GERD and again I don't think it is used enough. Hope this helps. Irish ;D
I also have to force myself to eat. I have never been much of a foodie, but I liked to eat. Now, I stand in front of the refrig forever trying to find something that sounds remotely tasty to make.
I make huge smoothies, with protein to get my nutrition.
Good times.
Most of the time I force myself to eat. I was not that way before getting sick and had a healthy appetite. The lack of appetite is directly connected to my dryness. It seems like being dry in the digestive tract causes fewer hunger pangs.
Sometimes a smoothie is the only thing that sounds good. I realized recently that whey protein seems to sit and is not as easily digested. The soy protein which I buy from Trader Joes (Aria) works out better for me.
BJNC, the symptoms of getting full really fast are something I was just reading about in connection with ovarian cancer. Have you had that possibility explores? Everything isn't necessarily Sjogren's.
Sharon