weight Gain

Do you know what they are measuring? IGF-1? Or something else?

Thanks!
Ema

Yes IGF-1 levels were measured and it was .04 and the reference range is .o1-8.0
This was for Growth Hormone and I was referred to the Endocrinologist by a Neurologist after my MRI showing Partially Empty Sella. The pituitary is flat and the sac around the pituitary has ruptured causing the spinal fluid to enter the sella and thus causing a saddle shaped pituitary. Bottom line, it doesn't function properly.​

I'm on high doses of Gabapentin and I've put on 5.5 stone in 6 years. I eat healthily but to no avail.

I too am one of those people who have gained a several stone since being ill. I relate how bad my ME is to how much I weigh.

I have learnt from various places that we keep fat on due to toxins. When our body can't deal with toxins it wraps them in fat and stores it. We can't lose that weight as our bodies know they can't cope with the toxins. Weight is not just about calories in vs calories out.

When I have lost weight my diet has been CLEAN! Meat, fish, eggs and veges. A lot of veges. And I've juiced and walked. The walking is the hard part but for me when I have the energy it makes all the difference. But I very rarely have that energy.

I can't do any other exercise without it having a negative impact. So at the moment I am trying to work up to being able to do any walking as I've recently crashed, eaten 'badly' and gained some weight.

I also know that my liver doesn't function as it should so the toxins theory makes sense for me.

I had a very good diet before ME struck so if the toxins theory was correct we would still need to explain why it only hits some people. I've gone out of my way to avoid chemicals and to eat clean since I have had ME and that sadly, has not made one tiny bit of difference that I can see. When I was well enough to do graded exercise and activity programs I didn't lose any weight either.

I think it probably is a combination of things to sometimes. I know the meds put the weight on, but also diet and inactivity play a part.

I think this article explains what I was thinking of a little more:

http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/articles/toxin11.php

For me it's all about hormones. Not just the obvious one like cortisol and thyroid hormone but insulin, leptin, prolactin and the interactions between all of them.

My diet has changed very little and I'm exercising comparably to healthier times in my life...and I'm still up 30 lbs. Calories in/calories out means nothing after a certain point.

Ema

Ema - prolactin makes weight loss very hard! I've heard of a lot of women with this issue - me included!

I started taking Meriva tumeric a couple of months ago. Without making any other changes, I had lost 3 or 4 lbs within a couple of weeks and have kept it off.

I take Meriva because it's a natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. I didn't know that turmeric can cause you to lose weight when I started it. I use only 2 a day of this brand:

http://www.iherb.com/Thorne-Research-Meriva-SR-Curcumin-Phytosome-120-Veggie-Caps/18125

The problem with that theory is that there is nothing to back it up as being more than that (that I can see) on that page at least. We would need biopsies of fat of PWME and CFS to be analysed to see what is stored there. We would also need clinical trials on ways to reduce that.

I don't even know if what has caused my weight gain is fat. Not aware of anyone who has looked at a group of PWME and analysed what their body composition is, let alone what is causing it. Certainly the approach of avoiding "toxins" has been a 0 result one for me.

Toxin release through weight loss is a concern of mine. People who have been poisoned with pesticides are advised to remain the same weight and not attempt to lose any, but I was concerned about the strain on my heart with 42lbs gain ( after 56lb loss when first infected with Lyme). I am in heart failure.

My new diet which is plant based, sugar free and basically macrobiotic is causing weight loss which I am very pleased about but the loss is very slow even though I am not eating too many calories. My body seems to be resisting loss and the slightest thing stops it like eating millet which is probably thyroid.

In three months the loss has been about 17lbs and my heart is benefiting from it (with other health benefits) but my liver enzymes are up. and they should not be on my diet, so I am guessing that it is having extra work to do with toxins. I am having herx days as well. To combat this I am rifing for detoxification and using charcoal.

It is really great though as I am eating as much as I want to eat - after all, you don't want to pig out on brown rice If I was younger, I think the weight loss would be faster (in my 60's) but it seems to be at the right rate for now.

I started this cause of all my food allergies and trying to get a handle on them. I eat just twice a day once 4hrs after I get up and than again 6 hours later. So for a person on a normal scheduled that would be once at noon and again at 6pm. With this plan you go 18 hrs from 6pm to 12pm without food. I'm not a dietitian but I'm guessing your body starts consuming fat at some point during this period. Interesting thing is I go to bed hungrier than I wake up and the 4hr stretch till my first meal of the day is pretty easy. Another fantastic thing is I sleep almost completely through the night. Usually wake up around 5 or 6 but fall back to sleep until 7 or 8 and get up. Getting an almost uninterrupted 8rhs sleep and being on a regular schedule alone is worth doing it. The food I eat isn't all that great but I don't react to it. I buy 15lb bags of potatoes and fry them (don't burn down your house I almost did) I eat corn chips, salsa, avocados not enough vegetables and baked beans sometimes. Eat popcorn also. You would think somebody with digestion issues couldn't tolerate popcorn but I do well on it and it probably helps scrape out the pipes as it goes through. Also eat fruits but try to limit oj cause I seem to react pretty badly. I'm 5'7" and 144lbs. Was down to 139 at one point but started drinking 1 or two cans of monster and I was trying to introduce some nuts into my diet and I think the pistachio's and pine nuts were ok but the almonds I suspect threw me into a tail spin and It's taken almost a week to pull myself out of that. When this happens I start eating to try to comfort myself.