19 Year Old Girl - Unintentional 40 Pound Weight Loss Over 7 Months

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Hello, I am 19 years old and was averaging about 130-140 pounds in January. I am now about 96 pounds and it seems to keep dropping despite actively trying to eat fatty and protein rich foods. In January, after personal events I found myself consciously eating less. Emotional stress was high and I chose not to eat out of sheer not wanting to. I was not purposely starving myself, I ate throughout the day, but very little. Most nights I'd go to bed pretty hungry. Again, I was pretty depressed for awhile and this contributed to that. I did not actively notice weight loss until people began mentioning it and my clothes stopped fitting. I am on combination birth control if that helps anything. I am sexually active (one person) but mostly started taking birth control to help with my acne and have not really experienced any negative side effects from taking it. I feel that it is not until recently- the last few weeks, that I have really been struggling with eating and gaining weight. Before it was like I consciously chose not to, but now I have a stress and pressure to constantly plan out my meals and try to gain weight. My dad thinks a good amount of this is in my own head - my own stress and pressure on myself that is giving me anxiety and making it harder. I do have anxiety issues (not medically diagnosed but I do get anxiety a lot and tend to overthink a lot - stress from school, work, and personal relationships). I work at In-n-Out and do tend to sweat a lot and think maybe this is unintentionally playing a factor in some weight loss too but I don't know. Some symptoms I have had - nausea while/after eating, no appetite, early satiety, bloating. Recently but not consistently I have had stomach pain, a burning in my chest after eating, and tingling in my feet (happened a lot last night but was really only the first time I've noticed it. It was just so intense my foot began to feel numb, and only one of them). Last week, while attending a concert, I had to leave early as I got really sick. I'm not sure if it was due to the seats - highly elevated, very hot, and I felt suffocated. I had to sit down and when I tried to stand to tell my friend I wanted to get air, I could barely stand as my legs felt weak, and I immediately felt the urge to vomit. I gagged into a bag but barely anything came out. I began to get very bad cold sweats (felt cold sensations in my arms but was sweating sooooo much), i was short of breath, and could barely stand as I had weak shaky legs. This is the only time I've had something like this happen to me and don't know if it could have anything to do with my weight loss and a possible underlying medical issue or if it was a one time thing of stress, overheating, and being overwhelmed at a concert (And admittedly getting in my own head as i sat there and began to freak out i might be dying.) I do not use other medications and the only drugs I use are marijuana (have been a user for years, never experienced any issues). I recently started smoking e-cigarettes and think this may account for my recent struggle with eating as I have read nicotine suppressed appetite, especially for sugary foods, and can raise your metabolism. However, can it really be that rapid and intense or is it more like losing a couple pounds a month type thing? I don't know any medical conditions that run in my family, except my grandma died of  diabetes I believe but I'm not sure what type (i remember seeing a picture of her at the end of her life being rather skinny though.) Any suggestions help and I mostly wanna know if i should be worried or if i may be in my own head. Thank you.

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  • Posted

    My only advice to you is - Do not smoke any cigarettes, mixtures or other substances. You will destroy the nervous system.

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