# Flagging appetite help?



## Roundsmile (Jul 9, 2007)

One of my co-workers is under a huge pile of stress (marriage going bad, elderly parent care, teenager in trouble,trying to sell a house,moving into another house..it keeps going) and he has went from 145 lbs down to 130 lbs...and is a touch over six feet tall. He walks an 11 mile a day city route, that won't change...but he is really concerned that he weighs so little and has no desire to eat at all. 
He has been asking me for advice,(yes, I have told him to get a counselor and he has contacted EAP for appointments) and is frankly scared about his weight...he is drinking Ensure every morning..but still doesn't have the desire to eat...
What can he do to pick up his desire for food? He asked me for advice, but I had none to give...I have See-food in abundance lol.


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## Sandie S-R (Jul 9, 2007)

Roundsmile said:


> One of my co-workers is under a huge pile of stress (marriage going bad, elderly parent care, teenager in trouble,trying to sell a house,moving into another house..it keeps going) and he has went from 145 lbs down to 130 lbs...and is a touch over six feet tall. He walks an 11 mile a day city route, that won't change...but he is really concerned that he weighs so little and has no desire to eat at all.
> He has been asking me for advice,(yes, I have told him to get a counselor and he has contacted EAP for appointments) and is frankly scared about his weight...he is drinking Ensure every morning..but still doesn't have the desire to eat...
> What can he do to pick up his desire for food? He asked me for advice, but I had none to give...I have See-food in abundance lol.



The best advice you can give your friend is to get to a Doctor for a physical. It sounds like he needs a complete work up. This is not the kind of thing a layman should try to diagnose. There may be more going on there than anyone knows, and a Doctor is the best one to sort that out.


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## lemmink (Jul 9, 2007)

This is such a go-to-a-doctor situation... it'll rule out any serious issues he might have.

Stress/depression can make you not want to eat as well.


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## SamanthaNY (Jul 9, 2007)

I have to echo my colleagues here - your friend needs to see a doctor. Loss of appetite and significant weight loss can signal some serious health problems. 

Before he starts to become weak and suffer additional symptoms - firmly advise your friend that this isn't just a matter of flagging appetite - it's about his life and health.


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## Pookie (Jul 9, 2007)

When my ex-husband left me I was so stressed and depressed I virtually ate or drank nothing for 2 weeks, lost 24lbs and was shaking, dehydrated and couldn't be warm at all... my appetite was so gone from being depressed.

Its still seen as a stigma to accept pills to help your mental state, which is a shame, because with all that stress on him, some meds may help him a lot and be able to function better for everybody and himself.

Definatly a trip to the Dr's


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## Roundsmile (Jul 9, 2007)

Thanks, all..will try to get him to go....I think this poor guy needs a serious life makeover...seems to be a trend in my office lately,
One guy with rapid fire weight loss, one ending up in a mental ward for a few weeks, and one supervisor with a heart attack....ah the joys of summer!


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## Waxwing (Jul 10, 2007)

Poor guy!

There is also something called "situational anorexia" in which a person doesn't have a traditional eating disorder but a stressful situation or life change can render them unable to eat. It usually works itself out. He should definitely see a doctor just to rule out anything more serious, but it sounds to me like that's what this is.


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## Jes (Jul 11, 2007)

2 words:

Weed

(say it again)

Obviously, some people may be opposed, but if he's not, and if it's ...medically available, it's a known appetite-increasing drug.


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## Waxwing (Jul 11, 2007)

Jes said:


> 2 words:
> 
> Weed
> 
> ...



That's a good idea, Jes. I never think of it since I'm one of the 4 people on the planet who is allergic (makes me throw up, ironically) but I think that might really help. Depending on his state of residence he could get medicinal pot (there are lots of places for that in california).

A friend of mine who was going through chemotherapy was ONLY able to eat with the help of pot, and it really was a life-saver for her.


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## Jes (Jul 11, 2007)

Popular with AIDS patients, too.

I like an aperatif before a meal. Aperatifs are bitter, which invokes the appetite. The same way a sweet drink (desert wine, or hell, even just desert), suppresses the appetite at the end of a meal.

I don't know if your pal wants to take up drinking, but maybe some campari and orange or campari and soda, before a meal? It's been effective for many people for a long time, and it's delicious.


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## Waxwing (Jul 11, 2007)

Oh yeah both the campari suggestion and the bitters suggestions are great! Wonderful to settle the old tum.

Tangent: I quit drinking for about a year, but was still at bars and clubs often. I wanted something that wasn't as lame as a soda but was booze-free, so I started ordering bitters and soda all the time. Problem is, said drink has no name! So my friend named it The Bing Crosby, because we both love him. Also funny because he was an enormous souse.


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