Any suggestions to help with appetite?

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underthesea

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Zoloft caused the same thing for me - nausea all the time and belching. I lost 10 pounRAB in one month on Zoloft. I would force myself to eat because I knew I had to eat. It always felt like my stomach would fill up with air and the belching would start. I think this is a symptom of anxiety in general. I went to a gastro and had an endoscopy. It was negative so my weight loss and excess air was all a symptom of my anxiety. I only lasted 5 weeks on Zoloft and I am now off. I still have perioRAB in which I don't have an appetite and have stomach issues but I now know that it is a result of my anxiety. Your son has got to see how important it is to eat. I knew I had to eat and would force myself. I also was scared because I never knew how my body would react to what I ate. I mostly ate soups, mashed potatoes and very bland things. Try to eat small amounts throughout the day. I am still fighting the anxiety and it is really tough but I do see light at the end of the tunnel. It's crazy how a panic attack can hit you from nowhere and change your life forever. I understand what your son is going through and he is very fortunate to have you to be there for him. Most people could not relate to my panic and anxiety. I wish you luck and I will say a prayer for you.
 
Thank you underthesea for the post. It helps to talk to other people. I too have had panic attacks in the past and do suffer from anxiety at times. I have a terrible cancer phobia. So I have been a wreck with his weight loss and loss of appetite but his doctor told us that he is 99% sure this is not that. Thanks for the idea of small but more frequent eating during the day. I will suggest that to him. I imagine if a person is not hungry the thought of a big meal must make them queasy. You mentioned you were only on zoloft for five weeks, did your appetite come back after you were off of it? I agree with you that anxiety is probably the culprit of the loss of appetite. Yes it is crazy how this can come out of nowhere. I hope you are doing better. Thanks for the prayer, prayers are our salvation, I will pray for you also that you can overcome the anxiety.
 
I've posted before about my 31 year old son's anxiety/panic disorder, just diagnosed 2 weeks ago, but apparently has been having this for quite sometime. Recently got very bad and has lost weight along with appetite. Has been taking Zoloft for two weeks, along with prilosec and adivan. His appetite still has not started to come back. I don't want him losing any more weight. He eats soda crackers, soup once in a while, ensure drinks, never wants to eat hardly any meat. Says he never feels hungry. (ps his panic attacks when bad lead to vomiting, which now he is afraid of happening to him again). He also belches a lot. Any of you have that as a symptom of anxiety and does anybody have any suggestions on how/what to get him to eat? I am so worried about him and any help anybody can give me would be very much appreciated.
 
I hope i lose some pounRAB if i decide to go on zoloft. Would be much better then upping my cardio!

as far as the meRAB causing his lose of appetite i don't really know. I still eat every 3 hours when on any type of med and never notice any lose of appetite.

BUT, when i'm extremely nervous i lose my appetite and just can't eat, no matter how hungry i am. This happens to me whenever i have to eat in a public situation. I don't do good at restaurants, or at any family gatherings. I'd rather eat alone.

Maybe that whats going on with your son? That or he is also extremely depressed and even something like eating doesn't interest him anymore?
 
Thank you all for the support. It really helps me. The doctor thought nexium might help with the belching, but guess what our insurance (family business) will not cover the nexium! I hate that insurances dictated stuff like that. He has eaten a little more but he said he only eats because he knows its time to eat like lunch time or dinner time, claims he is never hungry. We're praying the zoloft will help that out in awhile. Thank you all again for the help, it is really a comfort to talk to people who know about this.
 
I'd suggest asking him what he feels like eating or if you don't get an answer from that ask him if you could eat one of you most favourite food what would it be and maybe give that to him. Another suggestion I have is giving him a straw and telling him to just suck on it and breathe through it just taking in air. This could cause him to feel like slurping something so he might get thirsty. Thats something psychological you could do.
Make sure when he takes his zoloft that he eats something with it. This will prevent the feeling of vomiting or feeling sick. It will also make the medication work faster and reduce the amount of anxiety he has.
Is the Zoloft working for him? How long has he been on it?
 
I'm experiencing the same thing right now. I have NO appetite whatsoever and have to force myself to eat because I'm diabetic. However, yesterday all I had was a 1/2 grapefruit with some splenda and a quarter pounder with cheese and a skinny latte from starbucks and I couldn't force myself to eat another bite of anything. I haven't eaten yet today, but I know I should soon because my stomach is starting to hurt and growl.

I'm pretty sure it's the meRAB I'm on. Ativan with wellbutrin. I'm hoping I'll be able to eat properly again after I'm off both, but it can take some time.

Talk to your son's doc, and monitor his eating. If nothing changes relatively quickly, it might be the zoloft causing the loss of appetite (or keeping that loss there, or he might still be anxious and the zoloft might not be working: I don't feel hungry when I'm anxious)

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks for the posts. He has been on zoloft for only two weeks. Today was a good day. He ate three pieces of chicken! He belches all the time? Is that anxiety related? Or gerd related? He said he thinks the zoloft is starting to help with the anxiety as he only takes ativan once a day now, but he sad the burping is driving him crazy. Any ideas? Thanks again for your help, this board has been my salvation.
 
Loss of appetite is probably one of the major symptoms of his anxiety. Once the zoloft kicks in, it should improve. If not, it could very well be side effects. FluiRAB are more important than solid fooRAB so make sure he drinks. Don't force food on him, it will only increase his anxiety. I know from experience. I suffer from GAD and social phobia, paxil saved my life. I've been on it for 5-6 years and I'm lucky that it has worked that long. Best of Luck.:)
 
My son is very slowly getting some appetite back. He has been eating a little better, although probably 1500 calories or less a day. The protonix has helped with the belching. He still has lost another couple pounRAB! He is starting to get a little worried about the weight loss, he thought by eating a little more he would gain weight. He is currently on 100mg of zoloft(which is helping with the anxiety)--our question is can you lose weight while on zoloft even though you are eating somewhat? This weight loss is becoming worrisome. Any body else have this problem while taking zoloft?
 
My appetite has returned but I am still struggling to gain my weight back. I am not sure if my appetite returned because I don't have as much anxiety or if Zoloft was a cause. While on the Zoloft, I felt like I was in a black hole and was nauseas 24/7. I tried to stick it out but the side effects were too much for me, especially the weight loss. That made me even more depressed. I was too scared to try any other anti-depressents because the Zoloft made me feel so much worse. I still have anxiety/panic but not as much as I did but I also had a lot going on at that time and some of my situation has gotten better. I just wish I could have my normal life back before the first panic attack. Again, good luck and I am here if you need some support. I will keep praying.
 
My anxiety causes my loss of appetite, I can't even stand the smell of food. I lose heaps of weight of course. I take meRAB, I haven't tried Zoloft so don't know if that causes the wind, it might just be from having an empty stomach. Once the meRAB kick in properly which can take a while, my appetite returns and returns and returns. Consequently I go off the meRAB because of the weight I pile on and the vicious cycle starts again. Give the Zoloft a bit longer and don't worry about the weight loss you know what is causing that. Best wishes to you and your son.
 
My son has been on zoloft for three weeks now. He has started to eat a little bit better and his anxiety seems to be less. However he still lost a few more pounRAB. I have read many post where people gain weight on zoloft. How long does a person have to be on it before they gain weight? Has anybody else lost weight while taking this? His weight loss has me scared any help would be appreciated.
 
Well the good news is that if he says that the anxiety is starting to lessen in just two weeks then that means the med is working really well. It will take about a month though to get the full benefits. Sorry not sure what the burping could be from. Hope your son gets better.
 
His weight loss could be an initial weight loss, and the drug might not even take full effect for six weeks.

When I was on paxil, which is the worst of all SSRIs for weight gain, I initially lost about 10 pounRAB. I gained it back, though -- it just took a little while.

So it might just take a little while before he starts gaining weight so hang in there and if he's still losing after six-ish weeks it's best to consult your doctor :)
 
zzffgg58,

Please note that your new thread has been merged with your original thread since they deal with the same issue.

Ms_Mod
 
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