Posted on 11/16/2023 6:38:04 PM PST by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
Freepers, need your help. Does anyone on here have a family member or friend who has gained massive weight and excessive overeating is NOT causing it. I have great 2nd cousin-in-law who is approaching 500lbs, has always been a bit heavy, but not THAT heavy.
Recently had massive water retention and went from 275-300 lbs to 500lbs, resulting in an ER trip. He and the wife have been to around 20 doctors in the metroplex (Dallas-Fort Worth) who have run a myriad of tests, found that his heart is fine, his cholesterol and blood pressure are normal, no diabetes and no signs of cause for this massive weight gain. Doctors keep telling him he's overeating, but that is not happening, not enough to have that kind of weight gain.
Has anyone had a similar experience and found a cause? I know a lot of very knowledgeable people post here and asking for help. Please, no mockery, this is serious and they really do NOT know what is happening and they haven't found a doctor who knows either. I told my cousin to take him right away to a research hospital like Baylor or Vanderbilt. Thanks in advance.
One cannot gain weight if they eat fewer calories than they expend. It’s impossible. People expend at different rates, and sometimes that rate changes.
One must adjust their input to match their output.
soda pop
some folks drink soda pop like water
it will make you blow up like a balloon
“and they haven’t found a doctor who knows either”
The doctors know and they told him.
Those both make sense.
Here is a FR thread about a woman became obese after fecal transplantation from overweight donor: https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3254780/posts
The sack around your heart calcifies , it cuts the blood supply off to an imprtsnt organ , your organ starts to produce fluids , I had to have the sack removed from my heart but they allowed it to go on for a year as insurance kept denying the tests that could have figured this out I had to have 8.5 liters drained from me initially and it still took them two months to figure it out because I kept fiilling up
Doctors keep telling him he’s overeating, but that is not happening, not enough to have that kind of weight gain.
......
So he is overeating.
His metabolism either slowed or he is lying about his food addiction.
Check nephrotic syndrome. Autoimmune impacts kidneys. Several causes, many are treatable. Any proteinuria? Good luck.
Hi. I have never posted before. So this might be a duplicate. I would check out nephrotic syndrome. Autoimmune. Impacts the kidneys. Retain water. Is your relative peeing ok? Any proteinuria? Nephrotic has 5 or 6 different types, different treatments.
Is he taking large doses of prednisone over a long period of time? I still recall how a prescription of prednisone made late comic Jerry Lewis suddenly blimp out. He waa alnost unrecognizable, but still did interviews in that condition.
After about two years, something changed, and he slimmed back down somewhat for his last years of life.
If he transitions to fasting except during one hour per day and goes very low carb / zero sugar / zero seed oils and no artificial sweeteners, he will lose weight fast, probably at least 50 lbs in 6 months. That will work and is a lot safer and I would say easier than cycling through more doctors and medications. If that sounds too difficult, well he has an extreme problem so it is probably the case that only extreme solutions will provide rapid enough and large enough results to feel good about the progress and keep going. And even though we are anonymous providers of free advice… what I have outlined will work and it is doable. And since 20 doctors have failed so far, why not follow Freeper fitness advice?
That is very interesting. I kind of went on a semi deep investigative dive on being a fecal donor. I learned you have to be in absolutely excellent shape, think athlete type in shape, & young. So it was surprising that someone got a fecal transplant from an obese person.
——>Recently had massive water retention
Well, the weight is in the fluid. Even though you said “his heart is fine”, it’s either cardiac, endocrine, renal or liver. They checked a BNP, BUN and Creatinine? Normal? Is his urine output normal? Dependent pedal edema? What’s his cardiac EF? MRI brain to check his pituitary gland? Renal US? What did they say was the cause of the extra fluid? They put him on diuretics for that? CT abdomen to check for ascites? Is he a drinker? Hep C?
I wish him the best in finding out what is going on.
Wheat is my problem.
When I eat wheat, the weight piles on so easily, even when I was eating well. The wheat was in the form of homemade whole grain bread and some other normal baked goods, but NOT due to lots of junk foods or desserts, candy, pastries, etc.
I cut wheat out of my diet a couple times, once by choice and the last time not by choice, and both times I lost a LOT of weight.
Maybe he can explore that avenue.
BTW, when I did the wheat free diet, I did lower carb but not no carbs. It was not keto. I ate rice, oats, corn, and other carbs, although not a lot of sugar, and still the weight fell off.
If your relative has water retention issues, to me that would suggest some other health issue, but I honestly don’t know what that could be.
Is it plugged in?
Metabolism has a lot to do with it……it’s not always the calories…..I have always been slim and eat everything…..I detest carbonated drinks though….never have them
..l.
Heart failure
Electrolyte imbalances
Kidney problems
Thyroid issue
Liver issue
A potential medication issue
All are serious, he needs good specialists looking at him, start with a heart doctor first, kidney doc second, both should see if electrolytes are an issue
Using lots of salt can cause water retention.
With all due respect, and I mean that sincerely, anyone who weighs 275-300 lbs is morbidly obese, not just overweight. So whatever was causing the morbid obesity before has now run amok.
I understand that feeling of what he’s eating isn’t enough to cause the problem. Maybe not on its own, but it is likely still a factor.
I am from a family of overweight people. My father, my brother, and my sister were/are afflicted. I was well on my way a few years ago. Thank God I heeded fhe doctor’s advice. In fact, my current doctor was the first to really listen to me with my frustration, which started because of early menopause. It was as if someone flipped a switch within my body. This doctor prescribed a weight loss pill that was my first success towards losing weight. He monitored me closely because of blood pressure issues it sometimes causes.
I have in the last 6-7 years learned how to eat, and what to eat. No more medications for me! I didn’t realize before all the misperceptions about my relationship with food that I had. I did a lot of negative self-talk. It’s easy to do. I thought I would be just like my family members. I found out that I don’t have to be like them, even though I have a genetic disposition that would lean in that direction.
My BMI has been normal/good for 6 solid years. I do watch what I eat, and I exercise every day. By exercise, I mean things I do around the house or yard, plus I walk an average of 3.5 miles every day for a year now.
I started with small successes. I learned one of the easiest ways for me to get a few extra steps in is to park at the far part of the parking lot anywhere I go. I rarely miss my daily walk. It’s become something I plan in my day.
I know those that are overweight may have mobility issues that precludes them from walking very far. I used to have a knee problem. I have learned that the more weight I lose, the less that knee bothers me.
I don’t have any easy answers for your cousin, other than to keep working at it. Keep looking at possibilities, but don’t forget that stress can influence us to handle life in different ways, and not all of those ways are good.
I joined Noom a few years ago, and I have to say that there’s a lot of good with the program. It’s not perfect, but I learned a lot. There’s a lot of psychology as well as nutrition that your cousin can learn about.
Good luck! I will keep you and yours in my prayers.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.