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.
I think the more specific problem is the high-fructose corn syrup in the soda pop; supposedly, the body doesn't recognize it, doesn't break it down, and ends up stacking the stuff up on shelves inside. Eventually, one becomes bloated.
Perhaps the issue could be lymphedema. The lymph system is similar to the cardiovascular system but doesn’t affect blood pressure. A blockage could cause a massive, rapid fluid weight gain.
I had a co-worker that suffered severe lymphedema after an auto crash. Her legs would become the size of tree trunks, skin taunt and painful. There is a massage method to reduce the swelling.
Two possibilities
1) he’s eating the wrong kind of food
2) his thyroid is out of whack. I’m surprised that wasn’t checked first
Make him wear a “live” go pro chest mounted 24/7 for 2 weeks.
Has he been admitted to the hospital for this issue? I’m guessing that he’s getting short of breath with the weight gain and fluid accumulation? My advice is for him to go to the ER, tell them he’s short of breath with massive weight gain/fluid, get admitted, and let them run every test there is. Of course his attending will probably consult all the specialists. That’s his best chance. People do it all the time from my experience. Also, has he ever been on oxygen at home?
I certainly hope not but a tumor in hypothalamus / pituitary area can’t be ruled out from what you described. And complications with kidneys, etc. I hope it is something more straightforward.
Americans drink way too much soda. For that reason, there should be a soda tax.
Was he ever a trucker? How is urination? There is something called truckers’ bladder. The muscles that release urine get very strong over a lifetime, and the bladder gets very large and doesn’t snap back. When they get older sometimes other health issues kick in with and they cannot feel the urge to pre until that huge bladder fills all the way up enough to force the urinary muscles to open. But sometimes it isn’t enough weight for the powerful muscles so the bladder keeps filling with very little if anything going out. Instead of just ounces of urine inside a person ends up with liters. Then the urine backs up into the kidneys.
Oh yes you can, prednisone causes water retention, so
you can add on weight even though you’re not eating
more.
My daughter is a sleep eater. Get out of bed, walk to the refrigerator, eat something, go back to bead. No kidding, asleep all the time. verified with doctors and observation. really weird. Like sleep walking, but eating. and yes, she is overweight. But weight gain is math. If he dropped to 1200 calories a day he would lose weight. he’s doing 4-5000. Its math. and massive water retention, which probably means salt or heart.
if he can't loose weight on keto, there is something seriously wrong .....
Fructose
Short of a tumor, cancer then intake is greater than outflows. 500 pounds cannot move around much. Delete door dash app and monitor groceries in/out. Daily trash and pantry monitoring. Only so many possibilities. @ 500 pound then either the cause/corrections have to be made or weight gain will permanently stop followed by weight loss. Could move to the moon where they would weigh less than 100 pounds but mass would remain constant.
He may not be eating that much but he might be drinking 2 L of mountain dew per day. 960 calories, 260g of carbs, 260g of sugar.
Iirc, it was from her daughter…
I think it may depend on other factors than just intake and caloric use.
People can have endocrine and all sorts of other problems that make them sensitive to various foods and unable to process them as others do.
If it’s not water retention or muscle mass, it must be fat and the only way to get fatter is caloric intake. He may not be overeating but have a thyroid condition where his body is putting all the intake to storage in fat cells.
I would highly recommend finding a top certified endocrinologist. These docs are usually the best of the best when it comes to diagnosing values in bloodwork, metabolism, glandular issues, thyroid etc. They are hard to find because it is one of the most difficult fields of medicine. Some docs claim to practice endocrinology but are not. Good luck.
If he has seen 20 doctors and no one found a problem then it’s FOOD! Overeaters are notorious for not be completely honest about the calories they consume, so that IS the problem. Sounds like someone is not being honest in this case. My wife is a RD/RN and she sees this daily. Patients come in and NO WAY are they overeating...or so they always say. Then looking at the diet she find them consuming 5000-10000 calories a day and most from processed sugar. And, one of the biggest issues is that most consume massive quantities of soft drinks like Coke and you’ll never convince them that is big reason for weight gain. Do a little detective work to see what the real issue is and you’ll find it is overeating and drinking sugar drinks.
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.