Weight Loss In Face and Hands

solisspirit · Post by **solisspirit** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 2:17 am

I am curious. My face gradually is showing signs, and has been, of weight loss. Also, my hands has also showed a slight loss in weight. I manage to maintain my overall weight by drinking Ensure Plus twice a day, but I can't seem to do anything about my face and hands.

Has anyone else experienced weight loss specifically in the face before the rest of the body before? Any suggestions would be ideal, or hope that when I do get on a medicinal regimen that I will slowly start to regain this weight and look like a normal human being.

Thanks.

Post by **tex** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 8:55 am

Back when my symptoms were at their worst (back when I was still using products such as Ensure, Boost, etc.), I always tried to avoid looking in the mirror, because my face tended to appear so gaunt that it reminded me of death warmed over.

Are you having serious D? Anyone who has enteritis (intestinal inflammation) immediately becomes lactose intolerant and that intolerance persists until the inflammation is resolved. Ensure (and Ensure Plus), Boost, Encore, and all other such supplemental drinks are loaded with dairy ingredients, especially lactose. Look at the label — it's about half a mile long, and populated with many ingredients that most of us cannot tolerate. The ads for those drinks sound good, and yes, I used them too, early on in my journey, until one day I figured out what they were doing to me. Unfortunately, they are not suitable for anyone who has an active inflammatory bowel disease.

Tex

solisspirit · Post by **solisspirit** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 5:47 pm

That first statement is exactly what I feel like! But, I have the opposite problem of wanting to look in the mirror to see if I have gained anything over a week's time (even though I'm terrified to look), or lost more. I can really see how bad I look when I'm in the darker lights, or shadows, because I can see where parts in my face have sunken in. I just want to know that when I do start meds, or diet, I will eventually get all that back.

What medicine were you put on before you finally started to lose the inflammation, and how long did it take for you to see results?

As for the inflammation, I know I have some. Sometimes I can feel bloated in my lower abdomen, in the intestinal region, and other times not so much. And you're absolutely right about the Ensures. Everytime I drink them, I have "D" 30 minutes later, but I don't know what else I can take as a supplement for extra calories. Ensure's are, however, lactose free and gluten free. So I'm not sure what else is in it that causes the "D", but its something.

I really appreciate your reply. Sometimes it makes it easier, psychologically, when you know someone else understands exactly how you feel, and has been through it. Of course, the added part of it that really counts is that you're now better. Thanks!

lorimoose · Post by **lorimoose** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 6:22 pm

Solisspirit,

The Ensure you are drinking may be lactose free(which is the milk sugar) but it is filled with dairy protein, soy products, and many other ingredients which may or may not be irritating your colon. Maybe some simple, real foods would work better for you....you could try boiled or grilled chicken and white rice. I needed a combination of a strict diet and entocort.

Lori

Post by **tex** » Sat Oct 12, 2013 9:52 pm

solisspirit wrote:I just want to know that when I do start meds, or diet, I will eventually get all that back.

Sure you will. That comes with remission.

solisspirit wrote:What medicine were you put on before you finally started to lose the inflammation, and how long did it take for you to see results?

I never took any meds (except that I tried Pepto-Bismol for a couple of weeks early on, with no success).

I dropped gluten from my diet as soon as I figured out that food was causing my problems, and then I spent about a year and a half experimenting with removing other foods from my diet (while keeping detailed records). Eventually it dawned on me that if I were ever going to get my life back I would have to bite the bullet and cut out all of the foods that seemed to cause problems (at the same time). Once I did that, I was in remission within about 2 weeks. But remember that at that point my gut had had a year and a half to heal from the gluten damage, so the damage from the other foods faded quickly, once I cut my diet down to a few safe, simple, foods.

Here is the ingredient list for Ensure Plus:

Water, Corn Syrup, Maltodextrin (Corn), Sodium, Calcium Caseinates, Sugar (Sucrose), Canola Oil, Corn Oil, High Oleic Safflower Oil, Soy Protein Isolate, Soy Lecithin, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Carrageenan (Red Seaweed), Vitamins & Minerals: Magnesium Chloride, Potassium Citrate, Calcium Phosphate Tribasic, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Citrate, Magnesium Phosphate Dibasic, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Ferrous Sulfate USP, Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E), Zinc Sulfate, Niacinamide, Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Manganese Sulfate, Cupric Sulfate, Vitamin A Palminate, Thiamine Chloride Hydrochloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid (Folate) Vitamin B12, Chromium Chloride, Biotin (Vitamin H), Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenate, Potassium Iodide, Phylloquinone (Vitamin K1), Vitamin D3, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12)

Lori is quite correct that while the product is lactose-free, it contains milk proteins (such as casein, which cause an autoimmune-type reaction for most of us), and soy ingredients that would cause many of us to react. It also contains a lot of sugar in the form of fructose (corn syrup), that most of us would not tolerate very well. While I have no way of knowing exactly which ingredients you might react to, I've highlighted in red the ingredients that be the most likely to cause the most problems for most of us. Those products contain way too many ingredients to be safe choices for someone who has MC.

Tex