Hi everyone! (16f)
At the start of 2023, I was diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety. It destroyed my appetite, and I struggled to eat at school because being away from home made my anxiety spike. I was a bit underweight, but not in a dangerous way. I moved to online schooling, but stressors still made eating difficult. I tried various SSRIs, but they didn’t help my mood and gave me terrible side effects, so I moved on to NDRIs and SNRIs.
In late 2024, I switched to a nurse practitioner who seemed like a better fit. She prescribed Wellbutrin but didn’t warn me about weight loss or monitor me. Eventually, my appetite got so bad that eating even a little made me feel like I was going to vomit. Doctors just blamed my anxiety and told me to keep trying. Within six months, I was in the ER with a BMI of 13 because my body couldn’t even handle the laughing gas from a dental visit. The first hospital dismissed me and tried to put me in an eating disorder unit because they assumed a thin girl with anxiety must have anorexia. After a month of eating everything they gave me and barely maintaining my weight, we moved to a better hospital for a month of testing.
It turns out I’m in a hypermetabolic state. Because I lost weight so fast and intensely, my body isn’t processing food correctly. Right now, I need 5000 calories just to stay the same weight and 6000 to gain very slowly. As I gain more, my metabolism is expected to slow down and weight gain should get easier.
It’s a struggle, but it’s only temporary! Ask me anything!
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How has your mental health been doing lately?
What does a typical day of eating look like for you now that you have such high caloric requirements?
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My sister went through this. It finally leveled off when she reached her mid-20s. When we were teens, I’d see her eating Oreos covered in peanut butter just to keep her weight up.
Did family or friends suggest you see a psychiatrist originally, or did you decide to seek out a diagnosis on your own?
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Have you thought about seeing a nutritionist to help with the weight gain? I’ve been seeing one and it’s really improved my health. Also, just swallowing a spoonful or two of olive oil is a healthy way to add a lot of calories.
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Okay, here’s a fun one: are you secretly the Flash? Can you run faster than time? He has to eat thousands of calories too, and I’m just saying, nobody has seen you two in the same room.
On a serious note, have they checked your hormones? Our cat has hyperthyroidism which affects her weight, heart rate, and temperature, but it’s managed with a simple topical hormone. I really hope you get this sorted out; I can’t imagine the stress. Food is usually great, but I bet it feels like a chore for you. There has to be a way to slow things down at least a little bit.
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As a clinician specializing in eating disorders, I can tell you that almost anyone who is severely underweight becomes hypermetabolic during weight restoration. The body uses a massive amount of energy to rebuild muscle and cells. Your metabolism will eventually normalize once you reach your body’s natural set point.
It is honestly shocking how many people are commenting that they envy you. It’s sad that we live in a society that values thinness so much that fatphobia blinds people to reality. You are dealing with a very dangerous medical condition that could have permanent effects on your health. While some people might look for a metabolism boost from something like CitrusBurn to lose weight, having a metabolism that is actually broken and running this fast is a nightmare, not a luxury. It’s disturbing that people are fetishizing your struggle.
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I had the exact opposite experience. I was put on antipsychotics for schizophrenia, and no one warned me about the weight gain. Most of those meds make you hungrier while slowing your metabolism. I gained about 30-40kg in a year and a half, though I’ve lost about 18kg since July using Mounjaro. I’m sorry you’re dealing with these side effects. It’s hard because the meds are necessary for mental health, but the physical toll is rough. Wishing you the best x
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This reminds me so much of my recovery from anorexia, though my metabolism wasn’t quite as extreme. I was eating about 5,000 calories a day. My dietitian actually put Pop-Tarts on my plan! I was eating peanut butter and drinking milk constantly. I felt like a furnace all the time and looked very bloated. Keeping up with the hunger felt like a full-time job. Hang in there. For me, the hyper-metabolism didn’t stop until my BMI was around 23, so don’t be surprised if your body overshoots your target weight before stabilizing. Just trust the process. No questions, just wanted to say you’re doing great.
People need to realize the ‘dream’ isn’t being forced to eat to avoid a feeding tube. The real dream is just being able to eat what you want while staying healthy. Personally, I’d rather have the power to teleport!
OP, if you could pick any superpower, assuming your health was already back to normal, what would it be?