u/Holy_Forking_Shirt

Hi! I'm a 39 year old woman. 5'3, 108lbs. Backstory: I went through (am going through?) Long COVID, the disorders I had before I got LC, and now the issues and various things that COVID caused or exacerbated. TL;DR: It gave me a GI/digestive disorder that we're still trying to manage 4 years later that has caused massive weight loss. They swear it's corrosive gastritis but I didn't attempt suicide, especially not with anything caustic like household chemicals or a bunch of ibuprofen. So other than the biopsy from the upper endoscopy that showed Epstein-Barr cells in there, they really are sort of guessing. It's been trial and error with meds. I am on Carafate x2daily, Omeprazole x2daily, Pepcid, Zofran, Hydroxyzine x2daily, Meclizine, Wellbutrin, Vraylar, Klonopin, and when i finish this bottle of Carafate I am going back on Voquezna to see if it clears it this time. I also think I'm forgetting a medicine but I'm unsure.

I am trying to follow what my drs say, and I do regarding meds and not eating trigger foods and all of that. Stress and histamine reactions are triggers also, so I am trying to manage that. But there's an issue that the drs are not really understanding that is worrying me badly. My body is basically afraid of eating because I'm terrified of having a gastritis flare up. They are insanely painful. But I am the lowest weight I have ever been and I HAVE to gain weight. If it keeps dropping, I'm not going to be able to function well after a while. I genuinely need to gain at least 15-20 but would prefer around 35. Any would be preferable to this. Thinness is fine; I am not thin. I look anorexic and I suppose this disorder has made me that unintentionally.

That brings me to my question. Sorry, brevity was never my strong point. How do I start eating again, or even drinking something like Ensure until I can eat better, in order to put weight back on in a healthy way? But also not causing problems with basically just shoving food into my mouth. I'm terrified I'm going to lose so much that it's going to cause a heart attack or something and my kid will find me.

I need help, and this may be the wrong place. If so, I apologize. I don't frequent this side of reddit often so I was unsure where to ask this. I also apologize for it being basically a short story, and thank you to anyone that made it this far.

Hi! I'm a late 30s woman. So, backstory: I went through (am going through?) Long COVID, the disorders I had before I got LC, and now the issues and various things that COVID caused or exacerbated. TL;DR: It gave me a GI/digestive disorder that we're still trying to manage 4 years later that has caused massive weight loss.

I am trying to follow what my dr says, and I do regarding meds and not eating trigger foods and all that. But there's an issue that he's not really understanding. My body is basically afraid of eating because I'm terrified of having a flare up. They are insanely painful. But I am the lowest weight I have ever been and I HAVE to gain weight. I genuinely need to gain at least 15-20 but would prefer around 35. But any would be preferable to this. Thinness is fine; I am not thin. I look anorexic and I suppose this disorder has made me that unintentionally.

That brings me to my question. Sorry, brevity was never my strong point. How do I start eating again, or even drinking something like Ensure until I can eat better, in order to put weight back on in a healthy way? But also not causing problems with basically just shoving food in my mouth. I'm terrified I'm going to lose so much that it's going to cause a heart attack or something and my kid will find me.

I need help, and this may be the wrong place. If so, I apologize. I don't frequent this side of reddit often so I was unsure where to ask this. I apologize for it being a short story, and thank you to anyone that made it this far lol.