When sick, do you force yourself to eat?

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elphie754
elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone. So the past two days I have been significantly under my calorie goal. I have been having an allergic reaction that has left my lips blistered and chapped, along with a swollen roof of mouth and sore throat. Face is all swollen as well. Yes, I have been to the hospital and on a slew of meds for it. Because of this I have barely hit 700 calories the past few days. I wasnt "working out" but I do have a strenuous job the typically give me 200-400 extra cals a day, so I have been netting around 300 cals. I know that is not sustainable, and I typically eat a base line of 1300 cals, and eat back 50% of what my flex says I burn. If I'm still hungry I will somers eat back 100%.

Since my mouth is so sore (along with everything else) I have been having trouble finding things to eat. On top of that, the meds make me want to sleep 24/7. So should I just right this off as I am sick and not worry about it? Or should I attempt to force myself to eat?

Replies

  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
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    If you're not feeling hungry, I'd let the mouth heal and not force yourself to eat.
  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    Depends on the type of sick. Like I wasn't eating much after a concussion and my doctor said it was fine. Most doctors you can call for free and they can advise you if you should be seen, etc......never hurts to call if you are worried.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    Uhm no offense but I think you missed the part that I have already seen a doctor. I was in the Hospital for 24 hours, and sent home with tons of meds. The doctor overseeing my care was an Allergist, so unless it was a question on if I could eat a type of food, he would not be very helpful.
  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    elphie754 wrote: »
    Uhm no offense but I think you missed the part that I have already seen a doctor. I was in the Hospital for 24 hours, and sent home with tons of meds. The doctor overseeing my care was an Allergist, so unless it was a question on if I could eat a type of food, he would not be very helpful.

    Did you tell your doctor you did not have an appetite? Could be a symptom or side effect from the meds. Your OP did not mention if you talked to your doctor since being in the hospital.

    My guess is your doctor (allergist or family physician) is more qualified to answer this question then anyone on this forum....no offense.
  • Zephalia
    Zephalia Posts: 79 Member
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    I recently had dental surgery that resulted in complications and it took me over a week to be able to eat anything more than a scoop of ice cream and a cup of broth. You will live. It's more important to let your body heal up than to force food down. Keep hydrated.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    It is not really a lack of appetite. More so that most food hurt to eat.

    I was just asking if other people force the selfs to hit their calorie goals when not feeling well or they let it slide.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    A few days won't make a difference. If you're finding yourself weak or "hangry" (hungry and angry from low blood sugar), though, try to eat. Ensure, Boost, or other liquid meal replacements are good ways to get a fair number of calories quickly and inoffensively, even with a sore mouth; my father got a lot of calories from them when he wasn't able to open his mouth to eat solid food.
  • bulbadoof
    bulbadoof Posts: 1,058 Member
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    If you really don't feel hungry, you can make it up later on when you feel better. Don't force it.

    If you want food and it just hurts to do so, I'd try to get some soft or cold things to keep yourself fed.

    Best of luck and a speedy recovery to you.
  • Zephalia
    Zephalia Posts: 79 Member
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    Eat foods that you can drink. Smoothies, jello, ice cream, creamy soups, etc. But there's no need to force things as long as you stay hydrated.
  • KandGRanch
    KandGRanch Posts: 131 Member
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    I don't worry about it when I'm sick, and I have an allergy we haven't pinpointed that causes my lip to swell at random, making it unpleasant to eat anything.

    I stick with broths and soft foods if im sick, if I eat anything. I don't ever hit 1000 calories if im ill.

    Hope you feel better soon though!
  • nuttynanners
    nuttynanners Posts: 249 Member
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    I say don't force anything. Just drink plenty of water and eat when you are hungry. Maybe try drinking some green tea.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    bwogilvie wrote: »
    A few days won't make a difference. If you're finding yourself weak or "hangry" (hungry and angry from low blood sugar), though, try to eat. Ensure, Boost, or other liquid meal replacements are good ways to get a fair number of calories quickly and inoffensively, even with a sore mouth; my father got a lot of calories from them when he wasn't able to open his mouth to eat solid food.

    My dr estimates the swelling in my mouth will diminish over the me t few days, so it would be 5-7 days max thankfully. I found that apple sauce (go go squeeze packets I love) as well as chocolate soy milk goes down easy, so I don't think sugar will be an issue. Unfortunately most nutrition drinks contain ingredients I'm allergic to so that would be counter productive :(.
    bulbadoof wrote: »
    If you really don't feel hungry, you can make it up later on when you feel better. Don't force it.

    If you want food and it just hurts to do so, I'd try to get some soft or cold things to keep yourself fed.

    Best of luck and a speedy recovery to you.

    Thank you. It was kind of a freak thing. I hadn't had an anaphylactic allergy in 12 months after I learned how to stay away from my allergens really well. I usually only eat and drink my own food from home, but had a weakness for Starbucks
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    (Apparently post was too long so ckntinued) but had a weakness for Starbucks coffee. They made it with gloves, but as my dr pointed out, no way to know if there was contamination when they were setting up the station/cups :(. I will be sticking to bottled mochas now since I know they are safe more me.
    Zephalia wrote: »
    Eat foods that you can drink. Smoothies, jello, ice cream, creamy soups, etc. But there's no need to force things as long as you stay hydrated.

    I am trying to. Sipping vitamin water (dr recommended electrolytes since the antihistamines dry you out). Sadly I'm not doing terrific with that task. I did however set an hourly reminder on my phone to drink a few ounces.
    KandGRanch wrote: »
    I don't worry about it when I'm sick, and I have an allergy we haven't pinpointed that causes my lip to swell at random, making it unpleasant to eat anything.

    I stick with broths and soft foods if im sick, if I eat anything. I don't ever hit 1000 calories if im ill.

    Hope you feel better soon though!

    Thank you. I know the feeling. I was being intubated every other week for an unknown allergy for almost 3 months. I finally found an amazing allergist team that did blood work (was afraid to do scratch tests due to my severity) and finally nailed it down to wheat, barley, oat, gluten (actual anaphylactic reaction, not crohns or an intolerance), wasps, yellow jackets, white faced hornets (not that I ever plan on getting that close to them) and various weeds. It was such a relief to find out.

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