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How long can a person survive without eating?
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gettingreallyfedupnow wrote: »I can't believe that what was a bit of background information to my request has escalated into numerous people insinuating that I am somehow deluded and or misinformed.
Yes, I know glucose drips exist. I didn't have one.
Yes, I was in ketosis. I was tested every morning.
Yes, I do know what I'm talking about. I'm a nurse.
Yes, it did nearly kill me and my baby. I lost weight, my hair fell out, I developed gallstones and I was induced at 38 weeks because although I had been eating normally again for a few months at that point, my kidneys were not in great shape. I was being very closely monitored and was told that if it had gone on any longer, I would have had to have a pic line inserted to get some nutrition to me.
I'm not going to go as far as scanning my medical records to make my point because that would be ridiculous and my medical treatment wasn't the point of this post anyway. I would like people to reflect though on how they would feel if they shared a traumatic experience that had long term repercussions on their health and then had to read that various strangers don't believe them.
You've answered your question then. You nearly died after 4 months... so 4 and a bit months.18 -
Alatariel75 wrote: »gettingreallyfedupnow wrote: »I can't believe that what was a bit of background information to my request has escalated into numerous people insinuating that I am somehow deluded and or misinformed.
Yes, I know glucose drips exist. I didn't have one.
Yes, I was in ketosis. I was tested every morning.
Yes, I do know what I'm talking about. I'm a nurse.
Yes, it did nearly kill me and my baby. I lost weight, my hair fell out, I developed gallstones and I was induced at 38 weeks because although I had been eating normally again for a few months at that point, my kidneys were not in great shape. I was being very closely monitored and was told that if it had gone on any longer, I would have had to have a pic line inserted to get some nutrition to me.
I'm not going to go as far as scanning my medical records to make my point because that would be ridiculous and my medical treatment wasn't the point of this post anyway. I would like people to reflect though on how they would feel if they shared a traumatic experience that had long term repercussions on their health and then had to read that various strangers don't believe them.
They let you starve for 4 whole months before they considered nutrition? How did you not sue the holy hell out of this hospital?
Good questions. I find it unconscionable that a hospital would stand by and watch a patient (a pregnant patient, no less) experiencing hair loss, weight loss, gallstones, degraded kidney function and impending death without considering nutrition.
I'm thinking that if something like that happened to my wife while she was in the care of a hospital, we'd be living in a very nice house, driving very nice cars and would have a hospital named after her - because she'd own it.38 -
I think it matters on a whole bunch of factors.
There was that morbidly obese guy that survived without food for over a year but he was under medical supervision. Every so often they'd give him supplements like Potassium to prevent his heart from stopping and his organs from shutting down. On the other hand there are 1000s of cases of people dieing after deciding to go on starvation diets or VLCDs without medical supervision.
So it depends on your body, your height and weight, how healthy you are and probably genetics. I remember reading an article way back on a GP that believed "Starving" Obese people was a good solution and many others said that he was insane. Both sides had good theories but at the end of the day it comes down to each individual.
Personally I'd don't think i could survive without food for very long. I have anaemia and because of that I have heart issues, so i'd probably die with in a few weeks.
If i can find some of these stories I'll link them if anyone's up for a good read, though, sadly there' s not much research involved. If anyone else can find them, please link them =D
Guy that didn't eat for over 1 year https://www.businessinsider.com.au/angus-barbieri-382-days-without-food-scotsman-fasting-starvation-obesity-2016-10
Another person dying on a VLCD http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1211954/Bride-crash-diet-death--eating-just-530-calories-day-11-weeks.html
https://www.wildernesscollege.com/basic-survival-skills.html
No real solid research here though =(
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DanishFeta wrote: »I think it matters on a whole bunch of factors.
There was that morbidly obese guy that survived without food for over a year but he was under medical supervision. Every so often they'd give him supplements like Potassium to prevent his heart from stopping and his organs from shutting down. On the other hand there are 1000s of cases of people dieing after deciding to go on starvation diets or VLCDs without medical supervision.
So it depends on your body, your height and weight, how healthy you are and probably genetics. I remember reading an article way back on a GP that believed "Starving" Obese people was a good solution and many others said that he was insane. Both sides had good theories but at the end of the day it comes down to each individual.
Personally I'd don't think i could survive without food for very long. I have anaemia and because of that I have heart issues, so i'd probably die with in a few weeks.
If i can find some of these stories I'll link them if anyone's up for a good read, though, sadly there' s not much research involved. If anyone else can find them, please link them =D
Guy that didn't eat for over 1 year https://www.businessinsider.com.au/angus-barbieri-382-days-without-food-scotsman-fasting-starvation-obesity-2016-10
Another person dying on a VLCD http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1211954/Bride-crash-diet-death--eating-just-530-calories-day-11-weeks.html
https://www.wildernesscollege.com/basic-survival-skills.html
No real solid research here though =(
Well, that's coz 'real solid' research would involve unethical and unconscionable methods. Hardly
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Alatariel75 wrote: »DanishFeta wrote: »I think it matters on a whole bunch of factors.
There was that morbidly obese guy that survived without food for over a year but he was under medical supervision. Every so often they'd give him supplements like Potassium to prevent his heart from stopping and his organs from shutting down. On the other hand there are 1000s of cases of people dieing after deciding to go on starvation diets or VLCDs without medical supervision.
So it depends on your body, your height and weight, how healthy you are and probably genetics. I remember reading an article way back on a GP that believed "Starving" Obese people was a good solution and many others said that he was insane. Both sides had good theories but at the end of the day it comes down to each individual.
Personally I'd don't think i could survive without food for very long. I have anaemia and because of that I have heart issues, so i'd probably die with in a few weeks.
If i can find some of these stories I'll link them if anyone's up for a good read, though, sadly there' s not much research involved. If anyone else can find them, please link them =D
Guy that didn't eat for over 1 year https://www.businessinsider.com.au/angus-barbieri-382-days-without-food-scotsman-fasting-starvation-obesity-2016-10
Another person dying on a VLCD http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1211954/Bride-crash-diet-death--eating-just-530-calories-day-11-weeks.html
https://www.wildernesscollege.com/basic-survival-skills.html
No real solid research here though =(
Well, that's coz 'real solid' research would involve unethical and unconscionable methods. Hardly
You mean you're not willing to starve to death for science?9 -
Can we have the name of the hospital/doctors that were letting you starve to death over 4 months so we know to avoid it like the plague?
This is the weirdest humblebrag I've ever seen I think. I survived 4 months! I was pregnant! The hospital didn't give a *kitten*!24 -
[edited by mods]
I'm intrigued about the OP's case - I cannot believe the body can go that long without any nutrition whatsoever - in fact the articles above suggest that after just a month there is a serious risk of organ failure.
What I really don't understand is not the how, but the why - why would drs without nutrition - what medical benefit did that confer?8 -
gettingreallyfedupnow wrote: »I can't believe that what was a bit of background information to my request has escalated into numerous people insinuating that I am somehow deluded and or misinformed.
Yes, I know glucose drips exist. I didn't have one.
Yes, I was in ketosis. I was tested every morning.
Yes, I do know what I'm talking about. I'm a nurse.
Yes, it did nearly kill me and my baby. I lost weight, my hair fell out, I developed gallstones and I was induced at 38 weeks because although I had been eating normally again for a few months at that point, my kidneys were not in great shape. I was being very closely monitored and was told that if it had gone on any longer, I would have had to have a pic line inserted to get some nutrition to me.
I'm not going to go as far as scanning my medical records to make my point because that would be ridiculous and my medical treatment wasn't the point of this post anyway. I would like people to reflect though on how they would feel if they shared a traumatic experience that had long term repercussions on their health and then had to read that various strangers don't believe them.
As you are a nurse you would know that to be given just saline and not rotate with 3% & 1/3, Hartmann, parental potassium etc would completely mess up your electrolytes. Lethal cardiac arrythmia; hyponatremia leading to seizure, coma, death. Etc etc ...
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Holy crap you should sue the hospital... I am a newly graduated physician and this would never ever happen unless your doctors were severely incompetent so you really should sue the hospital. Why didn't your family and loved ones ask the doctors to give you nutrition if you were being starved????25
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Had the same issue with my first pregnancy but wasn't hospitalized. I went from a 160 to 128 in a couple of months. Couldn't keep anything down. The doctor told me I was going to kill my baby if I didn't eat and gave me nausea medication (which I never took.) I forced my self to nibble food and fight the urge to run to the bathroom. It didn't end till second semester. I was so thin by then that strangers on the street thought I was homeless and would offer me food...which only made me gag and run to a trash can at just the suggestion. Sucked. An ultra sound at a specialist revealed my son would be born only 4 pounds. He was 8.6 pounds.
As for how long you can go without food? I think it would depend on your body size. Jesus went 40 days. I went nearly 2 months while pregnant. I starved myself to lose weight after my second baby was born. That was about 2 months also but I was over 200pounds then. But 3 weeks I think would be average.16 -
gettingreallyfedupnow wrote: »No, a drip is just for hydration. Saline, nothing else.
For 4 months? While pregnant? It was more like TPN (total parenteral nutrition). A person can live on TPN even if not bedridden. IDK if there is a limitation but people can live on it.14 -
gettingreallyfedupnow wrote: »I can't believe that what was a bit of background information to my request has escalated into numerous people insinuating that I am somehow deluded and or misinformed.
Yes, I know glucose drips exist. I didn't have one.
Yes, I was in ketosis. I was tested every morning.
Yes, I do know what I'm talking about. I'm a nurse.
Yes, it did nearly kill me and my baby. I lost weight, my hair fell out, I developed gallstones and I was induced at 38 weeks because although I had been eating normally again for a few months at that point, my kidneys were not in great shape. I was being very closely monitored and was told that if it had gone on any longer, I would have had to have a pic line inserted to get some nutrition to me.
I'm not going to go as far as scanning my medical records to make my point because that would be ridiculous and my medical treatment wasn't the point of this post anyway. I would like people to reflect though on how they would feel if they shared a traumatic experience that had long term repercussions on their health and then had to read that various strangers don't believe them.
Oh for Pete sake. Why would you post such a traumatic event on the Debate Forum in a fitness site on the internet if you didn't expect people to question your premise?- No one here has ever heard of such a thing (as you can tell by the responses.)
- Google can answer the question.
Because...various strangers...25 -
sarcasticarse wrote: »gettingreallyfedupnow wrote: »Before anyone assumes this is about extreme, unhealthy diets, no it isn't. I'm not suggesting anyone should stop eating to answer the question.
That experience made me wonder - just how long is it possible to survive without food?
It depends on how much fat store you are holding on your body. I am currently fasting and am waaaay past the 3 day rule suggested above. PM me if you want more details as I am not allowed to talk about it in the public forums.
The 3 day rule was water, not food.7 -
sarcasticarse wrote: »sarcasticarse wrote: »I have (and friends have) completed more than 3 days doing a completely dry fasts...
So you eat and drink nothing for multiple days? Why?
Dry fasting is for Healing your body, stretch marks / injuries, digestive issues... Lots of benefits.
Oh. That's an...interesting idea.10 -
sarcasticarse wrote: »sarcasticarse wrote: »I have (and friends have) completed more than 3 days doing a completely dry fasts...
So you eat and drink nothing for multiple days? Why?
Dry fasting is for Healing your body, stretch marks / injuries, digestive issues... Lots of benefits.
Well who knew. Stretch marks can be healed and aren't just scarring that fades with time and the body needing fuel to heal injuries? Pah! Just starve instead! Voila! MFP never fails.20 -
cmriverside wrote: »sarcasticarse wrote: »I have (and friends have) completed more than 3 days doing a completely dry fasts...
So you eat and drink nothing for multiple days? Why?
Because that's his woo. He posts this stuff all the time.
Got to drink all the Woo!2 -
sarcasticarse wrote: »sarcasticarse wrote: »I have (and friends have) completed more than 3 days doing a completely dry fasts...
So you eat and drink nothing for multiple days? Why?
Dry fasting is for Healing your body, stretch marks / injuries, digestive issues... Lots of benefits.
riiiiiiiiiiight.... :huh:3 -
stanmann571 wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »sarcasticarse wrote: »I have (and friends have) completed more than 3 days doing a completely dry fasts...
So you eat and drink nothing for multiple days? Why?
Because that's his woo. He posts this stuff all the time.
Got to drink all the Woo!
Is that before or after the dry fast?7 -
If stretch marks are scars, and you can heal them by starving yourself of food and water for three days (or more), does this mean I can also heal my huge knee surgery scar by doing the same thing? Can I also regenerate severed nerves at the same time? I sure would like to look better in shorts and not have my leg feel weird when I touch it!
Who cares if my blood sugar drops so low that I die? Beauty is ~pain~ and woo is magical.10 -
If stretch marks are scars, and you can heal them by starving yourself of food and water for three days (or more), does this mean I can also heal my huge knee surgery scar by doing the same thing? Can I also regenerate severed nerves at the same time? I sure would like to look better in shorts and not have my leg feel weird when I touch it!
Who cares if my blood sugar drops so low that I die? Beauty is ~pain~ and woo is magical.
Just get a saline drip.12
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