Weight Gain and AN

[PaulW]

Thought I would bring this up as a point of discussion.
Over the last few years I have put on quite a bit of weight and tipped the scales at 105Kg or 232 pounds.
Now I look back at my experiences over the past 5 years, and I think.. Has the weight gain been caused by side effects of the AN???

If you have mild motion sickness or a mild hangover what do you do?

If I have mild motion sickness or a slight hangover, I feel like I need to put something in my stomach to settle my stomach.
After I have put something in my stomach, I will tend to do nothing. Sit in front of the TV, or have a lazy day at home.

With my AN I have been having mild balance issues for many years unknown to me at the time, and I have felt the urge to eat to settle my stomach.

Are balance problems causing us to eat more and exercise less?

I was treated with Cyberknife 9 months ago, and my balance problems have really started to improve in the last 3 months.
I feel less dizzy, and have less of the "Wonky Head" than I did pre treatment.

As the balance problems improve, I am finding my concentration is better, I don't need to shove food in my stomach as much, and I don't tend to need that quiet weekend on the couch as much.

I have lost 18 pounds in the last 3 months, with no effort, no change in lifestyle or diet, no extra planned excercise.
When my balance problems started to resolve the weight has started to disappear.

Any comments or observations anyone?

[Jim Scott]

Hi, Paul ~

Interesting observation.

Due to the loss of taste generated by my growing AN (which I was blissfully unaware of at the time) I lost almost 35 unneeded pounds just prior to being diagnosed with a 4.5 cm AN.  Immediately following my AN debulking surgery my sense of taste returned.  However, by then, I had changed my eating habits and liked being the same weight I had been 25 years earlier.  I still eat the same foods (no dieting) but smaller portions - and I usually skip snacks.  I walk a bit but no other 'formal' exercise (like Mark Twain, I don't like being tired).  My weight is at a healthy level (BMI of 21) and has stayed quite stable for the past 5 years (post-op).  I realize this is the opposite of your experience but I wanted to submit it as another point of view on the AN-weight issue.

Jim

[PaulW]

Interesting Jim!
So you think your lack of taste actually was one of the reasons you lost weight?
My thoughts behind this discussion is that there seems to be far more subtle side effects of Acoustic Neuroma, than what is generally recognised.
I thought many of my minor issues were because I was getting old. As I improve I am beginning to think it has probably more to do with the AN than just getting older.

So we have two observations now.
Weight Gain and Weight Loss, both suspected to be accentuated by having an AN, and a change of behaviour.

Does "Wonky Head" lead to weight gain?

[Kaybo]

Started to answer but didn't finish & just too tired. Just got out of hospital from totally unrelated AN surgery that went all wrong - spent 2 days in ICU & had 5 units of blood!
More later...

K

[opp2]

Oh my! you rest and recover Girl....let's those Curly Girlies take care of Mamma..

[rayden1]

Hi Paul

Lost 3 stone

Have since gained half stone in 4 yrs. Who knows what an causes

Ann x

[yardtick]

Hi Paul,

I have gained and being "a lady" I will not divulge what I weigh now or prior to the wonderful world of AN.  I did loose a lot of weight the first 6 months after surgery because it was so difficult to chew.  About 19 months after surgery I was put on gabepentin and I did gain 10lbs in one month and my eating habits did not change.  Two years later I am on lyrica and the weight gain is very annoying.  I feel my weight gain is a direct result of inactivity since I am off work on disability, and the drugs.  I have to take the drugs because I suffer from chronic facial pain and debilitating headaches, a result of nerve damage from surgery.  The weight gain bothers me, I have always been very thin, but the headaches and facial pain are more bothersome than the weight.

Anne Marie   

[Rivergirl]

Food is comfort food for sure and when I feel like crap I eat............and most days I don't feel that great, I would like to think there is a connection, surgery next month might be life changing for the better...I hope

[reg]

  ???i lost about 70lbs during my hospital stay (complicated surgery) 70 days and feeding tube gained 25lbs post an up til now, on gabapentin daily, interesting post about meds, walk daily to combat weigh gain so meds might have something to do with it

[sunfish]

I gained about 20 pounds due to wonky head.  I just didn't feel like being as active as I have been over the past few years AN.  Today, I worked hard cleaning my house from early morning until late afternoon.  I wouldn't have been able to do that 3 months ago.  I could really tell my energy is improving, and I'm getting better!

[kenneth_k]

Before I had the AN diagnosed, I had dizzy spells/imbalance and felt really tired/low sugar level when I got home from work. I was in a "MUST EAT NOW"-mental state. I was worried if I it was an onset of diabetes or something. Well, the rest is history.....

Kenneth

[james e]

I am 61 years old, weighed 172lbs prior to surgery and weigh 172lbs today. I eat the right food, don't drink alcohol, don't smoke, and I exercise every day. I might not live longer, but I'll look pretty good when they do my autopsy...I have donated my remains to Texas A&M. We are all in charge of our lifestyles, and I have always been athletic all my life. It is a little harder now because of my continued wonkyness, but I will wear myself out rather than watching TV.

[Jim Scott]

So you think your lack of taste actually was one of the reasons you lost weight?

No doubt about it.  When all foods -  even your favorites - taste like cardboard (or are completely tasteless) the desire to eat is drastically reduced, even when you're hungry, because eating is simply unrewarding.  That's how important the sense of taste is.  Because I practically stopped eating, my body used the stored fat I had built up (mostly in my mid-section) to sustain itself.  My stomach 'shrunk', my extra pounds disappeared and I was feeling more fatigued with every week that went by.  I'm just shy of 5' 8" and when my weight dropped below 140 pounds (down from 170) I started to get concerned.  My wife, even more so.  I finally saw my PCP, her ordered an MRI (looking for a 'sinus problem') and the rest is, as they say, is history.  Thanks to my changed eating habits I've been able to maintain my weight at around 140, which is just about right for my height and build.  I've done this for almost 5 years, now.  I do a little light exercise but, as I've stated in a previous post, nothing strenuous.  However, I hasten to add that I'm retired but far from sedentary.  I still have responsibilities (church deacon) so I'm up and out or working around the house (condo) every day.  I jokingly call my weight loss 'the AN diet".   As this thread shows, every AN patient has a slightly different experience with weight gain or loss.  This is mine.  I hope it helps add to our collective understanding of the myriad ramifications of developing an acoustic neuroma and I thank you for starting the thread to explore the issue.

Jim