Too skinny and trouble putting weight on.

[blackdog3428]

Okay, I'm new here, first post. I was wondering if anyone else is underweight and has trouble eating enough to put on weight because of the emetophobia. See not only do I have emetophobia but I also have Irritable Bowel Syndrome so my stomach is so tricky I do eat, but can only eat so much and I'm a VERY picky eater because I'm so worried about getting contaminated food. I do eat, I do not have anorexia or body image issues, I want to eat, I want to gain weight, but between the diarrhea bouts and upset stomach from the IBS and the fear of vomiting, my diet is pretty limited.

I am about 15 lbs underweight which wouldn't be a big deal for most people but I'm tiny to start with and so 15 lbs underweight puts me at about 100.

Does anyone else have this problem in relation to their emetophobia...so concerned with the safety of food (or other stomach symptoms that cause the fear of vomiting to come up) that they have trouble eating enough and are struggling to gain weight?

Does anyone have any advice on how to lessen the eating anxiety so that I can eat more?

[jools39]

yes many of us do. usuall yit is eaither we are underweight because we are too anxiety ridden to eat, or just the opposite; eatin and becoming overweight because food is our comfort. welcome to the site!!! we arent doctors or anything, but i guess i would reccoment talking to yours or a nutritionist, they can give you an idea about what to eat to stay a healthy weight

[furryballys]

i agree with many of the things jools said.

a suggestion you could maybe try is taking a digestive enzyme pill where it would help your tummy digest its food because normally when we are anxious our food doesn't digest as easily. there are remedies out there for IBS and i suggest you look them up or just do an IBS search on the forum here and i'm sure there will be many that could relate with you better because i don't have IBS.

[tiffclausing]

I go back and forth. Most times, though, I tend to gain or stay in a constant from eating junk one day to eating nothing the next. I tend to eat the same things because change scares me (afraid of food poisoning or allergies) and the stuff I do eat doesn't always scream healthy! Have you heard of taking asidophilus? (spelling is probably wrong!) It helps with digestive problems. It is also good to take if you ever have to be on an antibiotic. Antibiotics will kill all bacteria, good and bad. Asidophilus will restore the good bacteria keeping you from getting something else after being off of the antibiotic (just a little bit of trivia)

[blackdog3428]

I go back and forth. Most times, though, I tend to gain or stay in a constant from eating junk one day to eating nothing the next. I tend to eat the same things because change scares me (afraid of food poisoning or allergies) and the stuff I do eat doesn't always scream healthy! Have you heard of taking asidophilus? (spelling is probably wrong!) It helps with digestive problems. It is also good to take if you ever have to be on an antibiotic. Antibiotics will kill all bacteria, good and bad. Asidophilus will restore the good bacteria keeping you from getting something else after being off of the antibiotic (just a little bit of trivia)

OMG YES! You sound just like me. I eat horrible pre-packaged junk food then end up making myself sick but then I'll be afraid to eat healthier food because of say, not sure the meats cooked all the way, not sure if I might be allergic to anything I haven't had...oversensitive to the smell and taste of things (what if they're bad).

It's just like that. I know a healthier diet would help the IBS, but trying a new, healthy diet (which I've NEVER been on) is intimidating cuz of the fear.