I've always been underweight, but I've lost a lot of weight after having my baby (now 9 months) and the same thing happened with my first pregnancy. I've had a lot of bloodwork done and nothing has shown up, but I feel e en though I was always underweight I never looked unhealthy like I do now. Also, I have NO sex drive and wondering if there could be a connections? Any ideas?
Have you been checked for Hyperthyroidism? Many times, thyroid issues are kicked off by the drastic hormonal changes during pregnancy. In the meantime, try protein shakes, etc. Best wishes!
What do you eat in a typical day?
Things to request testing for just to make sure. A full thyroid panel, not just a TSH, a celiac panel including genetic and Igm, Iga, a diabetes panel including current sugar(Chem 21 is comprehensive and includes it), a iron deficiency panel, and a vit B profile. The reasoning is if there is something going on it needs to be fixed either with diet or drug, but preferrably diet. I know that some of these are not cheap blood tests and if you are underinsured you can always try diets first keeping in mind if you change your diet you would have to resume your old one to get accurate testing for Celiac and diabetes. I know sex drive can be altered for up to 3 years biologically after a birth and a long time psychologically. That however does not explain the weight and not looking healthy. If you are taking prenatal vitamins which you should until 2 yr post partum to replace anything the pregnancy has taken, eating a solid diet of a variety of fruits and veggies, dairy, proteins, whole grain carbs and enough calories per day you should be keeping the weight on unless you have underlying factors. Hyperthyroid can affect the bodies ability to keep on the weight and how you feel and can cause depression. Take a look at hair and nails, how is their growth, are they shiny, not breaking, or brilltle, hard to manage? Do you feel tired after eating?
If you current doctor won't do the testing it may be time to visit a new doc and just see what they think. As I prefer not to do alot of expensive things with medical, I do however prefer to find out what I can prevent before it affects other things and you want to be healthy for your baby.
Are you breastfeeding? If so, you need to supplement your diet with LOTS more protein and carbs and good vitamins than you're getting now.
If you've no sex drive, that could be related to breastfeeding too. Your hormones are not the same as when your body is receptive to having another baby. If you're concerned, talk to your gyno and see what they say.
I lost a lot of weight (45 pounds) after my last pregnancy, in spite of being diagnosed with hypothyroidism. If you haven't ruled out unusual levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), dopamine, or serotonin, you might want to have those hormone levels checked by an endocrinologist. You might also consider seeing a dietician if you haven't already. You might also want to track you diet (caloric intake and type of food) for a week before seeing a dietician. Yet another thing to consider is the amount of sleep you are getting. (My mother's weight dropped down to 75 pounds after she her second and last child, although I don't know her sex drive was at that point in her life.) The last thing you might consider is your self-image. It is possible for a negative self-image, for whatever reason, to reduce sex drive.
Best wishes,
Lynne
