Enzymes and Malabsorption?

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ryry11

New member
Hi guys.
I'm sorry if this is a stupid question. I'm 19, and have been on enzymes since I was diagnosed at age 2. I'm on Zenpep now, 5 with meals and 2-3 with snacks, and have been for a couple of years. They've always been good at keeping me feeling good. I take Miralax once a day, 17 grams. I have excellent compliance with my enzymes, and that hasn't stopped or changed; I generally take them midway through the meal, and always have. What I'm getting at is that nothing med-wise has changed, but in the last 2-3 weeks, I've noticed that my stomach is more screwed up than usual, and have put on about 5 pounds since Christmas. I have never had a problem putting on weight, and had lost some weight when I was sick this fall, but I haven't been doing anything different in terms of eating, other than that I've been eating more. Therein lies my question. I'm not on Prednisone. I'm not on any antibiotics. And yet, I'm starving all the time. Take tonight for example. I ate a Subway for lunch at like 12:30, and then snacked on baked chips all afternoon (more than I should have eaten, I admit.) I took pills. At about 8, I realized that I was shaky hungry, and it came on very suddenly. I went and got chicken and pilaf, and inhaled that. I waited about 15 minutes, but I was still shaking I was so hungry, so I had a bowl of cereal. (I'm a college student, my options were limited. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> ) It's now midnight, and I'm STARVING again. I'm wondering if I might be malapsorbing my food? I've noticed that my stools are loose and oily lately, so I've been careful about what I eat, to an extent, and that usually fixes it, but it hasn't. It came to me tonight that the weight gain and the stomachaches and the stools and the hunger might all be related, and I'm too impatient to wait for Monday to call my doctor. Any advice or personal thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mariah
 
R

ryry11

New member
Hi guys.
I'm sorry if this is a stupid question. I'm 19, and have been on enzymes since I was diagnosed at age 2. I'm on Zenpep now, 5 with meals and 2-3 with snacks, and have been for a couple of years. They've always been good at keeping me feeling good. I take Miralax once a day, 17 grams. I have excellent compliance with my enzymes, and that hasn't stopped or changed; I generally take them midway through the meal, and always have. What I'm getting at is that nothing med-wise has changed, but in the last 2-3 weeks, I've noticed that my stomach is more screwed up than usual, and have put on about 5 pounds since Christmas. I have never had a problem putting on weight, and had lost some weight when I was sick this fall, but I haven't been doing anything different in terms of eating, other than that I've been eating more. Therein lies my question. I'm not on Prednisone. I'm not on any antibiotics. And yet, I'm starving all the time. Take tonight for example. I ate a Subway for lunch at like 12:30, and then snacked on baked chips all afternoon (more than I should have eaten, I admit.) I took pills. At about 8, I realized that I was shaky hungry, and it came on very suddenly. I went and got chicken and pilaf, and inhaled that. I waited about 15 minutes, but I was still shaking I was so hungry, so I had a bowl of cereal. (I'm a college student, my options were limited. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> ) It's now midnight, and I'm STARVING again. I'm wondering if I might be malapsorbing my food? I've noticed that my stools are loose and oily lately, so I've been careful about what I eat, to an extent, and that usually fixes it, but it hasn't. It came to me tonight that the weight gain and the stomachaches and the stools and the hunger might all be related, and I'm too impatient to wait for Monday to call my doctor. Any advice or personal thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mariah
 
H

Havoc

New member
I agree with Sara, blood sugars are a good place to start.

ETA: As an afterthought, when did you switch to zenpep? When I switched, it seemed to screw up the works for a few weeks. Having said that, I would still follow up with a 2 hour OGTT.
 
H

Havoc

New member
I agree with Sara, blood sugars are a good place to start.

ETA: As an afterthought, when did you switch to zenpep? When I switched, it seemed to screw up the works for a few weeks. Having said that, I would still follow up with a 2 hour OGTT.
 
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JustDucky

New member
When you say shaky hungry, I thought about blood sugars.....get them checked out. Diabetes will cause hunger and weight loss. If it turns out that it isn't a sugar problem, then yes, it is possible to malabsorb despite using enzymes. You may need more of them......I guess what I am saying is to see your doctor for a thorough work up.

Jenn 40 w/CF
 
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JustDucky

New member
When you say shaky hungry, I thought about blood sugars.....get them checked out. Diabetes will cause hunger and weight loss. If it turns out that it isn't a sugar problem, then yes, it is possible to malabsorb despite using enzymes. You may need more of them......I guess what I am saying is to see your doctor for a thorough work up.

Jenn 40 w/CF
 
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SIcklyhatED

New member
interesting, but the only thing that doesn't add up, to me at least, is that you said you had gained about 5 lbs, yet wouldn't malabsorbtion cause the opposite affect???

Have you noticed an increase in thirst/urination as well? That's also a sign of diabetes.
 
S

SIcklyhatED

New member
interesting, but the only thing that doesn't add up, to me at least, is that you said you had gained about 5 lbs, yet wouldn't malabsorbtion cause the opposite affect???

Have you noticed an increase in thirst/urination as well? That's also a sign of diabetes.
 
R

ryry11

New member
I've been on Zenpep for a couple of years now, so I'm pretty sure it's not them. I have a clinic appointment next Tuesday, so I'll definitely ask about it. When I was in the hospital, they tested my blood sugars and they were slightly elevated, but they weren't worried about it at the time. I haven't noticed more thirst or urination, just the huge amount of hunger and my stomach hurting almost every day even with pills. Thanks for the input, everyone. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
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ryry11

New member
I've been on Zenpep for a couple of years now, so I'm pretty sure it's not them. I have a clinic appointment next Tuesday, so I'll definitely ask about it. When I was in the hospital, they tested my blood sugars and they were slightly elevated, but they weren't worried about it at the time. I haven't noticed more thirst or urination, just the huge amount of hunger and my stomach hurting almost every day even with pills. Thanks for the input, everyone. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
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bigstar

New member
Hunger sounds like a good feeling to me. When im sick or tend to get sick i lose my apettite. And it sucks not to like anything to eat. Check your blood sugars but hunger is not something to worry about in my opinion.
 
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bigstar

New member
Hunger sounds like a good feeling to me. When im sick or tend to get sick i lose my apettite. And it sucks not to like anything to eat. Check your blood sugars but hunger is not something to worry about in my opinion.
 
R

ryry11

New member
I'm aware it sucks to not want to eat anything, I've also experienced that, but it also sucks to be hungry all the time even after eating, and then get shaky within minutes afterwards. It sucks to have my stomach hurt every day with CF. I'll get the blood sugars checked. Thanks for your input.
 
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ryry11

New member
I'm aware it sucks to not want to eat anything, I've also experienced that, but it also sucks to be hungry all the time even after eating, and then get shaky within minutes afterwards. It sucks to have my stomach hurt every day with CF. I'll get the blood sugars checked. Thanks for your input.
 
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TreasureGoddess

Member
Also ask your doc about your level of antacids. My son had to increase the level of his nexium as his acid levels were increasing and causing the oily stools. The oil is a sign of malabsorption, ask about increasing the enzymes. After talking with my son's doc & nutritionists, we have a pretty good idea of how & when to increase enzymes should we need to for a day or so to get back on track. Good luck!
 
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TreasureGoddess

Member
Also ask your doc about your level of antacids. My son had to increase the level of his nexium as his acid levels were increasing and causing the oily stools. The oil is a sign of malabsorption, ask about increasing the enzymes. After talking with my son's doc & nutritionists, we have a pretty good idea of how & when to increase enzymes should we need to for a day or so to get back on track. Good luck!
 
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Tisha

New member
I've always adjusted my pills to the quality of stools. Hard = I've taken too many, reduce. Loose and oily and stomachache = I've taken too few. It also depends on how much fat the food contained.
Loose and oily and stomachache and feeling hungry points towards needing to increase the pills. But you say you gained weight? In that case do check the other things that have been said here, because that's totally opposite from what's expected...
 
T

Tisha

New member
I've always adjusted my pills to the quality of stools. Hard = I've taken too many, reduce. Loose and oily and stomachache = I've taken too few. It also depends on how much fat the food contained.
Loose and oily and stomachache and feeling hungry points towards needing to increase the pills. But you say you gained weight? In that case do check the other things that have been said here, because that's totally opposite from what's expected...
 
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