LOSS OF APPETITE

March 23, 2009, 5:04 am

Losing your appetite can be very discouraging, and it is a common complaint of older people. You may ask your doctor or pharmacist for a “tonic” to improve your appetite. But a “tonic” that consists of a mixture of vitamins and alcohol acts for a short period only as a placebo.

A decreased or lost appetite can be caused by various physical and psychological illnesses or it may be a side effect of medication. Digoxin, used for heart diseases, can accumulate in your body and lead to digitalis toxicity, which often results in a loss of appetite. Other medications that can lead to appetite loss include antibiotics, especially tetracycline and erythromycin, and drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease, heart palpitations (irregular heart rhythms), or abnormal emotional states.

in addition to drugs many illnesses can lead to a loss of appetite, including those that affect the stomach, bowel, liver, and pancreas. Diseased kidneys may cause a gradual loss of appetite, as may an underactive or overactive thyroid gland and metabolic disturbances affecting the body’s control of calcium.

A major cause of appetite loss is depression. This illness may not be immediately recognized by you, your family, or your physician because the symptoms are often different from those in the younger person. If you think you are suffering from depression, consult your physician, who can prescribe or arrange for suitable antidepressant therapy.

You should always be aware of social situations that interfere with your desire to eat. If you live alone, you may lose interest in preparing food or you may not want to eat because you have no one to share a meal with. This situation is similar to depression, but it can be treated by finding friends or neighbors to share meals.

Although as you get older your needs for food may decrease, you should not confuse this with appetite loss. If your weight remains steady, there is usually little to worry about. When loss of appetite is severe, it usually causes weight loss, which should be evaluated by a physician.

One 93-year-old woman caused great concern for her daughters because she ate very little according to their standards. They said she only nibbled at her food, whereas she claimed that she ate all that she needed. She remarked, “At my age you don’t need much food.” A comparison of weights taken at my office showed that her weight had not changed in the last two years. Clearly she knew what she was talking about.

*76\166\2*