Weight loss suddenly 8/9 months post transplant

Calum96

Hi my name’s Calum I’m 27 and 9 months post bmt I was in hospital for a week with infection and have noticed that I’m losing weight. I generally ate in hospital every day but not as much at home. I’ve been at home for a week post this admission and have noticed weight loss even though I’ve been eating normally enough again ! It’s something I will bring to my doctor on Wednesday but just wanted to know other peoples experiences as I’m currently quite concerned thank you !

Rachel_LeadNurse

Hi Calum96,
Thanks for reaching out to the forum for some advice.

I am the Lead Nurse here at Anthony Nolan, I can't give you first hand experience from a patient perspective but hopefully I can offer some reassurance.

It's great that you're monitoring your weight and it sounds like you're trying to work hard to prevent losing any more. As you'll be well aware the reduced dietary intake and the increased work your body is doing to mend during transplant often leads to weight loss. I often say to patients that whilst you may think you are just laid in bed, your body is doing a marathon healing and producing new cells! Psychologically this can be difficult to comprehend when there is no scar or surgical pain to remind you of this.

The mending continues for a number of weeks and months after transplant and infection complications can cause set backs, as you have encountered. You may also have lost a bit of muscle mass if you have been unwell and not moving around for a number of days, unfortunately it doesn't take long to lose muscle but takes quite a while to build it back up.

Hopefully your medical team have been able to offer some reassurance and they may have referred you back to a dietitian if they are concerned about your weight drop. If they haven't and you'd like to look at more information, you may find our essential guide to diet and activity useful to look at:

https://www.anthonynolan.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/2280PA_EssentialGuide_DietAndActivity_AW_Digital.pdf

I hope this has been helpful information and advice for you.
Kind regards
Rachel

Calum96

Hi Rachel that means a lot thank you for responding in such detail to my question I’ll definitely give that link a look as well . Thanks Calum