can excessive hunger be psychosomatic? (TMS?)

ok, let me get a few things out of the way before you ask. i'm not pregnant, no diabetes, thyroid is fine, basically i had blood tests this year and everything is A+. No excessive thirst.

So a handful of days this month, today being the absolute worst, i've had extreme hunger that cant be satiated. No matter how much i eat and snack, the hunger stays. I'm doing all the "right" things, reaching for protein and fiber. Doesnt matter. It's at the point where i'm starting to panic and get really flustered and upset because i cant think straight with this hunger. I'm slowly gaining unwanted weight, and there's no way i'll be able to stop (or lose weight) with hunger like this. Seriously, i'm on the verge of crying because i'm so frustrated and uncomfortable.

I have classic TMS. The only time i've ever had hunger that cant be satisfied is when i was on certain meds. i'm on no meds right now. I wasnt like this months before. Seriously, it's distressing and sometimes i cant sleep because of it. cant concentrate at work because of the feeling like i havent eaten in a whole day.
I should also point out that i am body dysmorphic and have had a borderline eating disorder in the past, though i'm a "healthy" weight now, but since i have a little chub, i hate how i look. I find myself analyzing food and overthinking everything i eat. The one time i tried to do something akin to a low/no grain, high protein diet, i lost weight but felt terrible. my TMS flared bigtime, but i think it was because of the constant food anxiety, you know, the "cant eat that, must analyze labels, etc.". I know this latest thing with hunger is going to make me start calorie counting and stressing myself out, which might very well increase my pain big time. But i wonder, could all this be TMS? It honestly feels hormonal but odd that it only just started recently and i've never been one of those hormonal over-eaters. The only other thing that could be significant, is that i have been struggling with a persistent (and resistant) yeast issue, so i've been tinkering with probiotics so it's very possible i have affected my own gut flora and that can be a big factor in appetite. however, most probiotics normalize appetite, not increase it. Has this happened to anyone else and they felt it was TMS?

 

Hey Nicole,

I think the answer to your question is yes, it can be - I also suffer from a similar problem at times, and it gets better whenever I relax (for instance when I'm on holiday). I think that since stress affects our hormones, then we may get this hunger from slight hormonal changes which may not necessarily noticeable when we take blood tests.

I've got rid of my pain totally but still struggle with this excessive hunger issue from time to time, and only realised that it may be a TMS substitute recently, when someone else pointed it out and I spoke strictly to myself just in the same way I used to speak to my pain - telling myself that I DON'T have to be hungry, that I've eaten enough. I find it especially helpful to say this to myself before I go to sleep (since I used to dream about eating and wake up with extreme hunger in the middle of the night, which ruined the next day for me).

However, I've also found something else that helps me with this. My hunger is much worse when I eat a meal that's high in carbs or foods with a high glycemic index, so I've cut down on simple carbs considerably. I'm also snacking less but having larger meals 3 times a day, with a high content of protein and some fats. My meals are inspired by the keto diet but not strictly so - I eat meat, fish, vegetables, avocados and avoid fruit & veg like bananas and sweet potatoes, which are high on the glycemic index. I do have some crisps and chocolate from time to time - no need to be so strict! But this way my brain doesn't even have an excuse to be hungry.

 

Well I have definitely had time periods where I have felt hungry like that, but mostly it was hormonal right before my period. If you also messed up your gut diabolysis maybe try stopping the new priobiotic that you were taking and see if that eases up your hunger? You could also be getting to a point where your yeast overgrowth is getting better but the yeast is still calling out to be fed. Likely this is all TMS though and the attention and focus you are placing on it makes it seem likely it is TMS. What was something about your body you were worrying about prior to this extreme hunger?

 

So i just came back to say, i believe i found the culprit. Turns out, carbonated drinks like seltzer (i only drink calorie free, no soda) can actually ramp up the hunger hormone. Sounds like it should be the opposite, but the C02 is what stimulates the hormone. i had been drinking multiple seltzers a day and wondering why i was so starving! i quite the bubbly water and already feel substantially less hungry. So yeah, anything bubbley, even diet, can increase hunger!