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I can’t eat anything and I don’t know what to do

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I’ve never actually posted on here before, just lurk, but at this point i’m desperate for any answers. I have a feeling this will be long so my apologies ahead of time, I just want to make sure I’m detailed. I’m a 21 year old female college student. I have a high stress and chaotic life between school, work, my internship, and personal projects. I’m typically out from 10am to 8pm and sleep is non existent. I’m currently typing this while at work running on three hours of sleep and staring at my lunch I can’t eat. Anyways, I’ve had various health issues my entire life, physical and mental. I’ve had severe asthma since I was a child and a slew of undiagnosed stomach issues. I also have diagnosed OCD and PPD. I take 75mg of sertraline and 20mg of lamotrigine as a mood stabilizer. To be completely honest I miss my meds all the time, which has its own horrible effects. Along with all of this, I have chronic back pain and joint problems. I played sports my entire life and did gymnastics for 8 years, only stopping junior year of high school. We correlated my back issues to sports but they have only gotten worse as i’ve gotten older. While I am in no way self diagnosing, I think it is important to mention that I meet 8/9 on the Brighton Scoring system, and I believe (as does my mom) that I most likely have ehlers danlos syndrome. It explains my joint and severe back problems, my various GI issues, and why I can move my trachea back and forth. Ok that was all background information, here’s what’s currently going on. For about two years now, maybe a bit more. Eating has been really hard for me. I’m nauseous 24/7, I can’t even stomach ritz or regular bland foods. Shit white bread made me sick. In the beginning it was mostly for meals, I could still eat snacks and small things. I started just grazing to eat, never really enjoying what I ate, just eating because I have too. Within the last couple of months it’s gotten so much worse. I’m lucky if i’m able to stomach a meal, usually stopping a couple bites in. I’ve been eating a meal every one to two days, barely eating anything else. I’m so scared of food making me sick now. My stomach always hurts, i’m exhausted from lack of nutrition, and I gag at everything. I’m at a loss. I’ve tried meal prepping, anti nausea meds, finding new safe foods, etc, but NOTHING is working. It’s to the point where even drinking water can make me feel sick and nauseous. I can’t keep going on like this. I’m so tired all the time, I can barely pay attention in class and I can’t even process half the readings anymore. My brain fog is horrible. I’m only 21, I shouldn’t have to live like this. Im so depressed nowadays because of this, I love food but I so rarely get to enjoy it. I don’t want to pump myself full of drugs everyday to eat like a normal person. I just don’t know what to do. The only idea i’ve had is making nutrient heavy smoothies in the morning to give me some energy, but I just don’t have the time too. Doctors aren’t really an option at the moment since I lost my insurance and can’t afford any tests they would need to run. If anyone has literally ANYTHING that they thing could help please share, i’ve never felt so desperate before. PS: no this is not an eating disorder, i do not have ARFID or Anorexia. this has nothing to do with weight or looks.

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Subreddit
r/AskDocs
Posted
Feb 12, 2026 at 6:38 PM UTC
LeadScore: 55question

AI Analysis

Condition
chronic nausea, gastrointestinal issues, OCD, postpartum depression, suspected Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, chronic back pain
Barrier
uninsured
Geography
us likely