Is my Small Appetite caused by my Depression or Digestive issues?

Hey, all. I'm starting to come back around. I suppose I've been away because focusing on keeping things in order over here seems to keep anything bad from happening, and keeps the people around me happy... Keeping occupied also keeps my mind busy, and in a way, I felt weird about asking advice when I'm not even feeling too bad right now... but I miss my friends, and I would love to keep helping out my pals on here. Maybe I'll make an update post for anyone interested...

Anyway, I DO have a question related to health. And it can kind of relate to mental health too. Something I've been thinking about lately.

So, I've noticed how I have a really small appetite. I've never exactly eaten a lot, and my eating did spike a little during puberty, but for a long time, my appetite has been really small. I eat VERRRRRY slowly to the point where I annoy other people, but it's the only way I can finish all the food on my plate, and sometimes I skip meals all together because I'm just not hungry. Sometimes on weekends I skip both breakfast and lunch and just nibble on some small snacks to hold me over till dinner. I'm also pretty thin, being almost 5'3" and weighing around 105 lbs. People often comment on how tiny I am (sometimes as compliments, being in high school and all.)

I've always had bad gas and constipation for as long as i can remember. I've taken gas tablets before, but they tasted bad and I kind of just stopped, and the constipation is on and off. I often have lower body pain right before and after a bowel movement, particularly after.

However, I've had some depression for the past 1 1/2 years. It started about November 2010, got progressively worse, and spiked last December. Lately, I've been feeling a lot better from that, particularly since April but still have a lot of lingering despair and fear from that time. I DID notice a drop in appetite during December, but not a big one. I think my T noticed it, too. And that was more emotion-involved.

So, do you think my appetite is caused by my funky digestive system, my depression, or just how my body naturally eats? Do you think its any combination of the three? Should I do anything about it?

I find that my appetite is pretty much controlled by my depression. However, if I'm constipated that also controls my appetite too!

Since you're only 5'3" you're not TOO far off of what you should weigh. BUT if you're medium build, you should weigh more than that. If you're small boned, you're probably right where you should be. You may need a little more weight, say 5-10lbs.

I'm glad you're seeing a therapist.

Have you had a colonosopy? It might be a good idea to have one and make sure you don't have any problems in the colon. Constant constipation isn't good -- I know you're always had it, but it's still a good idea to make sure there's no problems.

It's amazing how many things enter into depression, isn't it? I hope you feel better soon. Take care & keep us posted. Hugs, Lee

Hello, Natani_girl!
I strongly recommend you speak to a doctor about your symptoms. Sure, depression could have something to do with it, but sometimes depression is intertwined with other problems. I have gastroenterological issues that went undiscovered for years because the depression diagnosis was all the doctors could see; they read all my symptoms through that diagnosis without considering other possibilities.

Yes, check out whether there might be any physical causes for these symptoms to appear.

I also wonder whether you suffer a lot from anxiety. For me, it's high levels of anxiety (not so much depression) that tend to trigger nausea and tummy pain amongst other things.