For the last ten days or so, I've been religiously keeping my food journal - even when I ate off-plan, I diligently documented. At an average around 1500 calories (actually a little low for me, but I wasn't feeling very well and sleeping alot).

Over the last ten days, I've GAINED over 10 lbs, and I was thinking what's up? There's no reason I should be putting on weight. Even sleeping most of the time because of the bad "cold" I thought I had, couldn't have lowered my metabolism that much could it have? I wondered.

Well, I found out today that I have pneumonia. I don't know how much fluid the lungs hold, but I am still a bit puffy around the wrists and ankles, so I'm obviously retaining some water. I received a breathing treatment in the hospital and I've taken several doses of the medications they sent me home with. I guess it's been about 12 hours now since the first treatment, and I've lost 3 lbs since this morning (I probably shouldn't have weighed myself again tonight, but I usually weigh the heaviest right before bed, so losing 3 lbs since morning, makes me wonder if it is somehow connected).

Weirdest thing, I had no idea I was this sick. I've definitely had respiratory infections that were a whole lot more uncomfortable than this one. I wouldn't even have gone to the walk-in clinic if I weren't making weird wheezing sounds (but they didn't "feel" uncomfortable, just sounded weird), and I had a cough, but not a very bad one. I felt tired, and had little appetite, but I didn't really feel bad enough to suspect I had pneumonia.

Colleen, I gained weight like crazy before when I had pneumonia. I know mine was from the high dose steroids they had me on. My prednisone was increased and I was on IV Solumedrol as well. My face got so round that I didn't even look like myself. Did they put you on prednisone or a Medrol dose pack or an Advair inhaler. All of these can cause weight gain. You probably are retaining a lot of fluid if you dropped 3 lbs. from this morning to this evening. I hope you feel better soon as pneumonia can be really rough. When I had my pneumonia, I felt really tired and had a productive cough. I thought it was bronchitis, took a course of antibiotics and it just wouldn't clear up. I did not know I was as sick as I really was. If you do notice that you are peeing a lot more than usual, it's your body trying to get rid of that excess fluid.

No oral steroids, but I've been on a rather strong topical steroid for a skin infection (overgrowth of yeast) and was on several courses of strong antibiotics since December (one of the reasons I didn't suspect a bacterial infection - as the "cold" began while I was finishing up a course of strong antibiotics.

I am now on Advair, for the pneumonia, and the last time I was on it I did get "steroid hunger," so I'm going to have to be really careful with that.

I think we're definitely talking water retention though, because I've been drinking tons of water - but wasn't noticing much of an increase in bathroom visits - unlike the norm where a little more water than normal and I'm camping out in the potty.

What's surprising me more than anything is the psychological trauma this is causing. I thought I finally was mastering the "eat right," and the weight will follow, overcoming the obsession with the scale and feeling good or bad based on the number - and then this temporary weight gain that has to be all water, is making me feel all crazy and frustrated.

Being sick and the weight bummer, is tempting me to throwing a "pity party," complete with the usual party fare comfort foods, but so far I'm doing ok. One blessing is that my comfort food of choice for sore throats and coughs has always been popsicles. With sugar free popsicles and no sugar added frozen fruit bars, and absolutely no appetite for "real" food, I think I can get through this pretty well.

Water is very heavy. One liter weighs one kilogram. That's 2.2 lbs! So you can image ... if it's spread all over your body (and some is hiding in your chest) ... 8 even 10 lbs can be pretty sneaky.

Yeah, I know this (in my head), just need to keep chanting it until the fluid is flushed out. Heck, I can gain 10 lbs or more with just TOM water retention, so this shouldn't be any more disheartening.

Oh but Colleen ... you've been sick, under the weather ... everything is discouraging.

You did the right thing in coming here. You feel better today?

feel better

I'm glad you posted. I've been sick with bronchitis for the past two weeks, eating very little and not dropping an ounce. I feel better now. I didn't realize a liter of water weighed so much!

Tell everyone you know Ruth! I think in general we greatly underestimate water weight fluctuations. You can fool yourself out of a gangbuster losing week by weighing with a coupla cups of coffee on board.

I am starting to feel better. I guess I didn't realize how much this snuck up on me. I didn't realize how sick I really was, because I didn't hurt much, I just felt very weak - so I just kept sleeping. "I'm not sick, I'm just sleepy," I guess that was pretty stupid thinking since I was sleeping all but a few hours.

AND I lost another pound. This does have to be all fluid, because four pounds in two days can't be anything else. I'm still a little puffy too. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much about how much more will "fall" off though, because I caught myself imagining that it would be great if the water weight was hiding some huge loss. Don't want to be so unrealistic that I'm disappointed when the "gain" doesn't turn out to be hiding an equally huge loss.

Colleen, I'm glad you are feeling a little better. I'm sure once all the water comes off you'll see a drop in the lbs. It is frustrating. I take prednisone every day and was on the Advair inhaler for a year. It made me so hungry. Go for those sugar-free popsicles and such if you can stomach them. I did the same thing as you when I had pneumonia, gained weight with water and the med's but didn't really eat much because all I did was sleep. Try to hang in there and let this run the course. If you start feeling worse, go back to the doctor right away. Advice I should have heeded before ending in hospital for 6 1/2 weeks.

Susan, you are so right. I couldn't tell you how many times I forget to weigh until after I've had 2 or 3 cups of coffee. It sure doesn't help the scale.

I have a follow up in appt with my doctor in one week, and the on-call
walk-in doctor told me to come back in sooner if it seemed to be getting worse or wasn't getting any better after a few days. So I've learned my lesson.

A lot of sf frozen pops are pretty nasty, but the ones I like the best are practically cheapest, the ones we buy at the Aldi discount store. I much prefer the no sugar added Edy's fruit bars though, but the calories add up faster. Last night, I froze some fresh fruit, and I had a bag of frozen strawberries in the freezer, so now I'm at least getting more of the fiber. The frozen tangerine sections are pretty good, even if I do have to watch for seeds.

2 more lbos! Yeah! Wow, I can't believe 6 lbs in two days, no wonder I felt so wiped out if all of that was in my LUNGS. I don't know if there's any more to "wring out," but I am feeling tons better, at least emotionally. I'm still pretty wiped out, even washing the dishes last night was an aerobic activity (luckily, my sweet hubby sent me to bed and finished them) but I imagine pneumonia doesn't disappear quickly. Yikes, I don't know how I could have been in such denial of how badly I was feeling. I guess when anything creeps up on you, "normal" is harder to guage.

Funny thing about hubby doing the dishes. He HATES doing dishes, and will "trade" any other housechore to avoid (that's how the laundry became HIS job), so his scooting me off to bed and finishing them was really sweet (especially since his usual response if I seem tired is to say "honey don't kill youself - they can wait until tomorrow"). Seeing him so worried about me (he's been falling all over himself to try to make me feel better, what a sweetie), kind of got me all sappy feeling, but made me realize how sick I really have been. Don't get me wrong, my husband has always been one of the "sensitive" types, but he also is likely to ask me if I've gotten a new outfit when I get my hair cut.

I'm so glad you're feeling better...it's hard to be patient when you know a sickness is drawn out. At least you have a dh to comfort you, he sounds like a doll