Well this is going to be a very touchy subject for a few people out there I can already tell...but...I had an abortion a few days ago ( reasons are personal ) and for the whole month I just ate. I couldn't drink water or I'd throw up and my nausea was just terrible, but I still managed to pack on 20 pounds! I have no clue if its even possible...could it just be water weight? I mean I drank soda all the time ( ginger ale and sprite because the bubbles made my stomach calm down ) and just shoved whatever I wouldn't throw up in my mouth. Ugh....I guess I am rambling, but my question is if it is possible to gain 20 pounds in a month.
Hi letsgethealthy, I'm sorry you've been through such a difficult time. Yes, it's possible to gain 20lbs in one month however this is likely due to your surgery. Did you have a D&C or other surgery involving an IV? You can get some pretty bad water retention after that (when I had my son, I had an IV and gained 20lbs in 3 days, it was unbelievable!). It took about 6 weeks for the water weight to flush itself out.
If you didn't have a D&C, then if it was huge amounts of food/stress eating, then yes I suppose it could add up that much. However, it could have been from the pregnancy too combined with stress eating. I had a miscarriage at 10 weeks last month, and did not have a D&C. Even then, my body was going through all sorts of wonky things and fluctuating wildly. When in your first trimester (as I assume you were), your body can gain large amounts of fluids too.
What's done is done, now focus on taking care of yourself. Big hugs. Give yourself a good 4-6 weeks for your body to start to get back to "normal" and then go from there. Of course, eat well & care for yourself before then, but don't assume the scale is 'permanent' right now.
Ugh, it just sucks because a month ago I was 170 pounds ( at the time I was complaining I felt huge ) and now I'm 190. I feel terrible not only from what happened during surgery ( I just went in without any IVs ect ) and now from the weight gain. Its just all very overwhelming for me to the point where I get all teary eyed thinking about it. It sucks that all my hard work is now gone.
Even without an IV it may have been mostly from the pregnancy. Like I said, I had a fair amount of water gain as well in the first trimester (12lbs) and a few weeks later it is completely gone after the pregnancy ended. I'm not sure if it was your first pregnancy or not but this is not uncommon for women in the first trimester, particularly first pregnancies. It's a lot of adjustment for the body. Yes, some of it is probably from overeating but you've been through a lot and your hard work is not lost, but it can take some effort to get back to it. Give yourself a break the next few weeks (ie. don't "punish" yourself for it) just get back on track and see how much 'damage' is actually done, because you are likely still dealing with plenty of pregnancy water retention, even after the fetus has been removed.
First off - I am sorry you had to go through that unpleasant experience. I bet having to make that kind of decision is just as hard as going through the procedure itself.
First off I have a question, you said you had the procedure a few days ago but have been eating this entire month? Could it be possible that the pregnancy and hormone fluctuations are the reason for the sudden increase in appetite? Depending on how far along you were that could have also effected your weight.
It is possible to gain but is unlikely is was 20lbs of fat. I would assume it was due to your surgery. I have no medical background but I would bet that your body hasn't adjusted to not being pregnant anymore, your hormones will be fluctuating wildly right now and I believe that could cause your body to retain more water then usual thus causing the weight gain.
If your really worried see your doctor for peace of mind. Give yourself about 2 months before your body adjusts and settles down again.
Thank you for your wisdom its very calming. I suppose the stress of the whole ordeal of what just happened is still getting under my skin and effecting me since it happened 3 days ago.
I've had 3 pregnancies and have gained a ridiculous amount of water weight with each. I don't think it's impossible that a lot of that 20 pounds is fluid retention, although it will probably end up being a combination of both. Since you had so much nausea though, even if you were drinking soda and eating convenience food, it's doubtful that you took in that many excess calories in so short a time.
Give yourself a few weeks to get back to normal, and see where you're at.
I was definitely eating stuff I wouldn't normally eat and I wasn't really hungry the whole time I was pregnant. I would get really bad hunger pangs so I had to eat constantly throughout the whole day to avoid getting them and it helped out with nausea ( if that makes sense? ) to get really full. Sometimes it worked sometimes I'd just throw it up ( more in the mornings/early evenings rather than night time ). Maybe throwing up and the dehydration has to do with it to??
You're welcome I took Misoprostol/Cytotec for mine (not sure if that's what you did), and it's quite a traumatic experience. It's okay to struggle for the next few days, you've been through a lot, try to focus on other things for now and not the scale.
It is unlikely in your case but it is certainly possible to gain that and more in a month.
It is common for bodybuilders who have been heavily restricting their calories for months to go on epic binges but even in those cases it is usually not 20lbs of FAT.
Possible to gain 20 pounds in one month?
I took Misoprostol/Cytotec for mine (not sure if that's what you did), and it's quite a traumatic experience. It's okay to struggle for the next few days, you've been through a lot, try to focus on other things for now and not the scale.
