OhBoy

Is it common for an A to lose their appetite nearly altogether? I've noticed AW hardly eats anymore & says she's losing weight. As the drinking seems to get worse, so does her appetite.

MsGrace

Yup.....very common. Many alcoholics end up malnourished.

suki44883

Many alcoholics find that when they eat, they don't want to drink. Their main objective is to drink, so they stop doing whatever it is that causes them to not want to drink. My father and step-mother never ate until just before they went to bed because if they did, they wouldn't drink anymore that night, and that just couldn't happen. They both died of alcohol related issues.

heathersweeds

Hi Im a recovering alcoholic and eating kills your buzz! I remember feeling hungry but wanting to be drunk instead so Id take another drink and it filled me...for awhile. I am in no way suggesting this lifestyle Im just sharing with you my experience that led me down a hopeless path untill I got sober.

sesh

I think in the earlier stages they do chose to rather drink than eat as to not kill the buzz, but as the alcoholism progresses and causes health problems they lose appetite all together.
At least my husband did. Before he ended up in hospital with liver cirrhosis he couldn't eat at all. He could only manage few sips of soup a day, sometimes not even that.

Pelican

It is part of the addiction to alcohol. (recommended reading "Under the Influence")

The alcohol is more readily absorbed than any nutrients consumed. Therefore, the body learns to accept the alcohol as a source of calories, carbohydrates, sugars and energy.

That is how the entire body/brain become addicted to alcohol. It penetrates every cell. And it penetrates faster than complex nutrition (whole foods)

Here is a link that contains excerpts to the book:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...influence.html

Seren

I believe that I read somewhere that the amount of calories taken in by drinking tends to suppress the appetite? Not sure if that's true.

worried72

In my experience with my husband, absolutely. I used to say he was "drinking his dinner". Ugh. We went out for a nice 40th birthday dinner with a bunch of his friends, and all he did was drink beer - the only one in the group who didn't eat. Super attractive.

Before he went to inpatient, he had lost a ton of weight.

Take care,
L.