Chronic Pain
A person with chronic pain may have a loss of appetite for a variety of reasons. The experience of chronic pain can be stressful and exhausting, both physically and emotionally. This can lead to a decrease in appetite. Additionally, chronic pain can cause hormonal imbalances that lead to appetite loss. In some cases, medications that are used to treat chronic pain can also cause a decrease in appetite.
Chronic pain is a stressor. It’s natural for your body to go into fight-or-flight mode when it experiences stress. This reaction is meant to protect you from harm, but it also has side effects, like increased heart rate and respiration and a release of stress hormones like cortisol. These changes can lead to a decrease in appetite. Research has shown that stress can reduce the number of calories a person burns by up to 20 percent.
In addition to the physical effects of stress, chronic pain can also take an emotional toll. Dealing with chronic pain day in and day out can be mentally and physically exhausting. So, it’s not surprising that people in constant pain may lose their appetite.
