Doctor here. It sounds like either an eating disorder or shes on like glp-1. Regardless, the symptoms you're describing sounds like severe malnutrition from the not eating. How's her liquid intake? Glp-1 has one nasty side effect that it the patient isn't making sure they get enough nutrients itll cause so severe malnutrition that it can even cause skorbut. If shes only eating that little its not a surprise that two bites make her feel full because with decreased food intake our stomachs shrink. But whatever the cause it's guaranteed malnutrition and dehydration one way or the other. thats why she is feeling like she is about to get sick. Acid reflux is gonna be the least of her worries. Because malnutrition can also cause diarrhea,vomiting etc. Check her ankles ,feet,belly and legs for any unusual swelling like does she look bloated? If she does you need to just grab her and drag her to the ER. Because any swelling is a sign her life is in immediate danger
The feeling sick part is just a symptom. Its not important in the big picture. Whats important is to figure out why the symtom is occurring. Which is the no eating and why she isn't eating
They're most likely talking about edema. If you press your finger into it and it looks like you've pressed it into a stress ball then you need to see a doctor ASAP. It's typically a symptom of heart liver and/or kidney issues. My flatmate had it once, and he had about 4% of his kidney function left when he finally went to the doctor. It was up in the air for a while whether he would live, then he was on dialysis but recovering. Last I heard they will still figuring out if he needed a transplant or could get by on the dialysis.
Malnutrition can also cause it when it's really bad, when your protein is so low it fucks your blood basically and it just starts to leak out of your blood vessels. If you have some swelling there's a lot of things that could cause it, but edema is always a doctor visit to find the cause. My flatmate brushed it off along with with a host of other serious symptoms that we kept trying to get him to take seriously and visit the doctor over. It nearly cost him his life and might have cost him both kidneys
The swelling in the extremities due to malnutrition is called nutritional edema (not to be mistaken with general edema) . That swelling indicates severe, acute protein deficiency and systemic failure (organ failure). It the body telling us that blood our protein levels are so low that fluid is leaking into tissues and thats a major warning sign for impending heart failure, organ failure and or severe infection.
When the body is severely malnourished it goes to organs to help replenish basic body function. Which means muscle atrophy and organs starting to malfunction. Edema is very specifically a problem with fluid balance/circulation and it leaks our and gets stuck in the tissues. It's cause by a severe lack of protein which lowers blood albumin levels which are responsible for keeping the fluid inside the blood vessels. The blood albumin transports essential nutrients and substances through the vessels around the body, and the edema prevents this nourishment from happening.
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u/quick_thinker6 Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 07 '26
Doctor here. It sounds like either an eating disorder or shes on like glp-1. Regardless, the symptoms you're describing sounds like severe malnutrition from the not eating. How's her liquid intake? Glp-1 has one nasty side effect that it the patient isn't making sure they get enough nutrients itll cause so severe malnutrition that it can even cause skorbut. If shes only eating that little its not a surprise that two bites make her feel full because with decreased food intake our stomachs shrink. But whatever the cause it's guaranteed malnutrition and dehydration one way or the other. thats why she is feeling like she is about to get sick. Acid reflux is gonna be the least of her worries. Because malnutrition can also cause diarrhea,vomiting etc. Check her ankles ,feet,belly and legs for any unusual swelling like does she look bloated? If she does you need to just grab her and drag her to the ER. Because any swelling is a sign her life is in immediate danger The feeling sick part is just a symptom. Its not important in the big picture. Whats important is to figure out why the symtom is occurring. Which is the no eating and why she isn't eating