This is interesting. Back in July I had a bout of gastroenteritis that lasted five days, followed by a week of constipation. However afterwards my appetite was out of whack, I would have some mornings with extreme bowel urgency that made driving to work a huge pain, and I would get full pretty easily when eating. I thought I had developed IBS or gastroparesis, but the symptoms weren't severe enough nor fit with the diagnosing criteria (I have had no bowel-related abdominal pain since my initial illness, and my bowel movements have been largely consistent). I had two instances of heartburn, but that went away months ago. I eventually saw a Gastroenterologist and my lab results all came back negative. He suggested it was merely the illness combined with it being the most stressful period in my life (I was in the process of buying a new house and moving, going back to graduate school, and having the busiest time at my job I've ever had).

However the elephant in the room was that after my initial illness I had basically stopped eating. First it was the worry over the diarrhea, then it was the constipation, then finally it was concerns over IBS or food intolerances. The end result was that in about a month and a half I lost roughly 21 pounds. The problem now is that I only feel sensations of hunger maybe once or twice a day and even then it's most commonly after 9 PM. Furthermore when eating I'll get a faint feeling in my lower left stomach that ranges from pinching to twitching to just vague discomfort, which usually subsides in 5-15 seconds.

I've since gained back 3-4 pounds, but I can't seem to get any further than that and it's been 6 months since I was sick. My doctors don't seem concerned, but it's been a real pain since I've had to buy new belts to fit into some clothes I bought two days before I was sick.