I am not able to gain weight and muscles.Please advise.

Question

Hello doctor,

I am 21 years old. My height is 5 feet 7 inches, and my weight is 126 pounds. My problem is related to my reduced body growth and development. I regularly eat three to four meals a day and drink about 0.79 gallons of water daily.

Besides this, I have also taken health supplements in the past. Despite this, my weight and muscles do not increase. My cheeks are sunken, and I always look tired to people. My face skin does not glow at all, and I always appear tired. The bones in my back and neck are completely visible, and the nerves in my hands are also visible.

I have consulted doctors in the past, and some of them gave me medicines or vitamins, but nothing worked. My urine sometimes smells very bad, and I had also undergone a urine test two years ago, but the doctors did not find anything major, and I was only given some vitamins.

I do not suffer from any major disease. For your information, I masturbate once every seven to ten days. My confidence is decreasing, and I feel out of my friends' circle. How can I at least look like the average boys of my age group?

Please help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your query and understood your concern.

If you are unable to gain weight, you should be evaluated for organic causes behind it. It can, however, be just constitutional. But it is not uncommon to have some organic causes behind this problem. If there is any organic cause, it should be evaluated.

I suggest you undergo the following investigations:

If you have loose stools, pain in the abdomen, or anemia, you would require evaluation for coeliac disease.
In case you have a fever or weight loss, you would require evaluation for intestinal tuberculosis.
I would advise you to get an anti-TTG (tissue transglutaminase) antibody test done to rule out malabsorption syndromes like coeliac disease.
You should also get a thyroid profile done to rule out any issues like hyperthyroidism that can cause weight loss.
If you have any cough or expectoration, get a chest X-ray done to rule out any evidence of tuberculosis.

If no cause is found, this might be just constitutional and would require a good diet and exercise. I hope that this answers your query.

Kindly follow up if you have more doubts.

Thank you.