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Unintentional weight loss

Hi all, I'm a 60 y.o. healthy female, 5'3".  4 yrs ago I weighed 138, then started losing weight without trying.  Now I weigh 113 which is healthy, but losing 25 lbs unintentionally concerns me.  My bloodwork is always normal, other than slightly high creatinine & alkaline phosphatase.  If there were anything seriously wrong with me such as cancer surely I'd be having other symptoms after 4 yrs, wouldn't I??  I don't want to go rushing into the dr's office looking like a hypochondriac. Has anyone else here experienced weight loss for no apparent reason?
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Avatar universal
Thanks for your comments everyone!  I did go to my primary care dr. & he said not to worry, if it were anything serious I'd have other symptoms.  But I have an appt. in April with a different dr. for a well woman exam & I'll run it by her.   I appreciate everyone's comments because I don't feel like such a hypochondriac now for being concerned about the weight loss :)
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649848 tn?1534633700
I agree that you should get your weight loss issue checked out.  It could be caused by anything, ranging from diabetes to hyperthyroidism to heart problems.   It won't hurt to have a good work up because if the loss continues, soon, you will no longer be within a normal weight range.
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Avatar universal
This article may be of benefit: https://www.aafp.org/afp/2014/0501/p718.html
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3 Comments
Thank you CHIN_C, that was an interesting article!  But I don't have any other symptoms like night sweats, fever, fatigue, lumps...nothing that would offer any clues.  The article does say that for up to 28% of patients a cause is never found.  Maybe I should just enjoy the fact that I can eat whatever I want & never gain weight :)
You don't need to have other symptoms.  I'm not saying it's something, I have no idea, just saying you should get it checked out as advised above.  If you're truly doing nothing different -- same diet, same sleep patterns, same exercise level -- it can't hurt to see someone about it other than maybe end up wasting your time.  
I agree - unexplained weight loss should never be ignored in my opinion - if your reg Dr isn’t helping, ask for a referral to a specialist, or possibly more than one. Best to you...
Avatar universal
Unintentional weight loss is a red flag which warrants further workup and evaluation to rule out underlying chronic infection, inflammation, and/or cancer. Other worrisome symptoms include fever and/or night sweats.
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