At first, it was simply a roast chicken recipe. Then it was everything.
I watched a man on YouTube cook the chicken, imagining what it would be like to taste it. Even if he had prepared it in front of me, I couldn’t have eaten it. Inflammation from Crohn’s disease had connected the tissues of my small intestine and my bladder together via fistula, and I did not want to pee out a roast chicken.
Instead, I was on a form of artificial food called total parenteral nutrition (TPN, for short). All my nutrition and water were pumped from an IV bag into my veins through a tube in my arm. Even though I had enough functional nutrition in my body my brain screamed, you’re hungry, constantly.
You would think the TPN IV would include something that suppresses appetite…
Like… I vaguely remember seeing a brief article not too long ago (last few years) that talked about how some lab or other had figured out the exact mechanism that triggers the brain to go “hey you’re hungry” which should lead to better ways to suppress appetite for people who always feel hungry/overeat/have issues that need it.
Again, brief article, months ago at best.
But I know we know of a lot of things that suppress appetite surely one could have been used…
Food, food everywhere, but not a bite to eat.