Serious causes behind unintentional weight loss

Unintentional weight loss is not normal and should set off warning bells in your head. Check your symptoms against this list and see a doctor for what steps to take to counteract it.

• When your body speaks, you should listen. Sometimes it's easy to get distracted from paying attention to a problem when you're busy going through everyday life.
• Even if you're losing weight and glad for it, if you're not actively shedding pounds, the weight loss may be a symptom of something more serious.
• That's why diagnosis is a job for a doctor. But you can use the information here to help you decide how urgently you need to see one.

• Possible Causes: Hyperthyroidism (Graves' disease) or other hormone imbalance
• Response: See your doctor, who will order a diagnostic blood test. If your thyroid is overactive, prescription medication can slow it down.

• Possible Causes: A side effect of medications such as sedatives, SSRI antidepressants and narcotic pain relievers
• Response: Talk with your doctor about whether a different drug should be substituted. Side effects sometimes disappear after a few days or weeks of taking a medication.

• Possible Causes: Anxiety or intense stress
• Response: Look for ways to change whatever is causing the stress or anxiety. Relaxation techniques such as meditation, yoga and visualization can help you cope. Longer-lasting anxiety can be treated with therapy, medication or both.

• Possible Causes: Depression
• Response: See your doctor, who may refer you to a mental health professional for medication, therapy or both.

• such as bloating, gas, constipation or diarrhea
• Possible Causes: Celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder in which the gluten in wheat, rye and barley damages the intestines and decreases the body's ability to absorb nutrients
• Response: See your doctor, who will order a diagnostic blood test or gastroscopy. Switching to a gluten-free diet is the only treatment.

• Possible Causes: Ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, which prevent digestion and absorption of some of the food you eat
• Response: See your doctor, who may recommend dietary changes, surgery or medication that reduces inflammation.

• Possible Causes: Diabetes
• Response: See your doctor, who will order a test to measure your blood sugar levels.

• such as bloating, abdominal pain, bloody urine, bloody stools or nausea
• Possible Causes: Gastrointestinal cancer
• Response: See your doctor, who will order diagnostic tests.