Symptom: Excessive hunger

Introduction: Excessive hunger

Excessive eating is called "polyphagia" (or hyperphagia) and can be the symptom of numerous conditions. For a variety of mental and emotional conditions that cause excessive eating or binging, see overeating. For conditions causing the feeling that you are full when eating (or causing this sensation too early), see fullness. The list here deals primarily with medical conditions that affect the body's metabolism and cause an increase in the appetite and excessive hunger for food. See also appetite changes or appetite loss if these descriptions are more appropriate. Certain medical conditions causing hunger are extremely serious and any hunger symptoms need prompt professional medical advice for correct diagnosis and treatment.

» Review Causes of Excessive hunger: full list

Causes of Excessive hunger:

The following medical conditions are some of the possible causes of Excessive hunger. There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor about your symptoms.

• Indigestion - causing eating more to reduce discomfort.
• Some possible causes of abnormal hunger include:
  • Marijuana - a form of cannabis
  • Cannabis
  • Diabetes - usually if undiagnosed or poorly controlled diabetes
  • Diabetic ketoacidosis
  • Hypoglycemia
  • Hypoglycemic attack
  • Graves Disease
  • Mania
  • Bipolar disease - overeating and excessive appetite when in the manic phase.
  • Intestinal worms
  • Tapeworms
  • Hypothalamic disease
  • Certain medications - various medications can stimulate appetite.
• Brain disorder causing increased eating (hyperphagia) include:
  • Encephalitis
  • Brain injury
  • Third ventricle tumor
  • Some brain tumors
  • Chromophobe adenoma
  • Craniopharyngioma (type of Brain cancer)
• See also causes of overeating and appetite changes
• Strenuous exercise
• Recovery from illness
• Hyperthyroidism
• Hypoglycaemia
• Depression
• Hysteria
• Bulimia

See full list of 49 causes of Excessive hunger

» Review Causes of Excessive hunger: full list

Excessive hunger: Multiple Symptom Checker

Listed below are some combinations of symptoms associated with Excessive hunger, as listed in our database. Visit the Multiple Symptoms Checker, to add and remove symptoms and research your condition.

Multiple Symptom Checker - Other Symptoms

• Excessive hunger: Multiple Symptom Checker

Multiple Symptom Checker Combinations

• Excessive hunger and Digestive symptoms (31 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Behavioral symptoms (26 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Appetite changes (25 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Eating symptoms (25 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Food symptoms (25 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Society problems (24 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Fatigue (23 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Muscle weakness (23 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Nerve symptoms (23 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Personality symptoms (23 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Sensations (23 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Muscle symptoms (21 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Pain (21 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Emotional symptoms (20 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Anxiety (19 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Weakness (19 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Irritability (18 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Weight loss (17 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Body symptoms (16 causes)
• Excessive hunger and Head symptoms (16 causes)

See full list of 898 Multiple Symptom Checker combinations related to Excessive hunger

Causes of General Symptom Types

Research the causes of these more general types of symptom:

• Eating symptoms (748 causes)
• Appetite changes (386 causes)
• Digestive symptoms (2184 causes)
• Food symptoms (719 causes)

Causes of Similar Symptoms to Excessive hunger

Research the causes of these symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Excessive hunger:

• Food symptoms (719 causes)
• Weight gain (303 causes)
• Thirst (119 causes)
• Overeating (41 causes)
• Undereating (59 causes)
• Loss of appetite (335 causes)
• Weight loss (1414 causes)
• Thinness (354 causes)
• Cravings (22 causes)

Diagnostic Guides for Excessive hunger

Medical Books Excerpts Read excerpts from published book sections related to Excessive hunger from the following published medical books for more detailed information about Excessive hunger. Free access (no registration): read all online diagnostic book sections about Excessive hunger

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Misdiagnosis and Excessive hunger

Is your child always hungry?: Type 1 Diabetes also known as Juvenile Diabetes appears during childhood or adolescence and is a chronic condition which presents with vague symptoms such as failure to gain weight in spite of a huge appetite. It occurs due to the inability of the body to produce insulin. The presentation of the condition may lead to a late diagnosis or a misdiagnosis. Once the child is diagnosed they must carefully monitored for signs of complications such as hypoglycaemia, hyperglycaemia and diabetic ketoacidosis. The treatment and food intake has to be managed accordingly....read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Excessive hunger

Diagnostic tests for Excessive hunger:

Various tests are used in the diagnosis of Excessive hunger. Some of these are listed below :

• Physical examination
  • Measure body mass index (BMI) i.e. weight in kg/(height in meters) squared
  • Examine for signs of bulimia nervosa - e.g. cardiac arrhythmia, dental decay and swollen salivary glands due to vomiting and dehydration due to diuretic abuse.
  • Examine for visual field defects and papilledema that may be present with pituitary or hypothalamic tumors
  • Examine for signs of Graves disease including look for proptosis (forward displacement of the eyeball), thyroid enlargement, fine tremor, rapid pulse

See full list of 17 diagnostic tests for Excessive hunger

Diagnosis Checklist: Questions your doctor may ask (and why!)

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in their assessment of Excessive hunger. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor about your symptoms may help them with their diagnosis. Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:

• How long have you had excessive hunger? - to establish if acute or chronic.
• Are you sleep deprived? - e.g. shift worker, sleep debt, insomnia - may cause excessive hunger.
• What is the age of the person with increased appetite? - e.g. it is normal for pubertal adolescents to have increased appetite.
• Past medical history? - e.g. diabetes, Grave's disease.
• Past psychiatric history? - e.g. bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, bulimia nervosa.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Excessive hunger (17 listings)

Diagnosis Checklist: Associated symptoms your doctor may ask about (and why!)

Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. The symptoms your doctor may ask about (in association with Excessive hunger) may include:

• Excessive thirst, frequent urination and weight loss? - the presence of these symptoms with excessive hunger would suggest either diabetes mellitus or Grave's disease.
• Weight gain? - may suggest an insulinoma, Cushing's disease or Obesity.
• Symptoms of anxiety, depression or other emotional symptoms? - may suggest that excessive hunger is due to bulimia nervosa, hysteria, manic phase of bipolar affective disorder.
• Diarrhea? - suggests disorder may be related to a malabsorption syndrome, intestinal bypass or a gastrointestinal fistula.
• If diarrhea, what is the nature of the stools? - e.g. fatty, pale colored, extremely smelly stools that float in the toilet and are difficult to flush away is called steatorrhea due to excess fat in the stool and are characteristic of malabsorption of nutrients which may be due to celiac disease, chronic pancreatitis, previous gastrectomy and cystic fibrosis.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Excessive hunger (17 listings)

Stories from Users for Excessive hunger

Real-life user stories relating to Excessive hunger:

• Too young for Fibromyalgia
• too young for memory loss
• Gnawing Hunger Pangs!
• Unexplained hunger and faitgue
• can't swallow solid food and now can't sweat ????
• Enough Already!!!
• Constant, extreme "motion sickness" from ANYTHING, much more
• extreme nausea
• air hunger, no other symptoms
• Too young for this
• Too sensitive--need help!
• I didn't know where to put this...
• How to put on weight?
• Can cigarette smoke cause air hunger?
• Very extreme photophobia
• Always hungry...
• When is enough, enough?
• Extreme amnesia, loss of balance, many other serious symptoms... please help
• VA too slow need help!!
• is my son too young for type too

Symptom specific forums: The following patient stories in our interactive forums and message boards relate to Excessive hunger or relevant symptoms:

• Neurological (Nerves) (357)
  • Could this be MS?
  • Numbness and tingling all over
  • Tingling/numbness in arms/hands/legs/face/head [more symptoms]
  • Eye twitch
  • Essential tremor
  • More user stories
• Psychiatric (Mental Health) (218)
  • PLEASE can anyone help my son?!
  • My husbands making me sad
  • Heart condition or mental health problem?
  • Anxiety or...?
  • Weird Behavior at School. Normal?
  • More user stories
• Endocrine (Growth and Metabolism) (93)
  • Symptoms of Cushing's - Tests all negative
  • Has anyone been diagnosed with Wilson's Temperature Syndrome and are being treated??
  • Pitutary tumor
  • I am at my wits end with these symptoms
  • I think I have Cushings, can you help?
  • More user stories

Videos for Excessive hunger

Patient Surveys for Excessive hunger

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Medications or substances causing Excessive hunger:

The following drugs, medications, substances or toxins are some of the possible causes of Excessive hunger as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• Marijuana - the "munchies" from marijauna intoxication.
• Medications that may stimulate the appetite include:
  • Cortisone
  • Steroids
  • Antibiotics

See full list of 305 medications causing Excessive hunger

Drug interactions causing Excessive hunger:

When combined, certain drugs, medications, substances or toxins may react causing Excessive hunger as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• Accupril (Quinapril) and DiaBeta (Glyburide) interaction
• Accupril (Quinapril) and Glynase (Glyburide) interaction
• Accupril (Quinapril) and Micronase (Glyburide) interaction
• Accupril (Quinapril) and Diabinese (Chlorpropamide) interaction
• Accupril (Quinapril) and Glucotrol (Glipizide) interaction

See full list of 232 drug interactions causing Excessive hunger

Definitions of Excessive hunger:

Ingestion of a greater than optimal quantity of food.
- (Source - Diseases Database)

Organs affected by Excessive hunger:

The list of organs typically affected by Excessive hunger may include, but is not limited to:

• General constitution

Detailed list of causes of Excessive hunger

The list below shows some of the causes of Excessive hunger mentioned in various sources:

• Amphetamine abuse - hunger
• Amphetamine withdrawal - increased appetite
• Anterior pituitary hyperhormonotrophic syndrome - increased appetite
• Anxiety
• Bipolar disease - overeating and excessive appetite when in the manic phase.

See full list of 49 causes of Excessive hunger

How Common are these Causes of Excessive hunger?

This information refers to the general prevalence and incidence of these diseases, not to how likely they are to be the actual cause of Excessive hunger. Of the 49 causes of Excessive hunger that we have listed, we have the following prevalence/incidence information:

• 5 causes are "very common" diseases
• 4 causes are "common" diseases
• 2 causes are "uncommon" diseases
• 0 causes are "rare" diseases
• 0 causes are "very rare" diseases
• 46 causes have no prevalence information.

See the analysis of the prevalence of 49 causes of Excessive hunger

Conditions listing symptoms: Excessive hunger:

The following list of conditions have 'Excessive hunger' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.

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Causes of Excessive hunger Based on Risk Factors

This information shows analysis of the list of causes of Excessive hunger based on whether certain risk factors apply to the patient: