Due to medical reasons i have eaten almost nothing for almost a year (TMJ pain made it hurt to eat and I had a large ovarian cyst for several months). I am almost 5'6" used to weigh around 118-120 lbs when I was eating normally and feeling ok. Since then my weight has dropped to about 104lbs at my lowest. I've really noticed I've been eating not very much and have been trying to fix it by eating as much as I can in a day, but it's hard because I am not hungry at all. In the last month I've managed to get my weight up to about 110lbs.
Anyway my questions are... I've been chronically lightheaded for months, it never goes away. It may be the tmj but Ive been told by doctors that tmj doesnt cause dizziness. could it be the eating issue and weight loss? it's really driving me crazy. Ive been to many doctors including a ENT specialist and a neurologist and no one can find anything wrong with me including tests for anemia and such :( if so how long of "normal" eating will it take for me to feel any better? this is really starting to drive me insane.
One more question.... could not eating for so long "shrink" your stomach making you not hungry and not being able to get much down at a time? I am sooo bloated from trying to force a more normal amount of food down.

yep, i think i might be able to help! first of all, the lightheadedness could DEFINITELY be a result of not eating enough. when you don't eat enough, your blood sugar drops and dizziness is a direct result. i'm actually hypoglycemic, so when i don't eat enough and my blood sugar starts to dip too low, i always get lightheaded and dizzy. i wouldn't worry about this being a lasting problem as i'm sure it'll go away as soon as you start eating more regularly.

in terms of the bloating and super-fullness from eating more, that's totally normal (although uncomfortable!) too. your stomach DOES shrink when you don't eat enough, so that's one reason you feel so stuffed after just a normal amount of food. luckily, it can stretch out again pretty quickly, so soon, i'm sure you won't be feeling so icky. the bloating is caused by the fact that, because you haven't eaten much for so long, your digestive system has slowed WAY down and basically, it's just not used to processing much food. so it's still processing at a slow rate, even though you're eating more now, hence, you're bloating up. this is basically what every recovering anorexic has to go through at first as their bodies remember how to work, you know? i know from experience how painful and annoying (i felt like i always looked pregnant!) it is, but it DOES go away. it just takes some time and unfortunately, the only thing you can really do is just stick it out, bloated stomach and all, until your body re-learns how to properly digest a healthy amount of food.

there are a few things that can help however. First, make sure you're drinking a TON of water. it'll help you feel better and sort of "flush" things through if you know what i mean. The other important thing is not to force tons of food down at once (you just won't be able to fit it all in and you'll feel super bloated.) So instead of trying to eat like 3 big meals, i'd suggest eating 3 average sized meals and then having a substansial snack in between each of them and having some dessert after dinner. By spacing it out, you help keep your blood sugar stable (good for the dizziness!) AND you'll be able to eat healthy/normal quantities of food without feeling super stuffed and sick. This is really the only (and most bearable) way to get your body used to eating more food. Also, if you still don't feel like you're able to eat enough to keep gaining weight, remember to drink caloric beverages with every meal. They're totally non-filling and they'll help you consume more calories overall, which'll help keep your weight on the upswing. Anyway, just stick it out and space out your meals and plan snacks into your day. Soon, the bloating will subside, your stomach will expand and you'll feel TONS better. If nothing seems to work, i'd suggest visiting a nutritionist. She/he can give you a meal plan/recommendations of what to eat and when to eat it so you can alleive the dizziness and the bloating. Good Luck!