Q: I will be thankful if you kindly suggest me something about the following problem of my wife (age 28). Our son is 6 years old. After his birth my wife started losing weight during breast feeding, she lost her appetite and became very temperamental. She took small amounts of food with hot chilli and pickles. She also has constipation with occasional heartburn. During the last 6 years she is getting thinner and has lost about 15 kg (from 52 kg to 37 Kg). She passes normal bleeding during period and after each period she becomes very weak and gets headache, heartburn, no appetite, irritable mood. How can she improve her health?

A:From the description of your wife's weight she seems to be very thin and has progressively lost weight. It seems as though she has had persistent emotional problems as well. Chronic mental depression and post partum (after pregnancy) depression are often associated with weight loss and another condition called anorexia nervosa. The only other significant causes of this kind of weight loss might be intestinal parasites, hyperthyroidism or some form of cancer. However, cancer is very rare at this age. I think your wife needs to have some simple blood tests and a physical examination by a doctor and if these are normal she would need a psychiatric assessment. She may need anti-depressant medicines.