Has anyone ever suffered from Bulimia/Anorexia and how did you get through it and how was your recovery.

I have not suffered from such a disorder, but I have very close loved ones who have. My wife also has extensive clinical and research experience in the treatment of eating disorders.

Recovery, frankly, is most often a long, winding road that takes real dedication. But eating disorders can be overcome. Moreover, an eating disorder is quite often symptomatic of broader issues that require identification and address. Quite contrary to popular notion, neither bulimia nor anorexia is most often just a matter of wanting to be skinny like the girls on the magazine cover; nor is binge eating usually just a matter of greed.

[Edited 5/4/13 5:45am]

The only thing I know about it, is that it's serious and very damaging.

And the best thing to do is to reach out to a professional to get help, because suffering from it alone, will make it worse.

i had a very good gal pal friend who suffered from this when she was younger (before i met her) . she was always in great shape and saying "she is fat" and i would be like "what?????"

sadly , kinda ... i never dated her cus to me that was such a mental thing i couldnt deal with (i didnt want the drama) but she was such a great friend and she taught me so much about women and how they think ...

she did get better ... as far as I know .... and lived a quite normal life . She had the eating disorder at like 16 - 18 .... later got married ... and had kids and looked great ...

ColAngus said:

i had a very good gal pal friend who suffered from this when she was younger (before i met her) . she was always in great shape and saying "she is fat" and i would be like "what?????"

sadly , kinda ... i never dated her cus to me that was such a mental thing i couldnt deal with (i didnt want the drama) but she was such a great friend and she taught me so much about women and how they think ...

she did get better ... as far as I know .... and lived a quite normal life . She had the eating disorder at like 16 - 18 .... later got married ... and had kids and looked great ...

That's inspiring. I no longer take "laxatives" to purge. But yesterday I tried to and ended up spittng them out. I want so much to get back to normal and I'm going to have to work for it.

SimpleSoul said:

ColAngus said:

i had a very good gal pal friend who suffered from this when she was younger (before i met her) . she was always in great shape and saying "she is fat" and i would be like "what?????"

sadly , kinda ... i never dated her cus to me that was such a mental thing i couldnt deal with (i didnt want the drama) but she was such a great friend and she taught me so much about women and how they think ...

she did get better ... as far as I know .... and lived a quite normal life . She had the eating disorder at like 16 - 18 .... later got married ... and had kids and looked great ...

That's inspiring. I no longer take "laxatives" to purge. But yesterday I tried to and ended up spittng them out. I want so much to get back to normal and I'm going to have to work for it.

Yes, and I hope you will call somebody for help.

Don't try to solve this on your own, you don't need to make life difficult.

You can choose to get assistance by people who actually studied about this disorder and how to treat it.

Wish you a lot of strength and wisdom.

dJJ said:

SimpleSoul said:

That's inspiring. I no longer take "laxatives" to purge. But yesterday I tried to and ended up spittng them out. I want so much to get back to normal and I'm going to have to work for it.

Yes, and I hope you will call somebody for help.

Don't try to solve this on your own, you don't need to make life difficult.

You can choose to get assistance by people who actually studied about this disorder and how to treat it.

Wish you a lot of strength and wisdom.

Thank you.

Sending love and support... hoping you find the answers to need to start a journey to good health and happiness.

paintedlady said:

Sending love and support... hoping you find the answers to need to start a journey to good health and happiness.

Thank you right now I feel a little better. Also have a wonderful birthday

i would echo everything that has been said .

It is a disorder that - sadly- i do not understand and can not add anything else - I was not around this girl when she was going through all the symptoms etc ... so I do not know how she got over it ...

good luck . and keep goin day by day . and do seek help . (someone smarter than me for sure).

I used to. It is awful. I don't wish that on anyone.

They are serious and nothing to shrug off as a phase. The best advice I can give is get into therapy. Group therapy and individual therapy, if possible.

If you are referred to a nutritionist who puts you on a meal plan - FOLLOW IT!!!! If you follow it, you will be less prone to restrictive behaviors and less prone to binging or rebound eating. It is a long road to recovery but it is 100% possible to recover from an eating disorder.

And recovery is a beautiful thing.

[Edited 5/6/13 14:33pm]

jillybean said:

I used to. It is awful. I don't wish that on anyone.

They are serious and nothing to shrug off as a phase. The best advice I can give is get into therapy. Group therapy and individual therapy, if possible.

If you are referred to a nutritionist you puts you on a meal plan - FOLLOW IT!!!! If you follow it, you will be less prone to restrictive behaviors and less prone to binging or rebound eating. It is a long road to recovery but it is 100% possible to recover from an eating disorder.

And recovery is a beautiful thing.

Somebody I'm close to is a member of this 12 step group. I think It's a good idea to go to at least one local meeting. Good luck:

http://www.overeatersanonymous.org/

[Edited 5/6/13 13:24pm]

runphilrun said:

jillybean said:

I used to. It is awful. I don't wish that on anyone.

They are serious and nothing to shrug off as a phase. The best advice I can give is get into therapy. Group therapy and individual therapy, if possible.

If you are referred to a nutritionist you puts you on a meal plan - FOLLOW IT!!!! If you follow it, you will be less prone to restrictive behaviors and less prone to binging or rebound eating. It is a long road to recovery but it is 100% possible to recover from an eating disorder.

And recovery is a beautiful thing.

Somebody I'm close to is a member of this 12 step group. I think It's a good idea to go to at least one local meeting. Good luck:

http://www.overeatersanonymous.org/

[Edited 5/6/13 13:24pm]

Thanks . I'm glad I stopped doing that to myself , First of the year I was neutral I was happy about the new year but unhappy about my stomach area The anorexic thing didn't last because I couldn't starve myself like that and I ended up crying hard. Then their were pills (laxatives) I took one almost everyday just to feel flat, why I quit I caught some of the effects such as the bloating , absent period(sorry for too much info) and more. That's why I quit the first of the month , I feel a little better but something I get the urge to go back but I know I can't.

I suppose I did. I went though a period where I just pretty much stopped eating and eventually was only eating a quarter of a bagel a day - just drank buttloads of coke to keep me from passing out.

I was eventually hospitalized when I could no longer stand up and was suffering from perma-headache and I'm pretty sure I was starting to lose my mind - no joke.

They diagnosed me with something called body dysmorphic disorder and put me on anti-depressants but then I had a severe adverse reaction and they suddenly yanked me off it and that was that.

Eventually I started to eat again and gained a bazillion pounds...I suppose I never really went through a proper recovery.

JustErin said:

I suppose I did. I went though a period where I just pretty much stopped eating and eventually was only eating a quarter of a bagel a day - just drank buttloads of coke to keep me from passing out.

I was eventually hospitalized when I could no longer stand up and was suffering from perma-headache and I'm pretty sure I was starting to lose my mind - no joke.

They diagnosed me with something called body dysmorphic disorder and put me on anti-depressants but then I had a severe adverse reaction and they suddenly yanked me off it and that was that.

Eventually I started to eat again and gained a bazillion pounds...I suppose I never really went through a proper recovery.

Oh Erin you sweetheart

JustErin said:

I suppose I did. I went though a period where I just pretty much stopped eating and eventually was only eating a quarter of a bagel a day - just drank buttloads of coke to keep me from passing out.

I was eventually hospitalized when I could no longer stand up and was suffering from perma-headache and I'm pretty sure I was starting to lose my mind - no joke.

They diagnosed me with something called body dysmorphic disorder and put me on anti-depressants but then I had a severe adverse reaction and they suddenly yanked me off it and that was that.

Eventually I started to eat again and gained a bazillion pounds...I suppose I never really went through a proper recovery.

It's strange how the treatment took it's turn.

Especially because there are effective treatments for body dysmorphic disorder.

Do you think you will try another treatment again?

dJJ said:

JustErin said:

I suppose I did. I went though a period where I just pretty much stopped eating and eventually was only eating a quarter of a bagel a day - just drank buttloads of coke to keep me from passing out.

I was eventually hospitalized when I could no longer stand up and was suffering from perma-headache and I'm pretty sure I was starting to lose my mind - no joke.

They diagnosed me with something called body dysmorphic disorder and put me on anti-depressants but then I had a severe adverse reaction and they suddenly yanked me off it and that was that.

Eventually I started to eat again and gained a bazillion pounds...I suppose I never really went through a proper recovery.

It's strange how the treatment took it's turn.

Especially because there are effective treatments for body dysmorphic disorder.

Do you think you will try another treatment again?

It all kinda stopped because I moved across the country.

I doubt I'll seek any other treatment. Most of my brain problems seem to be dormant - at least for right now.

JustErin said:

I suppose I did. I went though a period where I just pretty much stopped eating and eventually was only eating a quarter of a bagel a day - just drank buttloads of coke to keep me from passing out.

I was eventually hospitalized when I could no longer stand up and was suffering from perma-headache and I'm pretty sure I was starting to lose my mind - no joke.

They diagnosed me with something called body dysmorphic disorder and put me on anti-depressants but then I had a severe adverse reaction and they suddenly yanked me off it and that was that.

Eventually I started to eat again and gained a bazillion pounds...I suppose I never really went through a proper recovery.

Thanks for sharing your story