Is My Niece Bulimic? Need Help Posted: 06-22-06 09:27am
My niece is 24 yrs old, I am having a
problem trying to figure out if she has
bulimia. Everything I have been reading
states that a person with this binges then
purges. She doesn't binge. What
happens is she chooses which foods she
will bring back up again. She will eat
normally with us (not eat more than
normal). At times she won't go in the
bathroom after eating and then at other
times she will. This has been going on
for over 2 yrs. So I don't know if this
is considered bulimia since she doesn't
binge? She does have low self-esteem and
is constantly worried about her weight,
she drinks allot of gin and tonics. So
to be bulimic does one always have to be a
binge eater I guess is my question...All
other signs indicate that she is in fact
bulimic. Most times after eating she
will immediatly go to the bathroom but she
hasn't eaten allot. Our family is
desperate to help her and she has admitted
that she does this but doesn't think there
are any health risks, but she has offered
to read about the risks if one of us can
find her the info. So any help would be
very much appreciated. Thanx
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Whimsy
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Vast dessert known as AZ
Thank you for that website. I did read
through it. The reason why I need to
pinpoint this is because she will come
back on me and say I am not bulimic
because I don't binge eat. This is her
train of thought right now. How do I get
around that? How do I make her realize
she does in fact have a very serious
problem. She did tell me that she would
read any information about the risks of
throwing her food back up, but I could
show her the risks of being bulimic and
she will say she doesn't have that. What
do I need to do to open her eyes so to
speak. Thank you again for the website
and responding to my call for help for
someone I love.
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Whimsy
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Vast dessert known as AZ
Posted: 06-22-06 11:35am
This is also a good info site http
://www.Nationaleatingdisorders.Org/p.Asp?W
ebpage_id=291
there are health risks on there and even
though they are labeled by disorder, if
you engage in any of the disordered
behaviors, you are at a risk for serious
mental and physical complications. The
biggest health concern for bulimics though
is electrolyte imbalance which can lead to
heart attack. As well as esophogus
rupture from the actual act of purging
which can lead to internal bleeding and
death. But there are also other ones
that are almost just as disconcerting like
tooth decay, osteoperosis, extreme
constipation and bloating etc. Even
though she may try to fool you into
thinking she isn't "that bad" there is a
part of her that knows she needs help and
you have to tap into that little voice
because her eating disorder is trying its
damndest to supress it. Good luck hun
:oops:
