BP plus ED

I've been hypomanic for the past couple of weeks, and I noticed I've started purging a lot more. I just feel so uncomfortable with food in my stomach. It feels like it's slowing me down and I don't want that.

Anyone else notice a relationship between eating disorders and manic/depressed episodes in bipolar?

When I'm either side my ed gets worse.

i went on a 30 day juice fast while mixed. not good. i did lose 30 lbs. i don't think i have a disorder so much as...

well, once i just could not sit still to eat, went from 175 to 127 in a very short time (I'm a dude, 5'10). when i was younger, my anxiety and undercurrent of agitation made me so on edge, i tended to throw up a lot, but it wasn't intentional. now, im tubs mcgee, and i do think depression plays a role, along with meds (abilify is not always- weight neutral...).

once thing...as i've 'recovered,' i've come to connect with my body better, more completely. i was divorced from my body, somehow, when i was younger...i existed in it, didn't really live in it, if that makes sense. no longer, and im thankful.

interesting topic, btw. :-)

I just eat because I have to.

As long as my blood sugar stays stable I can avoid food for many hours. But as soon as it starts to go down I have to eat something, otherwise I can't think, and things go downhill from there.

When I'm at my baseline, which was 2 years ago now, I eat regularly and enjoy it.

HI Franz, Always good to see you joining in with us!

For me, I tend to gain weight when depressed. This is the case, even without meds like seroquel. I do gain a lot more when using Seroquel.

Interesting topic!

Hi Franz. I also enjoy seeing you back!

I don't have an eating disorder, but like Wild Coyote, my moods sometimes affect my weight. When manic, I might either totally forget to eat or the opposite -- start eating lavishly. Yes, lavishly is the right word. I also stress eat a lot. My stress eating often leads to minor binges. Honestly, I believe stress and moods affect my weight even more than my Seroquel XR, and I won't deny that larger Seroquel doses make me hungrier.

Another issue I have had in my life (even since childhood) is occasional gastrointestinal distress. I think that has either been caused by or exacerbated by stress and/or mood issues. In such cases, my eating is affected. Often, it decreases my appetite in a bad way. I remember as a kid barely eating anything for weeks. My mother took me to a doctor. The doctor screened me to be sure it wasn't anorexia. It wasn't. I just felt nauseated at the thought of eating, or when I tried. I've always dreaded vomiting. Probably more than the average person. I also remember losing almost 20 lbs quickly during my senior year at college. I reached 118 lbs, which for me was/is underweight. I have photos from then. I was very skinny in a not so good way. I knew that and was happy when I returned to a healthier weight.

Maybe about 5 years ago, I had a period of approximately 2 years of frequent migraines. I have a relatively high tolerance for pain, so the head pain wasn't that bad, but I did vomit A LOT. It was horrible! Luckily I was prescribed sumatriptan injections. Maybe 15 mins after an injection, the nausea/vomiting and any head pain would stop. Before sumatriptan, every time I had a migraine, I couldn't eat or even drink that much without it coming up.

I know I've gone off topic a bit. I'm sorry. I wish I was more knowledgeable about neurochemistry and neuropsychology. I know next to nothing about them. I mention this only out of curiosity about why 5-HT serotonin levels are said to play a possible role in conditions like EDs, migraines, bipolar disorder, some other mental health conditions, as well as maybe some types of seizures, fibromyalgia, more? Maybe that is not significant/relevant.

On topic article about eating disorders and 5-HT serotonin connection: Eating disorders and the serotonin connection: state, trait and developmental effects If you google any of the other illnesses in my paragraph above with 5-HT you'll see the sources of my curiosity on this topic.

I have symptoms of ed and when I'm depressed I accidentally lose weight because I can't get out of my bed so I only eat when I feel like totally starving.

And when on the higher side, well then I have the energy and motivation to lose weight. But it can also happen that my self confidence and self-image get so much better that I don't try to actively lose weight. And sometimes hypomania affects my senses so that colours become brighter and all the food tastes great. So it really varies when I'm having a hypomanic or manic episode.

And same, I don't like the feeling of having food in my stomach.

I'm currently in recovery from an ED (bulimia). When I'm manic I tend to get hyper focused on exercising and forget to eat, also because I'm so preoccupied with a million other things. There are times though where I go a little crazy with baking in the middle of the night all kinds of desserts and treats because I'm so inspired and have a lot of energy, that leads to bingeing. When I'm depressed I often stress eat, but sometimes just not eating much at all because of not having an appetite or not feeling like getting up and getting something to eat.

With mania, the ED always gets worse, even without trying, I just don't even think to eat. Or I'll tell myself I can have breakfast after I've run X miles, done the laundry, taken care of the cats, gone grocery shopping, etc. I always run more (both distance wise and number of days of the week) when manic.

And sometimes, too, I will throw myself into the ED, going to pro-ED websites, taking pictures of parts of my body, overexercising.

I'm "recovered" from anorexia, though when times are tough, I do have little relapses. I have yet to have the ED thoughts completely vanish even when not engaging in ED behavior.