[geriann]

On the 4th of Jan' 2006 the hospital told me to lose 16lb. Since then i have eat less and less. I had a BMI of 29 = overweight. I lost 19lb in 9 wks, BMI now 26 = still overweight. I've lost about 12% of my body weight and still have normal periods etc. my weight loss can varies from 0-5lb per wk. I can eat 200-1000 cal's per day, but it's usually 300-600 cal's per day. If i eat too much in one go i feel very sick and make myself vomit. Somwtimes when i eat something i have the urge to eat more or i have the urge to eat when I'm not hungry. I feel very down if i gain weight or even if i don't lose weight for a few days - even crying etc. I'm terrified i will gain weight and have to live like this forever. the quizzes and people i have spoken to say i have anorexia or anorexia with purging tendencies. Is this true? do i qualify for help?

[Genevieve]

I think you'd do well to think of this in terms of disordered eating, rather than worrying about what eating disorder it is. MOST people with eating disorders actually fall into the EDNOS category -- Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. That's what I'd call you, too, because you meet many of the criteria for the binge/purge subtype of Anorexia Nervosa, but your weight is above 85% of normal, which is one criteria.

So, the hospital told you to lose weight, and then just left you to your own devices? Shame on them! What you're doing right now is very harmful to your health, and really will screw you up. I strongly recommend that you talk to your doctor about all of this, and see about getting a referral to a therapist and to a dietitian for nutritional counseling.

Just as a general rule, you should NEVER eat fewer than 1200 calories per day without close medical supervision. That sort of thing is reserved for morbid obesity, not for someone in the "overweight" range.

Good luck.

I didn't take the pole because only a physician can tell you for sure if you have an eating disorder. There are certain physicians criteria for eating disorders some are not disclosed to the public. There is also medical problems that can result in weight gain and or loss, appitite changes and so on for example I chalked my eating problems up to my anerexia kicking in because of the stress I was under, it turned out that I had a bacteria known as Heliobacter Pyloria living in my stomach lining no one knows for how long because a person can have this bacteria for their whole life and not have a problem and or it can be there for years and then suddenly cause eating and wieght problems. The end result was that that bacteria caused me to have a blood cancer simular to leukemia called Lymphoma. This will be with me for the rest of my life and hopefully will remain in remission a good long time.

Having friends and people on line diagnose a person can and does lead to potentially life threatening situations such as this because the person may go on what friends and on line people and not see a qualified physician and those people on line and friends because they are not physicians will miss key elements to the problem and or read too much into the wrong symptoms which may result in friends and on line people misdiagnosing the person and then not only does the person not have that problem or have a more serious problem that isn't being taken care of they also have the stress of the misdiagnosis.

So instead of my taking this pole and it possibly leading to life threatening harm to you I suggest you continue working with your physicians on this. Especially since a hospital is involved which says there is some physical health problem that needs to be considered and taken care of by a qualified physician.

[geriann]

I'm so dissapointed with myself, don't know what's happening to me.
Yesterday i'd only had 251 cal's - quite good for me.
Not too long after i'd last eaten i had a steam pudding may hubby hadn't finished eating and then i was eating a nutri-grain oat bar. after i'd eaten half the bar and was chewing the other half i realised i was still full from the other food and didn't know why i was eating it!!!
So i spat out the 2nd half of the bar and tryed to throw up the 1/2 i'd already eaten. Gave up on being sick = i didn't want me hubby to know what i'd done + i can naver make myself throw-up anyway!
I felt sooo sick, so i went to bed and cried myself to sleep.
I read that 50% of anorexics turn into bulimics! I did want to binge, but then felt bad and wanted to be sick. I'm i turning into a bulimic?
Please help

my suggestion of contact and work with your treatment teams - the hospital you mentioned in the first post and your primary physician stands.

One - a hospital is involved means there is some sort of physical health risk so any on line diagnosing could cause your death.

two - I cannot tell you that this is an eating disorder and what you need to do to control the problems you are having. I am not a qualified physician seeing you face to face. So again my suggesting a diagnosis could result in serious and life threatening problems.

No one here is practicing psychiatry/therapy and or medical practices. we are here for support.

no one here can diagnose you. That is for the hospital (that you mentioned) job and your real time primary physician. I know its frustrating to come on line and hoping for that final diagnosis and miracle that will help and cure you but we cannot do that for you.

We don't diagnose here - this site is here thanks to Doc John But this site is NOT a medical practice agancy.

what we do do is support - listen and let each other know our stories and how we are handling things, letting each other know we are not alone.

we do not diagnose. This is a support group not a medical practice agency.

for diagnosing you need to schedule an appointment with your treating hospital and or physician, and then attend that appointment and tell those qualified physicians face to face what is going on and they will tell you what your diagnosis is, what your treatment plan is be it seeing a therapy professional and or a nutricianalist, and or medication and or hospitalization,

[Genevieve]

Myself is absolutely right, too. You need to talk to your doctor.

After many years with an ED, I can tell you an awful lot -- even my T says I'm an expert. But even if I told you all that I know, it wouldn't help you. So, take the most important thing that anyone anywhere can offer right now:

Go to the doctor. Tell the doctor what you've told us. And get treatment now.

Tonight I met a woman who has been bulimic for 28 years. I've been anorexic for about that time. She's miserable about it, and struggling hard against it. I'm struggling with it. If you can do something now, you will be very much better off. I don't know what is triggering this for you right now, but I will tell you that you want to get treatment for it NOW.

Not 28 years from now.