[Gr3tta]

I am doing very poorly with my eating/restricting/purging behaviors lately. I am experiencing an odd health problem that I've not had before, and I am wondering if it is ed related or not? It seems easy to blame everything on the ed and I don't know how to tell if something is unrelated. I have been having numbness, tingling, and pain in my lower legs and hands. Like they keep falling asleep, but for no reason, and more painful. Plus my feet will get so very cold and even with extra socks, blankets, or walking around I can't get them to warm up. I have no known health conditions that would be responsible. Do you think this is ed related, or unlikely? Thanks.

I think this is ed related. . . I went thru the same thing.

[onlytime]

It sounds like you have poor circulation, which can be ED-related. I would see a doctor to rule out other causes though. Good luck!

[AngelWolf3]

oh wow, I didn't think that this was ED related....man. I have had poor circulation but it has def amped up as of late (as have my behaviors.) Hm. Thanks for the thread, Gr3tta! Good luck to you as well...

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Gr3tta

I am doing very poorly with my eating/restricting/purging behaviors lately. I am experiencing an odd health problem that I've not had before, and I am wondering if it is ed related or not? It seems easy to blame everything on the ed and I don't know how to tell if something is unrelated. I have been having numbness, tingling, and pain in my lower legs and hands. Like they keep falling asleep, but for no reason, and more painful. Plus my feet will get so very cold and even with extra socks, blankets, or walking around I can't get them to warm up. I have no known health conditions that would be responsible. Do you think this is ed related, or unlikely? Thanks.

numbness, tingling pain in any body parts can be a symptom of many different mental and physical health problems..

example for me this was the first symptoms I experienced with having Multiple Sclerosis, I have also had this problem from having dissociative disorders, not getting enough sleep, a heart defect, and many other problems.

my suggestion contact your treatment providers, they can do blood work and many other tests that can tell you whether this is related to your having an eating disorder or whether its because of some other mental or physical health problem..

[Gr3tta]

thanks for the replies. i am tending not to address anything ed related because i'm not in a good place to address any ed behaviors. but i don't want to ignore health problems which may be existing independently of ed's.
i actually went to see a doctor at an immediate care center recently because i fainted at work. (i needed a doctor note to return to work) i mentioned these symptoms, but they dismissed them. they basically told me that i wasn't sick because i didn't have a fever. so i just went back to work.

[whoswho]

I'm sorry to say that all of those symptoms to me sound ED related. When you're not eating you tend to have low blood-pressure, which can cause dizziness, fainting, and poor circulation (so tingling in the extremities, blue pallor, and coldness that exists outside the environment--like you said, you have 5 pairs of socks on but are still cold). Also, if you're severely anemic and lacking in protein, you can start getting severe muscle cramps that are incredibly painful; this is generally an indication of your body breaking down muscle tissue instead of stored fat.

That's what it sounds like to my non-professional ears... but definitely best to talk with your doctor.

[Gr3tta]

thanks. i guess it's confusing to me because i've been lower weight and not had these symptoms before. i'm taking some supplements and taking a big bottle of water to work to drink to try to be more hydrated. i've also been figure-8 wrapping my legs in ace bandages. that helps a little.

[whoswho]

If it's any consolation, I've never been underweight and have had all of these symptoms. Go figure.

Anything that increases blood circulation should help. If you have to sit for long periods, make sure to get up and stretch frequently; tap your toes, stretch out your fingers, etc. Sometimes just staying hydrated can be a great help, like you said. Tea is awesome in this regard because you can drink it hot and it temporarily warms you up, or at least it does for me.

Vitamins may or may not help because if you're not eating in the first place your body won't digest or absorb them. B-U-T, it can be a good excuse to get yourself to eat at least a little bit of something, if only for the sake of taking vitamins. Or, drink some kind of sports drink/shake that has vitamins in it. Otherwise they'll just kind of sit in your gut and not do anything.

Try to be kind to yourself, even though it's not always easy... Someday you'll be able to tackle the source...

When i was severly underweight i had the same problem.
One thing that helped was wearing compression socks (like ppl woth diabetes wear) to help improve my circulation... A lot of girls in treatment had to wear them. Its a common symptom of ed's

[Gr3tta]

whoswho - sit still for long periods??? what's that! no way. i'm a constant pacer and fidgeter. i didn't know that about vitamins - thanks. i do drink zero sports drinks for the electrolytes, maybe i could try low calorie vitamin waters too, instead of pill supplements. good suggestions.

Starry_Night - oh compression socks! why didn't i think of that??? good suggestion. thanks.

[hamster-bamster]

These symptoms can also be side effects of meds, so rule that out first.

[Gr3tta]

thanks h-b, but i don't take any meds. good suggestion though.

[Anika.]

I had these same symptoms for years and I still do. My blood pressure is very low. And I am also anemic. You really should have some blood work done up and get this checked out. Even if it was anemia which is very common with starvation along with lacking other vitamins and nutrients and minerals, supplements might not work that great but you can get injections of iron, and I am sure some others. Anemia left untreated can actually kill you, it's very hard on your organs. So important to get checked out.

I am no longer under weight and the problems are still present. Some of the damage we do to our bodies unfortunatly doesn't repair quickly or ever. I cannot hold onto iron in my blood any longer, I am lacking protien in the blood that iron clings to. So about once a year or more I go and get rounds of iron shots. Also I was lacking vit k,,a,and b. Which gave me lots of complications including bleeding under the skin.

So please try to take of yourself, and maybe get a full work up done so you might avoid serious problems later on.

[Gr3tta]

thanks. since i mentioned all this to a doctor, and they didn't seem to think it was important, it is highly unlikely that i'll be able to get anything else done. but for now i've perfected some wrapping of my legs that at least gives temporary relief from the pain.