[drunksunflower]

ok this is completely hypothetical

but what if someone was randomly being sick or feeling like they wanted to be

thought it was a tummy bug but it's gone on for like 3 or 4 weeks

they have been bulimic in teenage/early uni years on a more or less regular basic, then still use those tricks when wanna lose a bit of weight rapidly

but this time not deliberately purging, it's just coming up anyway esp if it's 'bad' food

also pretty stressed with work

can the current throwing up be like a reflexive throwing up even though it's not consciously purging (they might happen to be happy with the weight it's made them lose recently)

there is no physical anything going on, no sore tummy or anything

any thoughts would be useful

[sammi]

Sometimes i get like that when i'm really stressed. Like i use to be bulimic but i've been ok for sometime now. Still though when ever i'm going through a tough time i find i have trouble with eating and keeping it down.

take care

[drunksunflower]

ok ... so maybe it's not totally abnormal ...

thank you for your post hon.

Hypothetically aside in my case no I don't like being sick. I avoid at all costs being sick and having to see doctors. so much so that when i did experience stomach problems and weight loss more than a pound a week I chalked it up to my eating disorder and stress and when my therapist at that time finally gave em an ultimatue of going to my family physician and letting him know I was not feeling as good as I was portraying because I didn't want DHS to know I was not feelng good, I was trying to keep visitation with my child not lose it and being sick is grounds for canceling visitation with a child in foster care.

So I went. my blood test came up abnormal and then upon further tests to find out why my blood counts were so off it turned out that I had Mucosis Associated Lymphocitic Tissue Lymphoma - a non hodgekins cancer that traves the blood stream by way of the lymph nodes and thanks to a bacteria - HelioBacter Pyloria the cancer was localized in my stomach lining.

So in your hypothetical scenero I would suggest the hypothetical person go see their family physician to rule out things like anemia, ulcers, cancer and whatever other medical problems there are out there that can cause a person to experience stomach pain and problems beyond the normal flu virus.

[pegasus]

Hi! drunksunflower,

Yeah, I feel sick and am sick in times of stress. It is not something I do on purpose.

For me, it is a bodily reaction to the changes that are happening in my life.

I'm hoping it will settle down eventually!

Take care.

[drunksunflower]

the hypothetical person is totally fine otherwise - lots of energy and the vomiting seems to be associated with things like sunday night before work the next day, or on the way out the door to work on a weekday (like throwing up in the potplant on the balcony).

[pegasus]

Anxiety and excitement can be closely related.

ie. children can feel sick before their first day at school.

Sounds like the sickness is brought on by anxiety/excitement of going to work.

[drunksunflower]

that sounds kinda similar ... thank u

Cool. in that case I would also say hypothetically the person is probably experiencing social anxiety.

[drunksunflower]

and what does a person do about that?

[LMo]

hypothetically, I suppose one could pay attention to their bodies, because there are probably some anxiety signals taking place before the hypothetical vomiting begins. If one were very in tune with their bodies and any initial signals of anxiety (butterflies, increased heart rate, shallower breathing, etc), then one could try stopping what they are doing, and do some meditative breathing, focusing on nothing except breathing for 5 minutes or so.

If that doesn't work, then get on with your day and maybe call one's pdoc to discuss one's level of stress and anxiety.

[eskielover]

I know for me, my stress level shows up as nausea. I can't throw up unless I have the flu & it just hits before I can control it because I had the flu once & threw up so hard that I broke all the blood vessles in my eyes & in my face. I looked horrible with the whites of my eyes completely red & red pin points all over my face. After that, everytime I feal nausea, I just don't eat so that I don't throw up. When my stress is really bad, I have had the nausea go on for months & months & months......to the point where I loose weight way below my safe lowest weight.

When I was hospitalized last year for this, my GP did about $60,000. of tests to rule out any possible physical problem. Everything was rulled out so they determined it was anorexia but they weren't willing to listen to the fact that stress was causing the problem. My blood tests came back anemic with malnutrition & had to be treated with a central line & TPN nurtition for several weeks. When the physical possibilities are ruled out, a good therapist is needed to work through any issues that might be causing the problem. I have to admit that it isn't easy to fine someone that can help with that because I found that all the therapists & pdocs want to pigeon hole the problem into anorexia & body image issues & aren't very open to other causes for the problem. That was what I found while trying to deal with the problem just last year. The hospitals pdoc told me that what I was dealing with was anorexia & I needed to be in a treatment center. The treatment centers I talked to said they couldn't help me because I wasn't dealing with body image problems & that I needed help to deal with the trauma that seemed to be causing PTSD symptoms that were ending up causing the nausea that was causing the extreme weight loss which looked like anorexia.

It's like being in a black hole with no way out at the time......until finally someone turns up that cares enough to listen & want to help with what is actually going on.

Hope your hypothetical case can find a good person to help work through the issues,
Debbie

[pegasus]

(((((((((((((( hugs )))))))))))))) to all who have this problem.

I'm pretty sick of it!

[drunksunflower]

pegasus back at ya

[Perna]

It's not like bulimia nervosa is voluntary in the first place; it is a bit like smoking, after awhile you "have" to smoke and find it hard to stop. That one's tummy would physically get in the "habit" too wouldn't surprise me. One's symptoms are like that. Just like we have weird dreams, the unconscious and semi-counscious parts of our minds are paying more attention than we know and more powerful than we usually imagine. Teach the mind a new "trick" and it will happily oblige by taking it over and it's your new habit, whether you want it or not.

[drunksunflower]

thats a really interesting take on it Perna

Theres medications for anxiety and there are techniques for example progressive relaxation has helped me alot when I have anxiety and have to be out and about, working volunteer work and so on. I carry around relaxation music and my therapist and I do relaxation visualizations during therapy sessions I take them with me too so that iF I am out of the house and I start feeling uncomfortable I locate the nearest restroom and take a few minutes to ground myself and relax.

So maybe the hypothetical person can talk to their therapist and they can work on the anxiety issues together and find coping tools that they can use anywhere - at home or even in the work place.