30 years suffering from bulimia-anorexia

[luz187]

my mother is 44 and has ben bulimic-anorexic for 30 years.
she is a single mother ,once adicted to pills ,she overcame the drug abuse but was never abul to stop the eating disorder.now 30 years later  at 85 pounds.i watch her every day stuggle with her ED ,she is on medication for arrhythmia(the right side of her atrium is enlarged).she purges with out having to try, it comes out on its own and she has really bad diarrhea,up to 2-3 times dayly.now she is only and completely  anorexic  she only eats rice ,olivs, and cheese puffs,she cant even hold that in it comes right back out...my family tells me that my mom is going to die,.and in my heart i know  her days are comming to an end.she is tiny and frail ,homebound and allone..i am all that she has .

plz somebody help me,.

thank you-

[shlee1016]

I'm so sorry to hear about your situation. Have you heard of Mercy Ministries? It's very difficult to get into; but it does not cost anything. I've heard their program is fabulous and saved so many lives. Many people actually go there that have been to Remuda Ranch (if you have not heard of it, they are like..number one as far as treatment centers), and say Mercy is great as well. I would apply. It's a fairly long-term inpatient place (few months or so?), but it sounds like it would be beneficial. Worth a try?

[Patricia Pitts, PhD]

Dear Luz187,

I am sorry to hear the pain you are in as your watch your mother’s condition.  Up to 20% of anorexics that do not seek treatment die of the medical complications or suicides.  When the anorexic seeks treatment, morbidity rates drop to 2-3%.


Your mom sounds quite entrenched in her eating disorders.  She is ultimately the only one who can change her course.  Family members and friends can do interventions to get the anorexic into treatment.

If you wan more information, contact me directly through the bella vita website.

Best,
Dr. Patricia Pitts
The Bella Vita
Los Angeles, CA

[luz187]

im sorry to hear about your mother,i feel your pain.my mom to wears childrens clothing cause nothing else fits her,.how long has your mom had an ED ?

my mother  has ben to  rehab  about 10 years ago ,she came out still stuggling & relapsed about a week later.since then every day is an extra day on this earth.she knows she is sliping away,she is on a waiting list for the douglas hospital they specialize in eting disorders.i sent her test results ,but they still have not called us back,i dont know what to do.?
we're low in income and its verry hard.

[ErieMom]

My mom is not quite as bad as your mom...she doesn't throw up but she is so thin it's scary. When people meet her they can't believe how skinny she is. She weighs 90 pounds and wears children clothing because womens clothing is just to big. She eats but very little and exercises 3+ hours a day. She doesn't believe she has a problem and her DR says she's okay as long as she doesn't lose any more weight. To me that's crazy. I feel him saying that only makes things worse. It only confrims things to her that she doesn't have a problem when she clearly does.
Has your mom gotten any treatment? Has she tried a rehad program? She may need an intervention if she doesn't believe she has a problem. I hope you can help her. They don't seem to understand how much it hurts watch people we love waste away.