Heart attacks and bulimerexica

[Rach878]

I was recently at my doctors, and although i am at a slightly above average wieght, she's concern that at the rate i'm loosing weight, that i could have a heart attack. When ever i think of girls with ED having heart attacks though,  i think of underweight girls, so how is it that at my current weight i could have a heart attack, and how do i help prevent it?

[pink2385]

how about we continue talking in message, bc its getting off-topic on here? lol :)

[Patricia Pitts, PhD]

Dear Rach878,

Rapid weight loss is extremely hard on all major organs, including the heart.  In addition, vomiting no matter if you are overweight, average weight or underweight can cause electrolyte imbalances which can cause heart attack.

For more information on bulimia, visit the bella vita website.

Best,

Dr. Patricia Pitts
The Bella Vita
Los Angeles, CA
Woodland Hills, CA

[Rach878]

No because there was no one to get mad at me since i was talking to her. ocd often forms with bulimia, or eds in general it's kinda normal  although it doers kinda suck.

[pink2385]

Im having a lot of problems right now too... im thinking right now i might not only b bulimic, but also have a minor form of ocd. And hs is oh so fun & full of drama. Did you get in trouble for missing a class when you talked 2 ur teacher for 45 minutes?

[Rach878]

Thanks. i'm going back to my dr. on tues. i was talkig with one of my teachers yesterday.. well i kinda had a meltdown because on top of Ed theres a lot of other things going on. We talked for 45 mins. She's really helpful, and tells me the truth about things, in a way my theripists would never say, but they were things i needed to hear. And she's kinda been down this road, because her cousin had an ed.
How are you?

[pink2385]

nP keep me updated w/ what happens, id like 2 b there 4 u :)

[Rach878]

I am looking into going back to the treatment center i was in last summer. I just feel like doing that i'm going to get no vacation at all, but i guess i have to do what i have to do.
I think managing 500 cals. a day w/o vomiting will be easier than a whole meal plan.
The gaining weight does scare me, because i've slowed my metabolism down so much that it's going to take forever to start it back up. However i was told if i keep loosing weight as quickly as i am know, i'll eihter have a heart attack or be on a feeding tube by Sept. which isn't something that i want to do. I mean i'm still at a healthy weight, but loosing 4 lbs. a week like i am won't keep me at a healthy weight for very long.
Thanks both of you for talking.

[benotafraid]

Exactly what the dr. told you is how I fixed my ed.  I started of making myself holding down at least breakfast.  Then, and it took some time, but after a while I was drinking a meal shake at lunch and holding that down too.  After some time ... and I am still in this phase ... I made myself eat and not purge something like peanut butter and jelly and fruit.  I also drink a v8 every day, at least a glass of milk, and take a vitamen.  In addition, I stopped getting up at 4:30 every to jog for 2 hours.  Now, I am at 3 miles a day (mostly walking) and I haven't purged anything since last year.  I'll be honest with you about this ... I did gain weight at first.  I gained about 15-20  pounds.  Like you ... I really really really needed to.  But ... within six weeks or so, once my body got used to being fed, I began losing weight.  Now, I am below my average weight and have to add 100 calorie snacks, cereal, protein bars etc. so that I don't lose more.  Be kind to your body and feed it.  You can do it.  We are here to support you.

[benotafraid]

Exactly what the dr. told you is how I fixed my ed.  I started of making myself holding down at least breakfast.  Then, and it took some time, but after a while I was drinking a meal shake at lunch and holding that down too.  After some time ... and I am still in this phase ... I made myself eat and not purge something like peanut butter and jelly and fruit.  I also drink a v8 every day, at least a glass of milk, and take a vitamen.  In addition, I stopped getting up at 4:30 every to jog for 2 hours.  Now, I am at 3 miles a day (mostly walking) and I haven't purged anything since last year.  I'll be honest with you about this ... I did gain weight at first.  I gained about 15-20  pounds.  Like you ... I really really really needed to.  But ... within six weeks or so, once my body got used to being fed, I began losing weight.  Now, I am below my average weight and have to add 100 calorie snacks, cereal, protein bars etc. so that I don't lose more.  Be kind to your body and feed it.  You can do it.  We are here to support you.

[pink2385]

I don't know much about inpatient recovery centers, but maybe you can go there if you're super worried? They can make sure you eat enough of the right things to keep your heart going, and not purge it. Good luck with everything, I hope it all turns out okay.

[Rach878]

Thanks for your reply. But i'm not malnurished, because i'm not underweight, and i had a blood test 2 weeks ago and every thing came back fine. I went to see my Dr. yesterday, and she said that the concern is how rapidly i'm loosing weight, 10lbs in 2 weeks. Well yesterday she didn't try to give me a whole meal plan, she just told me to eat breakfast, and make it at least 500 cal. a day without purging. That is some thing i think i can handle, considering i already eat 300 a day without purging, so it seems more possible than a 1200 cal meal plan. I am worried about my heart, i hope it doesn't fail.

[pink2385]

You can get heart failure if the heart doesn't have enough of something to keep going. Electrolyte imbalances (especially potassium deficiency), Dehydration, Malnutrition, low blood pressure, extreme Orthostatic Hypotension, abnormally slow heart rate, Electrolyte imbalances, and hormonal imbalances are some causes of heart failure
Some more info is on
http://www.something-fishy.org/dangers/dangers.php