Purging without trying

[RosieG21]

I have been bulimic for about 13 years.  I have had brief periods of recovery, but i seem to end up purging again. I am in one of those periods of recovery, well sort of.  Here is my question.  If i eat enough to feel full (not stuffed) the food comes up on it's own.  I mean, if I bend over, the food comes up by itself.  I haven't had to "induce" vomiting for years.  This used to be wonderful, but now that I am trying to recover, I can't seem to stop this.  The food comes up even when I don't want it to.  If I eat tiny amounts of dry food, the problem does not occur.  But then my friends and family start commenting about me turning anorexic.  Do you how I can get past this?  I am afraid if I do not get this under control, I will just give up and end up in a full relapse.  Thank you in advance for your help!!  

[Patricia Pitts, PhD]

Dear RoseG21,
The fact that food comes up when you don’t want it to is reason to seek medical help.  You could have acid reflux or GERD.  Vomiting can cause permanent damage to your esophagus from acid coming up from the stomach.  In addition, your body could be damaged by lack of proper nutrients getting to major organs.  There are medications that can help acid reflux and GERD.  Some individuals also use self-hypnosis to calm self and manage symptoms.  There is help.  Call a gastroenologist for treatment.  
You also may need treatment to help you overcome your eating disorder.
If you are interested in learning more about anorexia or bulimia, visit the bella vita website.
Best,
Dr Patricia Pitts
The Bella Vita
Los Angeles, CA

[RosieG21]

Dr. Pitts,

Thank you so much for your advice.  I am glad to head that this problem is not as horrible as I thought it might be.  I will look into some of those medications to see if they will help.  Hopefully I will have this problem under control soon.  Thanks again for your time.  Your advice really put my mind at ease.

[RosieG21]

Thank you for your advice.  It is a good reminder to remember that this is my recovery, no one else's.  I hope this phase will pass.  I just want to be able to control my body again.  I get fearful when I am unable to control the vomiting.  I hope Dr. Pitts will be able to explain why this happens and if it will stop....or what I can do to help myself.  Thank you so much for your post.  It is os good to know I am not alone.  I hope you are doing well.

[shlee1016]

Hello, I can relate a whole lot to your struggle right now. I also have a thought for you to ponder. It's one that I have to remind myself constantly (actually others have to help me a lot with this because I tend to forget also). But who's recovery is this? It's YOURS! So really, it doesn't matter what comments your friends and family start making if you know that you are doing what you have to do to recover. As long as your intake is truly not intended as a weight loss/restrictive type of thing, then it's okay if you can't eat a lot at one time. My advice would be to eat small amounts, but frequently throughout the day so that you are not restricting. I sure hope that your family and friends are supportive of you and your recovery. If they make comments to you, just tell them that this is your recovery, you are working on it, doing what you know is right, and that you would appreciate it if they would keep their comments to themselves because it is NOT helping. I don't know your family, but with some people if you just ignore the first comment or two, they won't say anything else after that. Please remember though that it's not their recovery, their life, their disorder, but it's yours. They need to know that it is not their place to make comments like that. There is a right way to voice concern, but that's not it.

As far as the vomiting goes, I can relate to that as well. After making myself throw up for so long, it now just tries to do it on its own, and I don't have to force it. I am not a doctor and am not going to tell you that you should take medicine or not, but personally, I am on medication to help this. If you talk to a doctor, he/she might be able to help you if it's appropriate. I'm actually not a huge advocate of meds, and popping pills for everything, but sometimes I do get desperate and will also take TUMS or some other OTC med to help with the discomfort of everything going on through all of this you know?

Did any of this help?? I'm happy to talk further if you'd like! I hope you are doing okay! =)

Ashley