Am I moving in the right direction?

[searcher95]

I am 16 years old (girl) and ever since about a year and a half ago, I have shown signs of anorexia. Last year I got down to 82 pounds and I am 5'2. I would eat about 700-800 calories a day, but I would exercise about 80-90% of them off.  I remained at that weight until all of a sudden I started gaining unbelievable amounts of water weight. Is that caused by an ED? And will this go away? Every time I exercise, I seem to gain weight. Right now, my mom is preparing my meals, and I going into recovery. I really want to get better. I would like to enjoy my meals instead of having to calculate every single calorie that I consume. last year, I would even calculate gum and cough drops if I consumed them. And if I wanted sweets or something, I would chew it up and spit it out making sure I didn't swallow any of it at all. Then if I felt I ate too much, I would do extra time on the treadmill. I would spend 2 hours in the freezing cold garage exercising. I finally stopped when I almost fainted when I was running. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that my arm accidentally pulled the safety magnet out of place, so the treadmill stopped. God was really watching over me that night. This is what my mom has me eating for my recovery. It is sometimes very difficult to eat 400 calories per meal. I truly do want to get better though. Do you think I have an Eating Disorder? Should I get professional help? My mom is not allowing me to do strenuous activity right now. I am only allowed to walk on the treadmill at a slow pace. I used to do Insanity and P90X. I feel like I am at the opposite end of the spectrum because I have over 10 pounds of water weight in me right now, so this isn't my natural size. My stomach gets so bloated I look pregnant sometimes. My legs and ankles and arms look so puffy...especially after I exercise. Will I get better? I am only on my first week of recovery. It is so hard some days I just want to cry. And when people tell me I did it to myself, that never helps any. I just want to be back to normal. Is there anything I should be doing?

[Kai_Cooper]

Wow you sound oddly close to where I was about a year ago. I was 16 severely underweight and I did darn near everything you are. I'm extremely glad that you want to get better and that you are letting you mom make your meals for you. I was petrified to let my mum do that. I literally had to leave the downstairs area because the smell of food freaked me out. I thought that even if I smelt it I would gain weight. Silly I know, but an eating disorder will do that to you.

Now onto if you have an ED. I can't say. Your doctor is going to have to be the one to diagnose that. If you want my personal opinion however (DO NOT TAKE AS DIAGNOSIS), I think you do. But you seem to be in the early stages so if you begin to recover now, you may not have to struggle down the road and just blow this thing over in one shot. An eating disorder will mess your life up. Being thin isn't worth killing yourself. You are worth so much more than that. I pray that you see that.

Much love,
Kai

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi! If you are really having water retention, then this could be serious. It can be due to severe anemia, a failing heart, serious kidney disease, liver failure or disorder, electrolyte imbalance, polycystic ovary (in females), low protein in the blood, and disorders of adrenal gland. This is something for which you must consult a doctor ASAP, preferably an internal medicine specialist.
Take care!