Bulimia and me

If you suffer from this disease please feel free to contact me by email to discuss issues if you wish and if your a parent please if you need assistanec just ask I have two daughters and I can only hope they dont follow my footsteps. I have seen what this disease can do.

Well lets start this off with what the doctors say and what I think about that! I have been suffering and still do for nearly 31 years, and as a male I was part of the 0.5% of males thought to have an eating disorder in the late 80's although I started in 1981. It started like all things psycological with an idea and then reward. But lets not jump ahead of ourselves. I want to check how I stack up against the mediacl preoffession.

Physical Effects - Bulimia

There are many physical symptoms associated with Bulimia Nervosa, many of which are similar to the effects of Anorexia Nervosa. Some of the physical symptoms associated with bulimia include:

• Tooth decay  - This a a problem we all suffer but when your a bulimic its twice as bad my teeth are so thin with enamal I suffer the pain of cold and hot and at times just cant eat or dring certain things without pain.
• Dehydration - Your skin is always dry and flakey its not a nice thing and ay times dizzyness will hit because of the issues around dehydration and headaches are always present.
• Stomach & intestinal ulcers - I suffered from Duadenal ulcers and also irritable bowl are they related? god only knows.
• Inflammation & rupture of the oesophagus - Constant issue pain and suffering are the bulimics friend.
• Irregular or slow heart beat - I now have a metabalisim that stinks because I cant raise my heart rate much and as such my resting rate is 43 bpm which my doctor says I am dead.
• Heart failure - I know I have damaged my heart by doing this because as you excert in vomiting you pause the heart muscle and damage it. I also have a bivalve instead of a trivalve in my main vein from the heart and now I have to have a valve replacement at around 55 to ensure I dont suffer heart failure.
• Swollen salivary glands - I often get asked if I have swolan glands because they are inflamed and swolen, they make your face look fatter and change the way you look.
• The possibility of a ruptured stomach - Thank god no
• Chronic sore throat and gullet
• Sore throat, indigestion, heartburn and reflux - A bain of my life now!
• Abdominal pain and bloating - Farting and bloating is caused by the intake of air during teh vomiting stages of the disease.
• Electrolyte imbalance resulting in cardiac arrhythmia, muscle fatigue and cramps - Yes
• Bowel problems, constipation, diarrhoea, cramps - Yes

Psychological Effects - Bulimia

• Difficulties with activities which involve food - I have never suffered any of this as I love food no matter what it does to my body
• Loneliness due to self-imposed isolation and a reluctance to develop personal relationships- This is sometimes true its hard making new friends when your in the toilet throwing up. 
• Deceptive behaviours relating to food - True I will not eat certain things because they hurt coming back up and I also eat alone late at night and scurry like a mouse when I hear someone comming.
• Fear of the disapproval of others if the illness becomes known - This is the worse feeling ever for a guy, if your outed its like being gay the abuse is amazing as its a chick problem, the fear of being found leads to strange behavour and isolation as well.
• Mood swings, changes in personality, emotional outbursts or depression - Depression is the worst I suffer bouts of uncontrollable crying for no reason its such a bad thing.
• Self harm, substance abuse or suicide attempts - Self loathing is the killer here I have to tell you and as a bullied child suicide was on the cards.
• Overly sensitive to references about weight or appearance  - Always
• Guilt, self disgust, self loathing - As above this is teh worst and it leads to other behaviours and harm to self and others.
• Anxiety - you are always hiding
• Depression - Its a lonely disease

Behavioural Effects - Bulimia

• Frequent trips to the bathroom, especially after eating. The length of time taken for these bathroom trips can depend on the amount of food consumed and the need felt by the sufferer to purge themselves of it. - I had this down pat and used to drink so much water at the meal so I could get it up easier, but dont be fooled people do notice it, and if your a parent reading this this is teh tell tale within 30 mins of eating I would do my best to get rid of teh meal, I even taught myself to vomit on conmmand and would take a couple of short trips so people would think I was drinking too much.
• Food avoidance, dieting behaviour. This may because of a fear of gaining weight (as in Anorexia Nervosa) and it may also be to avoid the unpleasant ritual of purging afterwards. - Nup never avaided food only when I was heavily dieting.
• Fluctuations in weight - My weight was and still is all over teh place but now 30= years later its harder to loose
• Erratic behaviour - not realy I used to hide more than eratic
• Mood swings - I spose never really noticed

Ok so now I have answered the doctors questions but teh reality is that it starts in the most simple ways. I will do my best over the next few weeks months to tell you more about my condition.

My number is available if you ask.first keep coming back for updates I will go over my past and other issues for you to read and also try and gain insight if it helps. all questions answered.

Graeme