anorexic &/or bulemic?

[dreamgirl]

Please don't move this to nutrition because I want the most responses and the most help on this.

My sister was a healthy normal eating person up until about a year ago. She always exercised and was probably 5'3 124. With in the last year -all of a sudden she eats no carbs. She is completely obsessed with everything she puts in her mouth. She now ONLY drinks DIET colas or water or decaf coffee plain. She refuses to eat red meat. She will exercise everyday no matter what time it is, one time we went to a family birthday party and got home at 11pm and she exercised from 11:30-12:30am. She mainly eats salads and takes everything off and most of the time uses no dressing (always takes the crutons off). Recently we went to Arbys and she ordered a chicken sandwich and she ONLY ate the chicken.. nothing else. This is how she is always eating. We went to a HS football game and while we all had popcorn, she didn't have anything all night. She weighs about 117 now, so she's not underweight.

I really think something is wrong and when I look up stuff on the internet I don't know how to call what is wrong with her, she doesn't have complete symptoms. I'm wondering if she has a little of both. My mom doesn't think anythign is worng that she is just "health conscious" but I think it's a lot father than that. Has anyone dealt with this or is a nutritionist and might see what is wrong and maybe I can help her or somehow guide her?

Please respond.

[sana]

i'm not going to move it only because you made the specific request, but there is a very good thread in the female diet and nutrition section about helping people who may have an eating disorder.

Click Me

if you are worried, i think you should start by talking to her and asking why she thinks she needs to be so strict with herself... most importantly, don't seem critical of what she's doing, but rather - supportive.

[dreamgirl]

thank you sana I am reading it right now... I still want to know if my sister is anorexic or bulemic or a little of both?

[Liftingchic]

Well Bulmia is Eating A LOT AND then throwing it up..so if she is going to the bathroom after eating i really doubt its that... Anorexic on the other side is eating nothing.. and workout or taking other stuff..

[sana]

i'm not sure what to tell you based on your limited information. but since she doesn't seem to be going through phases of binging and purging, i would tend to say that she's not bulimic. if she's trying to limit her intake of food and exercising compulsively, it sounds more like she MAY be headed towards anorexia.

but... i think that regardless, just open up and talk to her. tell her your concerns and let her know you're there.

[dreamgirl]

I have talked to her and she and my mom thinks I am crazy. The reason I thought that she may be bulemic is because of the excessive/obsessive cardio workouts. They have classified that as a purge of bulemia. I don't think she is throwing up. I think what really gets me about her is that EVERYTHING and ANYTHING she talks about is about eating or working out. She is getting married next year and we have postponed planning it because it doesn't fit in with her workout schedule. Workouts are more important than looking for her own bridal gown. It just seems to me that her priorities are kind of screwed up which to me means something is wrong.

[Doom]

You just answered the problem....what type of person is she marrying? Is he critical about her appaearance in anyway, would he make suggestive remarks that would make her fall into this pattern?

At this age developing an eating disorder is stemming from a deeper rooted problem that just physical appearance....something has changed drastically in the course of her life, and thats what you need to look at

[pucknutz78]

from the info you've given, IMO shes just obsessive....i dont think she has an eating disorder.

[AsianPersuasian]

I've had experience with anorexia. It sounds like it's the begginnings of anorexia. It starts out with watching every little thing you eat and excercising obsessively. Then eventually it gets worse and the food dissapears completely from the diet. It's more of a control issue than wanting to be thin. If she gets worse than what she is now, then I would talk to her about it. Even after talking to her it may be a while before she admits to herself that she has a problem.

[estanozolol]

Here's the diagnostic criteria for anorexia and bulemia. This is from the DSM-IV which is used to diagnose all mental disorders.

Anorexia Nervosa
A. Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height (e.g., weight loss leading to maintenance of body weight less than 85% of that expected).
B. Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight.
C. Disturbance in the way in which one's body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of teh seriousness of the current low body weight.
D. In postmenarcheal females, amenorrhea, i.e., the absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles. (A woman is considered to have amenorrhea if her periods occur only following hormone, e.g., estrogen, administration.)


Bulimia Nervosa
A. Recurrent episodes of binge eating. An Episode of binge eating is characterized by both of the following:
(1) eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat during a similar period of time and under similar circumstances.
(2) a sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (e.g., a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating)
B. Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behavior in order to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting; misuse of laxatives, diuretics, enemas, or other medications; fasting; or EXCESSIVE EXERCISE.
C. The binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviors both occur, on average, at least twice a week for 3 months.
D. Self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight.
E. The disturbance does not occur exclusively during episodes of Anorexia Nervosa.

[velvett]

When she gets to the point where her metabolism slows down and what she is currently doing stops working is when things will change or or start to get crazy.

When she fears eating what she has been eating as of late and chooses no food to continue to lose more weight you will know there is a problem.

[Doom]

The DSM, will classify everyone here as having some form of nuroses, one way or another

[blm]

Originally posted by Doom
The DSM

What is the DSM?

[dreamgirl]

thank you everyone... I'll keep my eyes on her...

AS for Doom, her fiance is a male donimant control freak. Every guy she has dated have been like that. She's never gotten beaten up, but I wouldn't have been surprised if she had been. The last guy she dated for 2 years was your typical cop. He completely made her feel worthless and verbally abused her. She didn't let us know about any of that until way after they were broken up. This guy is a 5'8 skinny maybe 140lb guy. To me, who is he to tell her what to look like... I don't think he is, but then again who knows.

I think she has very low self esteem. I look at myself and I wouldn't have even CONSIDERED dating any of these guys. They are all the same type.

Thanks again for everyones help, it still worries me. I hope it doesn't get any worse.

[estanozolol]

Originally posted by blm
What is the DSM?

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders.