Eating Disorders Support Group
Eating disorders are marked by an obsessive need to control the intake and/or purging of food. This community is dedicated to those struggling on the road to recovery. Join to discuss your experience with others and find support. Get advice, ask questions, and meet others who are going through similar struggles.
hi all. my 4th assignment for my writing class calls for a 1,000 word original article on a topic of my choice. i am doing two articles because both topics are important to me. one article is on EDNOS. the other is about operation beautiful.
it angers me that EDNOS is not widely discussed. i didn't even recognize my ED untill i was 21-TEN years after i first began bingeing-because it was never important enough to warrant a discussion in school.
the point of this class is to teach writers how to write for children and teens for publication. it is a long distance learning course. i have done all my own research and plan to tie in my own experriences with this article. however, since the cause of ED's is still unclear, i was hoping you could help me out. i need those of you who are comfortable doing so to answer this question:
what do you think caused your EDNOS?
any of you who respond to this thread will remain completely anonymous. i'm even changing my own name. as of now, my writing teacher will be the only person who sees this. however, there is a possibility that somewhere down the road, it could be published. again, any responders would remain anonymous. i plan on giving everyone in the article-with the exception of the authors i'm citing-fake names. if you want to respond, but are uncomfortable posting here, e-mail me at hisprincess63@yahoo.com . put EDNOS article in the subject.
i am writing this article for teenagers. i never want another girl to suffer in silence with EDNOS the way i had to simply because of ignorance. i'm sick of EDNOS being ignored. i want it to be recognized and treated. i want it to get as much attention as anorexia and bulemia. i want kids to know it's out there, and it's real. thanks for your help. if you guys want to read it, i'll post the 2nd draft here when it's done.-fallon
it angers me that EDNOS is not widely discussed. i didn't even recognize my ED untill i was 21-TEN years after i first began bingeing-because it was never important enough to warrant a discussion in school.
the point of this class is to teach writers how to write for children and teens for publication. it is a long distance learning course. i have done all my own research and plan to tie in my own experriences with this article. however, since the cause of ED's is still unclear, i was hoping you could help me out. i need those of you who are comfortable doing so to answer this question:
what do you think caused your EDNOS?
any of you who respond to this thread will remain completely anonymous. i'm even changing my own name. as of now, my writing teacher will be the only person who sees this. however, there is a possibility that somewhere down the road, it could be published. again, any responders would remain anonymous. i plan on giving everyone in the article-with the exception of the authors i'm citing-fake names. if you want to respond, but are uncomfortable posting here, e-mail me at hisprincess63@yahoo.com . put EDNOS article in the subject.
i am writing this article for teenagers. i never want another girl to suffer in silence with EDNOS the way i had to simply because of ignorance. i'm sick of EDNOS being ignored. i want it to be recognized and treated. i want it to get as much attention as anorexia and bulemia. i want kids to know it's out there, and it's real. thanks for your help. if you guys want to read it, i'll post the 2nd draft here when it's done.-fallon
I was a weird case. When I went inpatient they called me "anorexic" in order to qualify for Blue Cross, because of my weight.
Then when I got there they said I was bulimic due to my tendency to purge calories by not eating?? Weird. Then they threw up their hands and said "EDNOS"
I feel like I'm so "not otherwise specified" and that fits me well.
I have a drug addicted daughter. An alcoholic. Spent so many years of my life trying to control her. And when she didn't respond to phone calls I would starve until she came home. And when she finaly came home I starved some more to stop the yelling and chaos in the home. I wasn't really concerned about my body or anything at that point. It was a total control trip, the illusion of control. Like I'm controlling something that I have no control over. The oxymoron of anorexia. \
I learned a whole lot while in inpatient. So much!
Things are better now. She is sober and I'm doing pretty good.
You have any questions? Ask me.
I am not sure if I have EDNOS...I've never been in therapy or diagnosed, but I do have an ED with symptoms and charcteristics that have changed over the years, so maybe some of my information might be helpful to your paper.
I developed my ED when I was in High School. I was about 15 at the time. I never had a weight problem growing up but when I hit puberty I gained a few pounds. Since I competed in a sport where weight was critical to your performance I began to starve myself in order to lose weight, and this behavior quickly evolved into a binge eating, feel guilty, vomit cycle. It is a vicious cycle....as soon as I would throw up I'd be hungry again...so I would eat again and then purge. I am always hungry yet I am extremely uncomfortable when I eat...I HAVE to throw up. Small, minuscule bites of food, periodically are all that my stomach can tolerate. I am not fat ....I can see that in photos, but not in the mirror and so I (can) become neurotic when getting dressed or shopping for clothes. Some days I will spend hours trying on everything I own to be sure everything still fits.
I am now 53 and I have done this every day for ~38 years.... consuming enormous amounts of food only to throw it all up. I've ruined my teeth and I worry about the damage I've done to my body....I have no idea what kind of nutrients have sustained me all of these years. I am totally exhausted by it all...I would just like to be normal. There is a further complication....over the years I started to drink...it took away the hunger and relaxed me. I drank beer, thinking that was less damaging than hard alcohol. Wrong, alcohol is alcohol, and it all has the same negative effect on the body. A little over a year ago, during an annual physical my blood results came back with a flag. My liver enzymes were very high which indicate liver damage is occurring. I was convinced I had cirrhosis, which is another horrible disease. I quit drinking immediately and I am working hard to get my ED (finally)under control and do what I can to do to correct any of the damage I've done to my body...if possible.
~Karen
My eating disorder started when I was about 9 or 10. I actually developed what is called Pica which is craving and eating non-food items. I would eat ice (which isn't that bad) but also my own hair. I ended up having one side of my hair a few inches shorter than the other side as I would grab a chunk of hair and put it in my mouth. What caused this? I don't know I assume that it was moving across the country and being bullied after moving.
The Pica went away at about 13. I moved back to where I left from and I was bullied there too. I became obsessed with being perfect. In my mind, if I got perfect grades, do everything perfect, and so on that the bullying would go away - this was wrong obviously. It wasn't until when I was 16 that I developed an full on eating disorder. I wouldn't eat for a week and then binge for a day. I told people when I went to the ER but they pushed it aside. It is officially in my medical records that because I didn't vomit and wasn't thin enough that I couldn't possibly have an eating disorder. It angers me that someone could think like that and I question that if someone would've said it as an eating disorder and got me into treatment if I would have went on to become very ill.
Present day I am back to where I started. I now restrict for 3 days and binge on the fourth and back around. I went through anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. I did gain weight since my anorexic phase so that rules me out of that catagory and have stopped purging by vomiting so I cannot be bulimic.
It is frustrating for me now, I hate being EDNOS as no one seems to get the impact of the disorder. EDNOS causes just as much damage as other eating disorders. It takes hold on your thinking, you lose concentration and memory, you're exhausted all the time, you're sick but no one seems to understand it.
I personally believe that I was pre-disposed to having an eating disorder. By the time I was 6 I had bad body image. I would tie belts around my waist to make myself thinner. I was ashamed of my weight, because I was always rather tall I would weigh more than others. It horrified me to say my weight to others. I was not fat or obese in my childhood. I was very thin and tall. So that combined with my aunt having an eating disorder herself, compulsive over eating, I just had the potential to develop one. And I did...sadly.
(Any more questions, just ask!)
~Karen:)
everyone has such different stories its cool to hear everyone else experiences
i realised i was overweight when i was 11 and developed anorexia which lasted 6 months. after i lost alot of weight, i guess i just settloes into ednos and stopped losing weight. people didnt care and i struggled alot. id starve then binge at about 5pm until bed.
ive never been diagnosed, but i just assumed it was ednos caus i cant specify it lol
x