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.

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Coley1989 04/14/2008

So I recently discovered the wonders of laxatives. Just for a week now I have been using them. It makes me feel really yucky but it helps get rid of any food I have not thrown up. I know this sounds disgusting but this is what my life has amounted to. All that fuckin hard work in sports and school and this is where I am. Most of the time is spent thinking of food or getting rid of food. Why is food my enemy. Why has the fear of becoming fat taken over my life..????? Why AM I LIKE THIS?? I just get so frustrated because when I feel like I am making progress I really just sink back into my same ole habits. Is this even beatable?? I don't know what I need...

deleted_user 04/14/2008

honey, this is beatable! you CAN beat this, i believe in you. you have the strength inside you, look deep down its in there. and you will beat this. trust me, i know what you are going through, i've been there.. my thoughts were always about food, what i ate, what i could eat, and then the guilt, it was terrible. i hit rock bottom when i overdosed on diet pills and spent a night in the hospital.
but 3 years later, i haven't touched a diet pill, and my life has changed tremendously. sure i'll think about food here and there, but i got to tell you, i made it. and i know you will too.
start a journal, start to think when you go to grab food, why are you REALLY grabbing it? you mentioned sports... when you start to go for food, work out.. get active. start to get involved in activies that you know will take your mind off food.

i got to tell you hun, it will get better, have faith. i survived it, and you will too. i believe in you.

deleted_user 04/14/2008

First off I hope you know that laxatives don't actually do anything to help right? I know to your ED brain it makes you think that it does but actually it does NOT cut down on calories. It DOES mess with your electorlytes, dehydrate you, give you stomach cramps and can cause major damage to your GI track that could require surgery! As well as making it so you can't have a BM without them.

deleted_user 04/14/2008

You are an educated person, so use that to help yourself. Look online for information about the ill effects of bulimia and laxative abuse. There is some frightening (and gross) information. I don't know how long you've been purging, but the longer you do it, the worse the effects on your longterm health. You can get heart damage, esophageal ulcers, receeding gumline, massive tooth decay, bone density problems, chronic GERD symptoms, and even bleeding hemorrhoids. Find a site on google with images of some of the damage done by purging. It will help you overcome, especially if you have not been doing it very long. You CAN beat this.

deleted_user 04/14/2008

Laxatives make you lose mostly fluid, not fat or cals, so it doesn't really do what you want it to do. Plus it is very dangerous. You will need more and more until your digestive system is totally messed up. I hope you stop them right now. After a week you shouldn't be too hooked. And yes you can beat ED. There are quite a few recovered people on here. It's extremely hard, but it's possible.

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