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Genuine Help for Eating Disorder Sufferers and Caregivers
Dr Irina Webster M.D
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Tag: bulimia effects

People often ask me about different side effects of bulimia: about short term, long term and the most dangerous ones.  This article is about short term effects which appear soon after bulimia begins. 

People are also interested if the short term effects are 100% reversible or not. Well, probably most of the short term bulimia effects are reversible but it is also depends on the intensity of the bulimia.

It is also depends on association with other medical and psychological problems the person as at the time they start being bulimic. So, I would say it is all down to the individual and for many people the short term effects are 100%reversable when they stop their bulimia. But there are some people who can have irreversible damage.

Now, let’s look at them – short term effects.

  1. Digestive system suffers because of vomiting. People experience bloating, indigestion, bad taste in the mouth, breath smells, pains and aches in the stomach, reflux, heart burn and nausea.
  2. Swallowing can be painful if throat gets damaged while vomiting.
  3. Teeth get eroded quickly from the acid during and after vomiting.
  4. Heart problems can become obvious especially in people who purge often.
     
  5. Constipation is a common concern in bulimics. It can become complicated with haemorrhoids and tears.
     
  6. Low body temperature which makes people sensitive to cold weather. Bulimics are cold most of the time.
  7. Tendency to faint.
     
  8. Mood swings and intolerance to mental pressure.
  9. Getting tired quickly and the inability to concentrate. Even simple mental tasks like reading can make some bulimics tired and even exhausted. Studying and learning can become problematic also.
  10. Muscular tension can bring a lot of suffering. It appears as back pains, neck pains, tension headaches and aches or pains in other parts of the body.
  11. Depression and anxiety can be very severe. The more people think and act bulimic the more depressed they become.
  12. Dry skin is the problem too, accompanied by brittle hair and weak nails. Skin problems can be noticeable on sufferer’s hands especially. Knuckles can be damaged when they induce vomiting. One quick way to see if a loved one is bulimic check their knuckles, they will be all hard and wrinkled.
  13. The Immune system can suffer making a person vulnerable to many infections. They experience colds and flu often.
  14. People become withdrawn and avoid others.
     
  15. Stress levels increases significantly.
      
  16. Insomnia is common due to increased stress.
  17. Distorted thoughts: constantly thinking about food, even dreaming about it.
  18. Menstrual problems can range from painful periods to absence of periods.
  19. Bone density decreases. Osteoporosis in severe cases of bulimia.
  20. Voice changes due to damaged vocal cords.

These are the most common short term bulimia side effects. There are many more and people get affected by bulimia differently. All side effects can turn into dangerous complications. So the best way to prevent them is to stop your bulimia all together.

 You can always start looking for help: read more about it, educate yourself, ask professionals, work on changing your psychology, change behavioural pattern etc. Never give up and never take the side of disease.

To read more about dangerous side effects of bulimia go to http://www.meditation-sensation.com

Bulimia causes damaging side effects to the body. It can also destroy the brain, heart and the soul of the person suffering from this eating disorder. There is no one system in the body that does not get affected by long term bulimia.

What are the most dangerous side effects? – You may ask.  These are the effects people can die from.  Lets  look at them separately.

  1. Heart complications. Many eating disorder sufferers have irregular heartbeat, slow pulse or palpitations. All these abnormalities are extremely dangerous especially if the person continues with binging-purging.  People can suddenly collapse and even die if the heart suddenly stops working going into condition called “heart block”.
  2. Electrolyte abnormalities. Electrolytes are the chemicals in the body that help our organs work. When people vomit they lose enormous amount electrolytes this is very bad for the body. The organs that suffer the most are: heart, kidney and brain. An abnormal amount of electrolytes can cause heart block, kidney failure and fainting.  Any of these complications can end up with the sufferer dying.
  3. Kidney failure. The kidneys are the organs that balance water and electrolytes in the body.  Vomiting causes both dehydration and electrolyte imbalance problems. The kidneys try to compensate for this but if the vomiting continues the kidneys stop working and go into kidney failure.
  4. Mental problems. Mental problems in bulimics are especially dangerous because of the high rate of suicide amongst eating disorder sufferers. When people get highly addicted to binging-purging behaviour, they often become unable to cope with everyday life and use suicide as a way to escape from the black circle they find themselves in.
  5. Drug and alcohol problems are often the next step in for the bulimic.  Bulimics get addicted easier than people who don’t have bulimia. This is the nature of the disorder. Of course, where drugs and alcohol are involved the incidence of accidental death increases enormously.  People die from an accidental overdose of drugs and organs failure.
  6. Gullet rapture. Gullet or oesophagus is the tube that connects the mouth and the stomach.   When people vomit they force the food to come up from the stomach, through the gullet and up into the mouth.  If the vomiting becomes severe, gullet rapture can occur.  The sufferer can die from internal bleeding and shock.

To sum up, these are the most dangerous side effects of bulimia. There are many more which may not cause the death of the patient but damage the body and make it malfunction. You can prevent all these complications just by looking for help and doing something constructive about your bulimia. Even learning more about the condition and what you can do to help yourself will push you forward towards recovery.

Never stop resisting the disease and never give up fighting for your health and your life.

To read more about dangerous side effects of bulimia go to http://www.Mom-Please-Help.com