AMA - I have an eating disorder

[Megsmcgoo]

Highest weight 16 stone lowest weight 5 and a half, currently stable at 10 stone and would say in remission, ask me anything

Do you know what triggered your eating disorder?

What is the name of your eating disorder?

Did you seek out the online "pro-ana"/"pro-mia" etc. communities?

How old are you?

What treatments have worked / not worked?

Thank you for doing this ama.

What triggers your eating disorder?
Nothing major, wanting to lose weight when I was 13, had been slightly chubby as a child and read an article in my mums magazine about a lady who had bulimia and thought it would work. Parents are still big feeders but my mother has eating issues and both have been judgemental about weight

It started initially as purging everything I ate, to anorexia then during recovery over eating and now occasionally vomiting when I feel I have eaten too much

I’m 30 years old now, had treatment at 23 including inpatient, cbt, physiatrist and depression medication. Nothing really helped until I met my boyfriend and he made me feel incredibly happy with myself

Yea I didn’t go on the websites, partly curiousity but also there is a sense of togetherness with one another. People were very supportive when you wanted to get better

I did go on websites!

I am glad you have a nice boyfriend who makes you happy

What are your feelings on the media, do you think it makes things worse for young women?

Thank you

I have mixed feelings about the media, it does not help and there’s a lot of pressure but it certainly doesn’t make someone have an eating disorder which isn’t what was suggested to me when I was younger, very infuriating

Do you still count calories, feel guilty if you overeat, weigh yourself, etc?

What could family have done to help you?
Is there anything? Or was it just when the time was right in your life?

Still count calories and aware of what I eat everyday, my weight is on my mind all the time. January was the last time things got very bad, I was throwing up after every meal and lost a stone in three weeks

I weigh myself everyday, found that if I didn’t it was an excuse to relax my eating

I don’t think my parents could have helped really, they did everything they could with doctors and treatment but really they didn’t understand or comprehend it, quite old school and mental health issues are things you can just get over to them.

If you were advising doctors or therapists what would you say could improve the treatment of ppl with eds.

Maybe controversial but perhaps be more forceful with treatment especially inpatient treatment, it saved me while I was on deaths door.

A lot of people with EDs don’t want to get better or see that anything’s wrong until they’re confronted with the harsh reality. At least that’s what it was like for me!

More money is needed in the area though, my treatment was paid for privately