To admit I have a problem (please help)

[Mangolatte]

Any advice would be really appreciated!! I’ve given myself a bad habit so posting in case anyone knows of any advice to stop it and get back to normal.

I recently ended up in hospital with a bad ibs flare up. Tried fodmap and all the elimination stuff already. I stopped eating completely (7+ days with no food) because I was desperate to stop the cramps and diarrhoea and I realised by fasting I could control and even stop the IBS. All the staff in hospital were really nice to me but they were saying I needed to eat but I really didn’t want to and i promised them I would start eating normally again when I was discharged and in the safety of my own home.

Once I was discharged, I started eating again. But then I started having ibs symptoms again and I remembered when fasting stopped it, so I did it again. Then when the IBS stopped I started eating again. Ive been doing this eating-fasting back and forth thing ever since then. Sometimes I eat normally and I’m fine, then other days I don’t eat or I only eat 500 calories.

At first I started the fasting thing just to stop the IBS symptoms, but then I realised I had lost weight with it and it felt so good. Not only was I not having cramps and diarrhoea but I also lost weight which obviously I was happy about. The weird thing is I was fine with my weight before it all started and it wasn’t actually what made me fast in the first place, but once I saw I had lost weight I felt like it was an ever bigger boost. My BMI was about 20 before and now it’s probably 18.5-19 so I know I’m not fat, but I felt happier being skinnier.

Just to be clear, I don’t fast or calorie count everyday. I do eat normally sometimes and I’m fine healthwise. But I’m definitely doing it more and more now, and if I’m being totally honest it’s sometimes on days where I feel fat rather than just to control the IBS symptoms. Even on days where I don’t calorie restrict, I’m always counting the calories and I’m always checking the numbers now. I don’t have an eating disorder but I feel like I’ve given myself a bad relationship with food, which is what I was warned about happening in the hospital and I was so sure wouldn’t happen. I thought I had it all sorted and I had finally fixed my IBS by doing this fast/calorie restrict thing, but all I’ve done is get myself addicted to losing weight in the process.

When I was in hospital I fasted for too long and ended up having to drink glucose because I wasn’t well, so I wouldn’t fast that long again as I know it’s unhealthy, but I want to stop the habit altogether.

I don’t want to waste my GPs or parents/friends time with this because it’s not serious and I’m 23 so I’m old enough to sort it myself, but I want to kick this bad habit before I lose more weight or get more addicted and start doing it more often. Does anyone have any advice on how I can get back to normal again?

Thanks💓

She had already sought professional support, in case you missed that very obvious bit in her first post.

You can’t recommend a GP visit to someone outside of the UK necessarily, that’s not how it works.

But you did recommend a GP visit? In later posts? 🤔

And of course you can recommend that someone goes to see a GP or similar primary care practitioner. As you did.

More contradiction in the name of baiting posters.

Anyway, will leave you to it 👋

I am not trying to get a reaction from anyone!

People are posting at me. If You don’t want me to respond, then go away and stop posting at me.

Simple.

Oh OP it sounds so hard!

I'm just coming on to agree with others that you would not be wasting your GP's time to seek help about this.

Please see your GP before the disordered eating worsens.

I could also give advice on what to do but I think that the act of seeking help is really important as it means that you acknowledge to someone in real life that you do have a problem. Trying to deal with it all by yourself, with internet advice, keeps it in the dark where it can flourish.

OP, if you're still here with the arguments online

You need to make an appointment with your GP asap.

You have acquired a serious eating disorder and your IBS symptoms have taken over your waking thoughts

Avoid anyone who calls themselves a "nutritionist"

www.nhs.uk/conditions/irritable-bowel-syndrome-ibs/diet-lifestyle-and-medicines/

I’m not a GP, so how can I be giving them a dreadful image?

Odd isnt it. I cant see what is so terrible about her post or her people skills.

And you’re saying @Quincythequince is rude?!

Your post towards her is horrible and filled with unnecessary personal attacks.

LOL. If you say so.
Many clearly disagree, on here and in real life too.

It’s ironic isn’t it.
Maybe I’ll just sit there and report all of them.

My posts are calm and factual, this clearly bothers people.

You know this is not healthy, you've said it. You need support and the way to get that is through your GP. They will want to see you for this, because the longer it goes on, the worse things will get, and GPs are all about prevention and management of long term conditions, that's what we're supposed to use them for. They can refer you to a dietician who can work through your IBS with you and help work out the healthiest diet.

Oh give it a rest. None of you are proving anything.

I agree, actually. Didn't see anything wrong with Quincy's posts at all.

You can’t see that answering the OP with such a dismissive and indeed snarky post (totally lacking in compassion) was wrong?? You can’t see that shows a lack of people skills? Okaaaay…

Anyway OP I hope you are able to talk to your GP about this and that they are able to get you some support and help. Meantime try to be kind to yourself, talk to yourself as you would to a good friend.

OP. I'm sorry but you're in denial. I do think you have an eating disorder. It doesn't always start with trying to lose weight but you've fallen into it through your IBS and now starve yourself (stop saying fasting, you're not fasting you're starving yourself).

Contact your GP or a private therapist.

Hi everyone,

Just a quick one to say there a number of PAs on this thread and we'd love them to stop. If something concerns you, please report it to us. If we can't get the thread back on track, we will need to close it.

Hey I think you might have posted on the wrong thing x

really appreciate all the help and advice 💕

honestly it’s ok though I don’t have an eating disorder, I know it might sounds like it but I really don’t and sometimes I eat a normal amount of calories.

i meant to say in my original post but exercise everyday too. I probably burn 600-1000 calories a day (running +training for a competitive sport I do), I thought maybe the exercise would help the IBS but it hasn’t and I think because I’m burning extra calories I lost more weight than usual which made me happier and started the bad cycle if that makes sense x

Sorry, I was repying to this and my own AIBU message came on here instead - i am sorry for that.
My reply was to say the i also have OBS but mine is stress related. I didnt realise how stressed i was until i wrote down eveything i did day to day and scored it out of 10 - 0 being least stressful, to 10 being incredibly stressful. it really opened my eyes as to what i needed to change. i hope you find something that helps for you cc

@Mangolatte I'm sorry, but just re-read all of your posts and imagine they'd been written by someone else. You really do have a problem with food and eating, and I think you're in denial about it.

Lots of PP with similar issues, or who have had similar issues, have already pointed this out to you.

AND now you've added in about using exercise to burn calories and keep your weight down.

Very kindly OP, everything you write screams eating disorder to me. Even the language you use to rationalize how it isn't an eating disorder mirrors what my very anorexic former housemate used to say about her own ED.
Re read what you have written here, even where you are trying to minimise it. You talk of an addiction to losing weight, you've lied to medical staff even when you'd starved yourself to a point where you felt drunk and your heart was affected.
From experience I won't push you to acknowledge it if you aren't ready yet, but please try to look at the situation as rationally as possible. As a poster above me says, imagine a friend is saying all of this to you - would you think they sounded ok? And please go to your GP and get help. I have IBSD too and know how horrific it is to live with but this is absolutely not the answer.