Can someone help?

[olive1122]

I am new to MN and this is my forst thread.

I need some advice...

For several months now I have been feeling very unhappy with the way my body looks (i know i shouldn't be) , from my calves to upper arms.

These feelings have resulted in me making drastic changes to what and the way i eat.

All I can think about is food, in the context of "i can't eat that thats too many calories"ect. As a result of this I've began to loose weight and become very ill. I eat typically 1 meal a day, and maybe a peice of fruit... If i find that I've "ate too much" or im bloating i turn to using laxatives to relive the guilt.

I'm 18, weigh 8 stone & am 5ft 4.

I've been to the doctors in which they didn't acknowledge the fact that i said i hadn't been eating and i am constantly being sick and shivvering cold (to the point where i have to use a hot water bottle); resulting in me having to take time off work! Everytime i eat i feel sick, i feel like im forcing food down. Instead, they said i had a water infection(rightly, i actually did).

I know there is something wrong and i know that it isn't right, i really just can't stop it!

What is happening?!!

Change your doctor and talk to your parents.

Make another dr appointment with a different doctor if you can.
Write down what is going on and if you can't say it then you can just hand it over.
Although I'm a hypocrite as I am having similar problems and have lost a stone in the last 6-8 weeks through similar eating to you. I don't feel "ill" to go to the doctor though. But I don't have any physical symptoms as you do

Can you tell us in what way you have been using laxatives?

You sound like me at that age.

I am now 35, have battled anorexia, non purging bulimia and binge eating disorder since then. I had no specific eating disorder help but therapy has helped me hugely.

I have been in 'recovery' from various eating disorders (ednos) for about 5 years now.

Please go back to a different doctor and explain specifically about your eating, no other health issues. Gps often don't pick up on mental health issues if the symptoms can be explained by something else (like a bladder infection) Don't get me wrong, gps are wonderful and many are great with mental health, but my long experience is you need explicitly say you are concerned about your mental health. Easier said than done but you've made a brilliant start admitting it here.

Hi, first time poster but longtime lurker. Your post resonated with me because this was actually ME a couple of years ago when I was 19.

Book another GP appointment, ask to see another GP if you can. Emphasise the fact you are NOT eating correctly and you are having troublesome thoughts about food and you suspect you may have an eating disorder. Say that you have been using laxatives, too. This may be the bit that gets the doctor to listen and take notice properly as this can indicate bulimia (what I suffer with).

Don't let them rush you when you are speaking, book a double appointment if you have to. Maybe write down what you've written on this post so you have something to refer to when you're sat in the appointment. Emphasise how concerned you are about your mental health.

If you come away again feeling like they haven't listened to you, book an appointment again. This is what I had to do - I had one GP who said I was just stressed and to come back in a few weeks (of course I was stressed, I had bulimia!) and another who like you blamed water infections, blood sugar, things like that.

Hugs to you, hopefully the GP will be able to refer you to a counsellor or a therapist and give you ways to help manage your eating.

I was anorexic and bulimic at your age. I refused to go to the Doctor and after a few years of eating less and less I hit my "rock bottom", which for me was when I stood on the bathroom scale one day and saw that I weighed 4 stone! At that point I finally admitted to myself that I was ill and I changed my mind. I stopped thinking food was bad for me and started eating properly. What helped me (as still does) was to focus on eating healthily and how the food I was eating was doing my body good and keeping me well. I also joined a gym and started to and take pride in having stronger muscles and bones.

In the end, it's you who must make the decision to eat for your the sake of your health and if you need support to do that, go back to the GP as many times as it takes - be persistent until you get the help you need.