Has anyone always struggled with bingeing and also has a diagnosis of ADHD?

[vivariumvivariumsvivaria]

My psychiatrist says that ADHD and binge eating and/or bulimia are linked.

This astonishes me, has anyone here with a history of obesity or eating disorders been assessed for neurodiversity?

Cos, I wasn't. Might have been useful information, though.

Well it makes sense when you think about the behaviours associated with ADHD. A lack of impulse control for a start. Apparently there is a higher percentage of overweight people who have ADHD than the percentage of the general population.

Yes, and seeking dopamine from being stuffed too.

It's amazing, I've been googling and there's quite a lot of publications on it.

Would make sense to screen people with obesity which is resistant to treatment for neurodiversity, really.

It would make sense really. There are clearly people who need more than just being told it is easy and they lack will power.

I don’t have a formal diagnosis but I meet all the diagnostic criteria for autism, which itself is linked to ADHD. I am not seeking a formal diagnosis at the moment because of the cost. I function fairly well (have a good job and apparently good social skills) so doubt the NHS would be interested and it would be more just to understand myself better (which I can do without a diagnosis and which self-diagnosis has helped massively with in any case).

I have struggled with binge eating since I was a teen. A big problem is black and white thinking. If I don’t stick rigidly to a diet, I feel I have blown it and might as well eat loads of crappy food. I can’t have ‘just a little’ so I have to abstain completely. I also get thrown if I don’t know what I will be eating. For instance, I always look up the menu of anywhere I am going and pick the most suitable option in advance. If I can’t do that, I’m likely to feel that I can’t stick to my diet. This is why having calorie information on all menus would be great for people like me because counting and being aware of food is actually calming rather than unhealthy (as it’s often portrayed).

I am also quite fixated on things like steps so I wear a fitness monitor and I get a bit anxious if I don’t have it on.

I think this sort of behaviour is a sign of how my brain function rather than a disorder that has to be cured. The world is totally set up for neurotypical people as it is and I think that’s true in the case of food too - we are told that all counting behaviours such as weighing are bad and need to be fixed. However, I always feel worst when I am out of control and binge-eating so weighing and measuring helps me feel much better.

Noom encourages you to weigh and count steps every day.
I don't have the paid version but I use it to log stats.

I'm autistic and have adhd.
I really struggle to notice whether I'm hungry or full.
I also like to eat as a stim.

Super that's caught my attention - I also have no idea if I am hungry or stuffed. Never have.

When I was in the eating disorder clinic I really couldn't answer their questions "what is a typical binge?" I don't know, I'm unaware, I'm just eating and I stop when there is no more food. I have no idea.

"Do you eat even if you are uncomfortably full?" I've never been uncomfortably full. Ever.

"eat when you are hungry" I don't feel hungry. I feel faint and woozy if I haven't eaten but genuinely - hunger has nothing to do with whether I eat or not.

"eat mindfully and enjoy it" WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

I think it’s a stim for me too albeit one that I am trying to replace with something else. I tend to overeat to calm down and go to sleep so there’s a therapeutic element to it.
I can sense hunger but not fullness really. I could eat all day if I could without really getting full or not for long at least. That’s why something like intuitive eating will never work for me. My body doesn’t function like the average body where it says stop when it gets what it needs. It has to be conscious control on my part in order to stay healthy.
It’s been 34 days since my last binge and going low carb has helped so much because the urges to eat are no longer out of control. My BMI is now 26.7 so it’s getting close to healthy. However, it was 33 last year at the beginning of lockdown and that’s where it will end up if I eat ‘intuitively’. I’ve always been told that there is something wrong with me in my relationship to food but I’m increasingly thinking it’s just how I am wired and that there should be more support for people who are wired the same.

The problem i have now is that I'm in perimenopause and it takes me so very much longer to lose weight.
The weight I put on during lockdown is lingering. I've lost 10lb very slowly - probably 1lb a month.

I used to get on the scales, go 'whoops a few extra stone' and just avoid snacking for a month and it would be gone.

Oh 100%. I’ve just been diagnosed with ADHD. Already had a diagnosis of autism. I have a major sweet tooth, and I’ve been told sugar is a big one for people with ADHD. It’s to do with the dopamine hit it gives you. This along with lack of impulse control is a bad combination.

I also struggle to notice my own hunger cues thanks to autism. Intuitive eating has never worked for me because I have no idea how to recognise what hunger feels like.

What about a high from exercise?

I've always thought that was a myth too.

I find i can't focus for a while after I exercise. It doesn't make me feel any better but I do feel different. Swimming works to improve my mood but not running etc.

I have ADHD and lost 6st in a year after going on medication.
Unfortunately I have gained half of that weight back this year. I have decided the key is going to be choosing what I allow myself to get fixated on. It is very easy to focus on food as a "feelgood" thing but there are other things that make me feel good (e.g. running, cleaning the house, having a bath…) but require more effort.

I also have a huge sugar addiction. I can attest that sugar addiction is real! I have read about a medication (I can't remember what it's called) that blocks the endorphine rush you get from eating sugar, so you are not motivated to do it. The potential side effects looked horific though so I never pursued it.

Update to my post above: the drug is called Naltrexone.

Interesting, Super I love swimming - I think nothing when I swim. I think it's the up down up down up down, my mind goes blank - the opposite of what it does when I attempt mindfulness. Which is a deeply unpleasant experience.

Coopers did you stay on the medication? That's an amazing difference. Did it help your ADHD symptoms too?

Yes I'm still on the meds. They help with focus and impulse control , which helps with binge eating... unless I allow myself to get focused on food!

This is very interesting OP. I recognise so much of what you say and have been reading a lot about ADHD and executive function recently. I remember asking the doctor as a teenager if I could have something like that as I never felt quite right but I was roundly dismissed (still remember the shame).

I have never felt "uncomfortably full" either and struggle to recognise hunger or thirst. In fact I recently felt thirsty for the first time in my life and it turns out I have diabetes.

I'm now doing a meal replacement diet as it is the only way that prevents me having to make constant decisions about food.

I've been through the NHS weight management scheme. Which is really trying to figure out who might benefit from bariatric surgery. That's not me because I'm not eating for hunger, or for trauma, I'm just eating and I like the numb, calm feeling it gives me. Done that since I was at least 4 years old, so, it's been quite a revelation to find that it's an ADHD symptom.

You'd have thought this was better known. So many people have obesity or eating disorders which are resistant to treatment. Might be worth assessing us, really.

There is definitely massive overlap between autism and anorexia. There have been a few papers on it but it doesn't seem like something professionals are resourced to deal with.

I know a lot less about adhd because I was diagnosed later but it does make perfect sense to boost energy/focus/mood with sugar.

I binge and it's mortifying.

Sugar and 'crispy' carbs are my downfall.

Naltrexone is used to prevent the 'highs' created by opiates and alcohol.

I've never heard of it being used to prevent sugar rush before.