dumping/bulimia??? Thoughts???

  Hi everyone, I'm 4.5 yrs post gastric bypass and have an interest in researching this issue. I'm back in college(getting a BS in Psych and hoping to go to Grad school in Spring2010) and I'm actually writing a paper about the issue/possiblity of bulimia after WLS. Does anyone on this board have any thoughts on the subject? 
FYI..I recently made my profile only visible to my friends, simply because I may not want all my peers and professors to be in on my entire journey at thsi point, but not to hide from any of you, so if you have an interest in seeing it just let me know. 

My thoughts on bulimia are that I feel several people I've had contact with may have it or something similar, post WLS. They are binging and purging, knowing they will purge simply because their puch won't hold the food. Maybe that's not true bulimia, maybe it's a new eating disorder??? Just sharing some thoughts here as I get ready to write my paper. I've found 2 articles on the issue, one written in 2006 and another in 2003. One of them was done in Mexico though. So it's clear there is a NEED for this subject to be looked into and I think this site certainly would be a good place to start. I think WE are the experts....we ARE the ones living with this......I'm always shocked at some of the doctors and psych professionals opinions on what we KNOW. I hope WE can teach them a few things.

If anyone has an interest in this issue or even a personal experience to share, please comment or send me a private message. I'll keep it confidential. 

Funny, I was thinking the same thing. I lost a younger sister to bulemia in '81, just when it was coming into the public eye. I guess we are an eating disordered family for some reason. I suspect it has something to do with the Irish famine mentality brought over by our emigrant parents. Many factors.

I identify some of the thought patterns, the obsessing about losing, and the fear of the weight. That we hurl after overeating is scary, and coupled with the weight-loss mindset, bulemia sure is possible. I questioned myself every time I ate til the foamies and needed to let off the pressure via the vomitorium.

That was early times, though, and I soon learned, a la "Clockwork Orange," how to avoid getting myself in that condition. Now, I'm always sampling and testing to see what will set well with my pouch and feel good enough to keep me from thinking about food or eating any more than necessary.

Protein shakes, I believe, are so much a part of a successful wls experience. Why anyone would reject the idea of a delicious frosty shake is beyond my imagination. I admit that it took a little while to get with the program on this, but my family kept inventing ever-more-delicious concoctions, and now they are as important to me as anything from Dunkin' Donuts ever was.

It's good science according to my body. It's so nice to have a body that tells the truth. The stomach that I brought from childhood sent so many mixed messages, culminating in gastroparesis from diabetes, only discovered in the days before the surgery, but experienced for years.

Best wishes and good luck with your project,
Mary Ellen

 Mary Ellen,

Thanks for your reply, as it came in just after I put the finishing touches on my research paper. I didn't get to make this one delve as deeply into personal stories as I wanted to so I hope that next semester I may get that chance.

It sounds like you are doing good now. No troubles with bulimia-type behaviors other than the obsessing about losing? Is that still an issue? Since my original post, I've read much research on this topic and found how in the early 80's bulimia made it into the DSM (provides checklists for the psychological professionals to assist in diagnosing) but even after that it was widely unrecognized and treated properly. I think we are running into the same thing now after my literature review, seeing how many are saying because we don't force the vomiting or other compensatory behaviors that this can't be bulimia. 

Well, I'm not quite done with my homework! Gotta run but wanted to reply.
Take care,
Tamara

I realize this topic is a month old now, but I wanted to share that I am currently in this situation.  I am suffering from EDNOS-eating disorder not otherwise specified.  I am neither bulimic nor anorexic but both in ways.  I am almost 14 months post-op and have now developed a deep fear of gaining any weight back.  I know on some level that I'm a perfectly normal weight now(143) but when I look in the mirror all I see is a big fat person(thus I have stopped looking in the mirror anymore than I have too).  I can go days without eating and when I have to eat like at a family gathering I purge by throwing up and/or excessive laxative use.  It amazes me the struggle that has gone on in my head since surgery.  Yes I am seeking medical help for this my doctor is actually ready to hospitalize me if I don't improve soon...it has become a long journey of it's own. 

 Melissa,
I'm glad you replied to this post! You mention that you are seeking medical help but are you seeking psychological help or counseling? I hope so. This is the sort of thing that one definitely needs counseling to heal from within, to learn to see you as everyone else sees you. 143 pounds is GREAT!!!! I too am comfortable at that weight...I've actually gone up from that while back in school full time and want to get back to 143! I'm still wearing the same clothes...but jeans are TIGHT and I HATE this feeling. We'll have a lifelong battle and with the proper tools, physical and emotional, we can do this! I didn't stop looking in the mirror but I DID stop getting on the scale...trouble is I went in for my labs a few weeks ago and had to weigh...harsh reality then. I needed it though.
I was at your point when I began looking into skin removal...have you done that? It helped me greatly to have the excess skin removed...I've posted my letter to ins. on my profile if you are interested in reading it. It's hard to look at what's left behind sometimes, after the weight is gone...maybe that's part of why you see a big person still?? 
Keep seeking treatment and if not yet seeing a counselor...please find one! HUGS!!!!

Hi Tami,

I just today entered "post gastric bypass bulimia" into the search engine and came up with your post on obesityhelp.com. I was a member here a few years ago, before and a short while after my RNY. I am about 3 years post-op and I'm afraid I'm becomming "addicted" to throwing up my food after I eat. At first I was just throwing up the foods that I couldn't digest, but it has turned into throwing up everything I don't want to digest. I know I've had an eating disorder for many years, and I didn't expect it to magically go away after WLS, but I hoped my weight loss would make me a happier, more content person, that at least some of the eating issues would have gone away.

Nevertheless, I am 45 years old and my biggest fear is gaining back all the weight I've lost. Before my surgery I weighed 298 lbs. I went down to 125, now am at 150. I even, this far post-op, jump up from a dead sleep in fear that I'm 300 lbs again! I know it's rediculous, but I call them my "fat dreams".

I knew there had to be other people out there like me. I knew I couldn't be the only one going through this "new eating disorder".

Thanks, and I hope this subject, even though it's very secretive, gets a little more attention.

Joanne

 I find it utterly amazing how so many "experts" continue to dismiss bypass bulimia as rare or non-existent.  My personal experience is one of simply trading one "addiction" for another.  I admit, I believe I am predisposed to addictive behaviors.  My life-long battle with food, borderline alcoholism and excessive spending leaves no question that I have deep-rooted issues.  It's interesting to me that, of all the things I've struggled with, bulimia is actually an enjoyable addiction.  Let me be clear on two things-never a moment passes that I regret having had gastric bypass, and I am fully aware of the consequences associated with purging post-bypass.  Having said that, I find bulimia comforting in a way nothing else has ever been before.  It's easily hidden, though those close to me who know about it have never judged me ("it comes with the territory") and the euphoric high I get from the control I finally have over food is the best drug I could ever find.  So, how can something so satisfying, so easy, be so rare?  It's not.  Bravo to those patients who are able to follow the eating guidelines and never have to purge.  But, as for me, and I suspect countless others, it's out there, it's not going away and I say to all those "experts"...wake up!