Bulimia

*Let me just first start off by saying I am in weekly therapy for this. I was just curious if there was anyone else out there suffering from bulimia post gastric bypass. I never thought those words would come out of my mouth since it seems so ridiculous to me. But unfortunately this has been my life post surgery. I have terrible bouts with nausea after eating and then force myself to vomit. It has become so habit now that I don't even always wait for the nausea to come but once I feel the slighest sign I am off to the bathroom. I could probably wait for the nausea to pass but the throwing up seems so much easier. I tried to do research on this but I don't see much out there. Does anyone else struggle with this problem? Any words of wisdom? I am very ashamed to be in this situtation as I never had this problem prior to surgery.

Hi there, Let me say that I empathize with your bulimia.  I did a lot of bingeing and purging prior to my RNY.  I have been in outpatient treatment for eating disorders twice in the past ten years, so I definitely relate to that urge to throw up thing.   Since my RNY, I have had the nausea and urge to throw up, but thankfully, I have not thrown up once since my surgery.  I have had some issues with laxatives since the surgery, where I abused them during the summer, but not in a few weeks.   I encourage you to stay in your therapy, and work on this behavior.  I regret my purging because my teeth have been a mess and I had the hiatal hernia and ulcers as a result of my constant vomiting.   If there is anything I can do to encourage you, feel free to PM me. Hugs, Trish

I have recently come to terms that I have the same disorder.  I thought it was a natural reaction, but I have been eating so much IN ORDER to vomit.  I stick my finger down my throat and the food comes up because it hasn't even had the chance to reach my stomach yet.  I had lap band in 2005 and have since lost 95 pounds.  I have really tried hard to eat small amounts and eat the right things lately because my doctor has warned me of the potential consequences, such as not being able to eat solid foods because my esophagus can't squeeze the food through the band and into the stomach due to all the damage I'm causing by the way I'm eating.  I don't even know what to call the disorder.  I wasn't sure if I was alone in this or not.  I never heard of anyone becoming bulimic after lapband, but it's just so easy.  But I don't want to end up on a liquid diet for the rest of my life and I want to be able to sleep laying down and not have to cough up lactic acid every 30 minutes throughout the night.  I haven't told my surgeon. I just need help.