Question:
has anyone ever gone from one eating disorder to the extreme other?

When I was in high school, I would make myself vomit and take exlax to make myself stay at a decent weight. I did this for about 3 years. I never considered it an eating disorder because it was not as extreme as some cases that I have seen. I only did it when I would eat really fattening stuff (at least 2 or 3 times a week). I realize now, as I am ready to have this surgery, that it was a disorder, and I went from one extreme to the other (being morbidly obese). I really just want to be healthy. I guess my question is, has anyone developed bulemia or anorexia from this surgery? My Dr. is aware of all this, and I feel very confident that I will do this right. I have a family now think about. Is it possible I may need counseling during my journey?    — jennifer S. (posted on June 24, 2004)

June 24, 2004
Hi there...pre-op my story was almost identical to yours. I had(and am still recovering) from binge eating/bulimia. I used to eat disgusting amounts of food and I would eat so much I'd throw it up...it was like a "cleansing" feeling. I wanted to get this under control before surgery...it was so serious that I was almost denied surgery because my nutritionist was worried that I'd continue. Now being 4 months out, I know there's no way I could've lost the weight without surgery. I've been in counseling for 4 years trying to get this under control...I would highly recommend some kind of counseling because all the techniques I learned to stop me from binging really help. The best part of this surgery is that I really feel like I'm "in control" of my eating. I explain to people I still enjoy eating, but I don't get "high" from food anymore. Now that I don't have the choice to eat bad foods I can fight off the urges much easier. I also didn't think I had a serious eating disorder because I didn't throw up evertime I ate...but I thrived on eating so much then puking it up. This surgery is a great tool, but you definetly need to face the issues that made you MO. I hope that helps feel free to E-mail me if you have any questions! Good luck
   — mzcath

June 24, 2004
In my case, my surgery cured me of bulimia. I had bulimia for 20 years because I could not eat a normal amount of food without gaining weight (screwed up metabolism from a lifetime of dieting). Most of the time I went hungry, but occasionally, I would give in to my hunger. So in order to satisfy that need to eat, I would eat knowing full well I was going to throw it up afterwards. I would purge what I ate--even though sometimes all I had to eat was a salad.<p>It makes me sad to think how messed up my system was from all the dieting and still continuing to gain weight after I turned 40. For that reason I knew the RNY would not work for me. It would not bypass enough of my intestines to beef up my sluggish metabolism, and I would gain the weight back after my pouch stretched out after a year or two, as I was unable to eat more than 1200 calories a day without gaining weight, so I chose the duodenal switch to prevent that from happening. It has liberated me from bulimia and a preoccupation with thoughts of food. I no longer fear food, no longer view any food as taboo or fattening. I eat whenever I am hungry and have never once thrown up to get rid of the calories I just consumed in almost 3 years since my surgery because I don't gain weight and I'm not afraid I'm going to gain the weight back. I can't begin to explain the freedom I feel for the first time in my life where food and my weight is concerned. I am just profoundly greatful for this surgery and the One who made it all possible.<p>Brenda
   — artistmama

June 24, 2004
Get counseling before your surgery, don't wait and think the surgery will cure your thinking. I am almost three years out,(next month) I have an eating disorder. I binge eat, then I starve, do weird diets, I never cured my brain. I thought this surgery was the answer, and it in a way it was, I was given a great tool to lose weight with, but I still have the same psychological issues with food, and feeling fat, etc, etc. It won't cure those problems. I wish I had dealt with those problems before hand. My mom , whom I live with, constantly tells me, "you still think the same, your still on a diet one day and not the next, you never dealt with the real problem". So my advice to you is, don't get this surgery thinking it will be the Cure all, it may for quick weight loss, but if you don't deal with yourself and the way you think before it will ruin what you attain later on.
   — Carey N.

June 24, 2004
Dear Jennifer, Surgery is only a tool, and for me I needed to have additional help with the emotional/psychological issues that fueled the unhealthy things I did to my body with food. Pre-op I had survived anorexia, years of life-threatening bulimia, and then in the few years before surgery, morbid obesity. Anything unhealthy you can do with food, I have done. Before I requested surgery, I made sure I did everything in my power to heal on the inside. I am now 7 months out, and only on occasion do I have the unhealthy thoughts or compulsions anymore. I attribute that to all the internal work I've done. I am satisfied with a reasonable and healthy amount of calories per day, and I attribute that to the gastric bypass. Good luck to you, and I do lovingly suggest that for every hour you spend on your outside appearance, you match or exceed that with working on your insides.
   — Chris L.

June 24, 2004
I don't think I have an eating disorder, but I have become obsessed with food and exercise, to the point where I count every calorie that goes into my body and every calorie I exercise off. I had RnY two years ago and have went from weighing 324 pounds to around 155-160. However, I stopped losing weight about a year ago and no matter what I do, I can't lose the 10 or so additional pounds that I would like to lose. I work out 6 days a week for 2-3 hours each day which typicaly consists of running 12-16+ miles on the treadmill, ellyptical, and/or crosstrainer, and I weight train 2-3 days a week. I don't have a car so I also do a heck of a lot of walking just out necessity. I typically eat between 1800-2300 calories a day, the vast majority of which is protein. I never eat a meal that has over 400 calories, and when I do, I make myself vomit to reduce the calories I've consumed. I also take laxatives and diuretics several times a week-- not because I think they'll help me lose weight, but because in my mind they make me look thinner. I don't put anything in my mouth that I don't know the caloric content of and the approximate number of grams of protein and carbs. There are times (especially after I've been drinking) when I will binge and then make myself vomit everything back up. I love Indian food, but I know it has a ton of calories, so when I give in to the urge to have it, I will only go to this one restaurant because the bathroom is downstairs and only a single so I can make myself vomit there after I've eaten. I actually don't make myself vomit too much-- only when I feel I've lost control. I don't dump at all and I can eat pretty much now, so my "tools" don't work so well anymore. My biggest thing is my exercise obsession. I've had to go to physical therapy because I messed up my knees from so much running and my body is always sore. I leave work early sometimes just so I can workout longer and I schedule my social life around the gym. I'm always getting comments from people who work there or who go to my gym about how much I'm there. When I was fat, I NEVER obsessed or even gave one thought to food or exercise. I just ate whatever I wanted to and whenever I wanted to and never even considered exercise. I didn't think about food or exercise at all, but now I'm completely OBSESSED.
   — R. P.

June 25, 2004
Rea, I TOTALLY understand the obsessed part of weight loss. I lost about 200 lbs 10 years ago through a strict 1200 calorie diet and tons of exercise. It was a challenge to see how low fat I could eat in a day. I did not start out this way but when the weight started to fall off it just kept motivating and pushing me. I wound up weighing myself 2 times a day, hence the reason a scale never came back into my house till I was below goal weight. I would do weight training/aerobic exercise 7 days a week for 60-90 minutes and then come home and go biking etc. It was insane but how could I stop when my body was being so cooperative? <p>Well eventually it all came to a screeching halt. A severe underlying depression surfaced and I gained 10 lbs a month for 6 months in a row. The remaining 140 lbs came over the next 7-8 years. I went through hell trying to get my depression under control and get my life back together. I started losing weight for all the right reasons - to live. I was 33 and had always assumed I would never live past 40 because of my size. One day I decided that maybe I wanted to live past 40. I dumped the donuts cold turkey and started walking. 13 months later I was down about 200 lbs. My journey through the weight loss and depression and regain was hell but I truly believe it brought me to where I could accept and choose WLS. I have spent the past 9 years in counseling and find it invaluable to keeping balance in my life. I needed to learn to let go of some things that I truly could not control. To pick my battles so to speak. <p>In answer to the original posters question, while I have not done the bulemic or anorexic behaviors I have had major sturggles related to weight. Counseling is a key piece of my long term success. I am a firm believer that everyone should be required to do pre-op and post-op counseling as one just never know what will rear it's ugly head. I could never have predicted that losing 200 lbs would have brought a horrible depression to the surface, but the bottom line was once the weight was gone I now had to face the real issues in my life that the weight was hiding. I believe it is the same with people who have eating disorders as well as other psychologoical disorders. Those of us who know there are concerns even before we start down the road should seek out help early on. Having a strong support system in place is going to be critical. My depression has been well controlled for 4-5 years now but yet I had a couple of days I was down for no obvious reason, but was able to get through them because I had learned so much about me and my body and how to deal with those kinds of days. I also had what I call a meltdown at about 9 months. It started around 6 months PO but I did not realize it until some very stressful things came along and I didn't deal with them how I normally would have. Best we can figure is I was malabsorbing some of my depression meds. A small increase solved that. But at the time I was going through the meltdown I was so thankful that I had my counselor and pyschiatrist and WLS there to help me through it and to give me some perspective. Going down the WLS road without this professional support system could have been an issue for me. So I strongly encourage you to see out the help you feel you may need. I have seen posts where people get so obsessed about their weight that they start talking about destructive behaviors such as you have done in the past. It may always be somewhat of a struggle but you can win this battle!
   — zoedogcbr