note...

Please read this blog with care-its not inteneded to be triggering, but it does bluntly discuss issues surrounding Eating Disorders and Self Injury.

Friday 20 August 2010

sorry for the long time no reply (aka noone is actually immune to the consequences of ED)

Firstly, I'm really sorry i havnt posted and replied to questions for the last couple of weeks.

I now have an indwelling catheter. This is a result of an SI injury to the nerve tissue connected to my bladder(ie a deep cut in a bad place) and the fact that years of binging and purging are not good for your kidneys. This means that i now have to walk around with a bag of pee strapped to my leg, with a very uncomfortable tube shoved up my pee hole. Did i know i'd damaged my kidney-did i heck. In a way, its good it got noticed now. so, I may end up having a kidney removed, in which case i have to get better or die basically-and when you put it like that, doesnt recovery seem nuch more like the answer here?

I'm not writing this to freak anyone out. Heck, im ashamed for it. Bt i wanted to use it to illustrate the point that NO-ONE is immunt to the physical consequences of eating disorders and self injury. you might well read this and think, well 'that will never happen to me'.

good luck with that.

sometimes a reality check does you real good in terms of recovery. I went through a very bad patch, die to some difficult issues in my personal life-and this is the wake up call for me to get my recovery going in the right direction again. You can only ever try your hardest.recovery doesnt happen over night, and to be fair, ive seriouysly lackied in the support stakes.

But now i know that i need to get better.

Before getting better isnt a choice i have any longer.

is your eating disorder worth this? mine might be comforting in times of stress, a habit to fall back on. BUT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

wake up call.

I'll be working through the email and post questions in the next few days-and if your now doubting my abaility to answer these questions-i never said it was easy to recover, and I have always pointed out that the people that write this blog answer from personal experience, and are not professionals. so please dont shout at me!!

xxxxx

Friday 6 August 2010

answer to question-knuckle damage

Hey, firstly, dont worry about the annonymous thing, thats totally fine. secondly, of course i will answer (or try to) your question-

'Every time I'm with other people I feel as though they can just take one look at my knuckles and spot I purged that day, but I can't seem to find any effect method to make that marks and cuts less noticeable?'

firstly the usual 'dont sue me im trying to help disclaimer'.
I think this effects people to differing degrees.  For some people, it the thing that gives the game away, for want of a better phrase, and for others, its not noticeable. Ive been purging for about 13 years now-im trying to recover and ive cut down significantly now, but i know it takes a long time to change these behaviours. I personally have never really seen much damage to my knuckles-maybe its the way i purge-avoid my teeth like the plague-or maybe im just really lucky. they do get sore-i guess from all the acid, and i get this weird acid burn at the corners of my mouth sometimes which really hurts. in terns of treating it-try savlon when they feel raw, and lots of moisturiser?Bio oil is my favourite thing in the world-itl prob feel a bit greasy on yor knuckles but it does smooth the skin out, or try some sort of coca buttert hick moisturiser. im sorry, this is a cak answer, and im going to ask some other people what they think for you. has anyone ever noticed them? because you know that they are there, so you feel more self concious of it-and maybe they arnt that noticeable.just a thought. i have terrible paranoia that people know ive purged, abd actually, they rarely do.  ok, the other thing im thinking is the way you are purging. PLEASE PLEASE dont think im encouraging things here, im not, im trying to think of ways to minimise harm to yourself. i know its hard to stop purging. Does it take a lot of force, or is it a struggle to make yourself sick?because maybe its the desperation of it thats making you catch your knuckles on your teeth, if you see where im going with this. try drinking a moderate amount of water-it helps things come up easier, and please take not of the previous post anout replacing lost electrolytes through purging..
im sorry, i know this isnt the most helpful thing. il try and come up with a better answer for you.

take care xxx

Constipation, electrolyes, and hair loss-more answers to your questions:)

Wow the title of this post sounds really inviting doesnt it hahaha sorry :)
Once again-the usual 'dont sue me disclaimer'-im not medically qualified, im talking from the experiences of myself, and other people i know who have suffered with long term eating disorders. In other words-im just trying to be helpful, minimise harm in the early stages of recovery, and spread the love eh?.so please stop sending me hate mail, im not encouraging anything!

'How do i deal with constioation without using laxatives?'
There are very few things worse than persistant constipation-it hurts, its insanely irritating and it.drives.you.mad. If constipation is a long term prob-go to your doc. prologed laxative use can lead to a sluggish bowel, or damahe to the nerves that control down there, making the whole digestive sytem function slower. If you always feel full, or bloated this could be why. I think i say this waay to often, but Elvis killed himself because he couldnt deal with constipation any more yknow.

Try drinking lots.i mean LOTS-like water, or squash, clear fluids. that helps me sometimes, and the usual stuff like prunes. In fact, in times of dire desperation, i have eaten a small mountain of fruit-bananas, bluberries and stuff, which i knew would give me an iffy tummy.this is obviuosly NOT an advisable option, but i thought you'd like to laugh at me. coffee is a natural laxative, especially if your not used to drinking it, and i know that gets things moving for me! ok, we all know the issues with laxatives, its a vicious circle ending in you needing tons of them for anything to happen, screwing up your electrolytes in the process. If you dont normally take them, or havnt for a long time, and it feels safe for you to do it-taking the odd recomended dose isnt going to hurt you. or try an enema if your desperate. its weird, and you wont WANT to do it to often! i find probiotic yoghurts can help, something like yakult, and having fruit and yoghurt for breakfast helped in the past too. Ask a pharmacist about natural laxatives. sorry, this is a rubbish answer, to a really crappy problem. oooh.and apple juice. i have NO idea why, but this always solves it for me!!


'How can I manage my potassium/electrolyte levels when not purging isnt an option?'
The way i see it, is minimising harm is the first step in recovery-you are trying to change behaviours, and trying to make what you do safer, when, if you think about it, in the depths of illness, you wouldnt care less.

purging really screws around with your potassium and electrolyte levels. This can be dangerous, as these minerals are essential to muscle and nerve function, as well as vital to the maintenance of your body and its metabolism. This is why after purging you may feel very shaky, trembly, or have heart palpitations.

potassium is the thing that is the biggest issue-everything in your body needs it to work. a friend of mine who is a nurse, told me the best thing to do is to force yourself to drink rehydration salts-you know the stuff thats marketed for when you have diarhoea?well, it works for having been sick too, and it will replace the depleted mineral supplies in your body, correcting electrolyte/potassium levels. I think this is the best thing to do. Also, eat bananas-they contain loads of potassium. Really try and avoid 'rinsing your stomach', or 'salt water flushes' O(and if you dont know what that is, im not explaining it for a reason.I dont want to give anyone ideas they didnt know), because this is basically a fast track way to ending up in hospital on a potasssium drip. if you pass out after purging fairly often, have bad palpitations, constantly feel weak, tired or dizzy-get yourself to the docs pronto. people DIE from low potassium levels. and im not just trying to scare you. This, aside from suicide, is the biggest cause of death amongst sufferers of bulimia.

'Will your hair still fall out if you are bulimic, but overweight?'
Im guessing this might have been asked by someone who hasnt had an eating disorder for a long time-if im right, get yourself help now sweetie .if not-sorry, im not being patronising. Email me if you want some good websites to look at, books to read etc, in fact, i might do a post on it.

The hairloss in all eating disorders is linked to malnutrition. You can be overweight, and still be malnourished-fact. Nourishment is about your body have the right amounts of each food group, and the vitamins and minerals it needs to function correctly. so you can be any weight and malnourished, as it depends what you are eating. Also, many people whose primary eating disorder was bulimia-they are often overweight. This is because, yes, in the beginning, binging and purging will make you lose weight.But your body soon gets wise to this game, and basically stores everything it can when you eat after a month or so of this, and then the cycle will cause you to put on weight. thats a very crude description of the process, and im pretty sure other sites like BEAT or NHS sots will describe this a bit better!.

So if you are malnourished, then yes, you may suffer hair loss. its usually worse when you are purging many times in a day, or if you are going through a period of fasting. it effects different people in different ways-mine comes out loads when i wash/brush it, other peoples becomes really fine, some people lose it in clumps.

just remember its all linked to nourishment, all of the effects of eating disorders are, pretty uch when you think about it. so whatever weight you are anyway (or think you are) some things may or may not effect you.

a quick run through of the other main effects of bulimia-
the biggies include damaging your teeth and gums, fatigue, dizzyness, electrolyte inbalance, damage to your tissue-the force of making yourself sick can cause your stomach to tear, you;you can also damage your oesophagus in a similar way. Long term, depleted mineral supplies can weaken your bones. There are many many, many more associated problems with bulimia, which are probably best given a seperate post. if you want to know more, look at some reliable websites-for example BEAT, the eating disorders charity, or the NHS choices website-google nhs and bulimia, and you'l find it:)

keep coming with the questions:)

take care
xxx

Tuesday 3 August 2010

what do you want me to write about?

what would help?
ive had some negative feedback on this blog lately via email, but i really want to keep it going,sticking to the original idea of talking about the practicalities of Ed's, Si and recovery.and answering someof the stuff people want to ask but dont know who too. myself, ive been struggling with these issues for a long time-and if i can use that in any way to help someone else cope ona daily basis, i really dont see whats wrong with that.

anyway-is there anything you'd like to know?things you want me to post about? il email you back privately if your shy:)

Sunday 1 August 2010

Answers to some questions (sorry its taken so long Anise!)

Firstly, sorry its been so long since this blog has been updated. Truth is, i feel a little hypocritical wirting on here right now, considering that i've now (hopefully temporarily) lost the ability to pee, thanks to an SI stomach injury.

But then i thought-well, we all learn from eachother. And tjis is a blog about sharing methods of coping with the evryday issues surrounding eating disorders, and self injury, and having lived with one for nearly 13 years now (and trust me-I am putting everything i can muster into my recovery), i think theres things ive learnt along the way, that might help.

so like i always say, im not judging anyone here, nor encouraging anything. Its just that the practicalites SUCK, right?!

so to the best of my ability, im going to answer some of the questions we've been emailed over the last couple of weeks. And note that this are thinsg that we have found from our experiences-and will always say if a medical professional has told us the advice-but you should always try and talk with your doc if you can, cos i dont wanna get sued for trying to help haha

'How do you get the smell of vomit out of your nose after purging'?'
This is horrible to live with i know. From personal experience, ive found rinsing my mouth REALLY well with bicarb helps to at least shift the taste (DONT clean your teeth for like an hour after purging, or you will just brush acid into them). im not encouraging anything here, so please dont all shout at me-but from my own (and some of the other girls experiences), drinking a ot of water while you purge helps stop it from getting in your nose less. and waiting as long as you can possibly manage before purging also helps this, as its more liquid in your stomach. The nose issue comes from when your thrpwing up more solid stuff, and the force of making yourself retch forces it up the wrong way. im sorry to be gross, cant think oof a better way to explain.just i think water is the key. and failing that-rinseing your sinuses out-just with water though-will help stop them getting irritated. I've heard of people being tested for all sorts of sinus probs and allergies, when its actually irritation from the acid. i wouldnt recomend doing it with bicarb-becasue i dont know how safe that would be-ive done it myself, but i dont know if you should. so DONT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT, and just do it with water. if you dont knwo how to do this, there are loads of sites that show you how, or-get a syringe, fill it with clean cold water, tilt your head backand to one side, GENTLY squirt the water up your nose (really gently!!!), tilt your head the other way, and itl come out of the other nostril.it does feel really weird when you first do it, but it doesnt hurt.if the taset or irritation is still there, then do it from the other side.

'is there a safe place to cut myself?'
No. read the begining of this post again, then think about it. i'm not going to be a hypocrite and say its easy not to cut, but neither am i going to tell you where to do it. bottom line is, nowhere is 'safe'. Even a small cut can get infected, and infected wounds HURT.
ALWAYS ALWAYS got to A&E to get anything you are worried about checked-chances are if your not sure, it will need treatment. And yeh, ok, ive had some not to great experiences at A&E, but i have also met some people whose support has been invaluable to me-there are genuinely some very understanding doctors around. People debate as to wether its a good idea to keep dressings, antispetic etc at home for SI wounds, because sometimes noing you have the supplies to mop it up is actually encouraging of the behaviour. Personally, i keep dressing pads, steri strips, and savlon solution and tape at home, but this one depends on how you feel about it. If i cut-it enevitably needs treatment, so what i have is to help me until i get help. and if you think you need stitches go soon, cos they wont stitch wounds that are older than a few hoirs due to infection risk. and then youve really got probs.

'Do you find that self harm gets worse the ore often you do, or the longer you have done it for'?'
essentially yes, but im speaking for me, and the others who contribute here. Becasue the more you do it, for whatever reason, eventually, whatever you do will get worse for you to get the same feeling, because you get numb to it.
I cut because the pain distracts me from my head-therefore the worse im feeling, the worse i damage myself.others cut cos they get an adrenaline kick.there are loads of reasons, and feelings people get, but yes, in general, i think it does escualte. try and set yourself limits. Try and put it off, five minutes at a time-trust me you CAN do it. yeh, i still SI-but it takes a lot more to trigger me to do it now.

ok, sorry this post is getting a bit epic now- and i'll leave it on this-i know it feels like your eating disorder is your friend, you can trust it to make you feel special, worth it (well, in the early stages i mean0, it makes it better, it takes your pain way.

but ask yourself this-'how many friends do you have that try to kill you?'

if you want to ask something, or just want to talk to someone-email eatingdisorderfairy@gmail.com, or leave a comment. i cant always answer on your blogs, because my laptop is weird and only lets me comment on blogs with pop out comment windows.its a conspiracy, im sure.

take care

xxxxx

Saturday 17 July 2010

Backed up plumbing

This sucks. If you purge alot, its fairly enevitable that at some point you will screw the plumbing in your house up. And bear in mind its all connected-so if you block up your shower, or your toilet, then after a while everything else-sinks, basins, everything, will also start to back up. So its gross, but best to sort it out when it happens.

Also something to think about is that the acidity of vomit actually corrodes the pipes, which can lead to leaks-i know someone that this happend to, and eventually they had a leak in the cealing just below the bathroom...

Ok-so the best thing to do is put some gloves on, shut your eyes, and pull out the gunk. This works well with showers and sinks, and then poor as much THICK bleach (now is not the time for tesco value lol) as you can get hold of down the plug holes.Like im talking a couple of bottles for a few days. Same deal with toilets, except you need more bleach to do it properly-due to the gravity effect of how plumbing systems are layed out. You might also find that if it happens often, you need to invest in a 'toilet unblocker', a weird contraction which ooks like a suction pump, and doesnt use chemicals-so better for environment.They cost about a tenner from DIY shops and you can reuse them.

I know why lost of people do it-but try to avoid if you possibly can, throwing up in the shower, as these get backed up so easily.

I've also found in the past, when i have seriously screwed my plumbing up, that i have had to resort to puking in a bucket, lined with a carrier bag, which i then chucked into the bin on the pavement just along from my house. Im not proud-and yeh its gross. But id did save me about £500 on a plumber.

Again, im not encouraging purging here, but just some advise on dealing with it:)

xxx

Wednesday 14 July 2010

Distraction doesnt mean avoiding life

'distraction' is a word you will here bounced around in mental health a lot. And its a word that really gets my back up.

Dont confuse distracting yourself from maladaptive coping strategies, and avoiding life.

If you constantly try and distract yourself from how you are feeling, essentially you will end up avoiding living your life-and thats not going to get you anywhere. What distraction really means is that you have to develop new skills to deal with old feelings. For example, when i get upset, I am likely to deal with that by making myself sick. So what i need to do is learn to re-programme purging as my default setting to deal with upset, and replace it with something healthier, that keeps my mind away from that-something constructive, something i enjoy, you know the things i mean-and if you dont, start thinking about them. I know it sounds airy fairy and annoying-but truth is, recovery is alabout learning new skills to replace maladaptive behaviours, in response to emotional trauma.

Its ok to feel the feelings-its ok to think about them and try and deal with them-distraction doesnt mean avoiding the way you feel, it means trying to deal with it in a more healthy way.

By avoiding the way you feel, ultimately these things will become even nore overwhelming, and bulid up to something that seems impossible to cope with.

I said at the begining distraction-the dreaded 'd' word gets my back up-and it does. because mental health professionals sometimes mix up the meaning of 'distract' with 'avoid'. Hell, its good to talk-seriously, you have to be able to talk about the way you are feeling, get it out-if thats by talking, writing a diary, a blog, youtube vids, whatever. (while i think of it-when I first started trying to recover-i literally couldnt talk about anything. So i started to make youtube videos to help me learn to talk about things. because i had issues with saying things outloud-sounds weird, but it really helped me). Just dont get so busy trying to distract yourself you start avoiding life.

Accept the way you feel-its ok to feel however you feel. you dont need to justify it-but dont avoid it, and distract yourself from the associated behaviours, and not necessarily the feelings.

If this makes no sense then feel free to email eatingdisorderfairy@gmail.com, or leave a comment. I wanted to write this because the distinction between these things is something i find really helpful for myself-but if this just sounds totally whack, or confusing, then tell me so!

just-your feelings always catch up with you.Its better to deal with it - and try to change the way you do it-than avoid it.

take lots of care

xxx

Friday 9 July 2010

A note about SI-safe disposal of sharps

Do the people that collect your rubbish a favour-they dont want to get cut by your sharps if a binbag slits open. So make sure you dispose of your blades, or whatever you use, carefully. Wrap them in newspaper, put them all in  aplastic bottle-then wrap the bottle, theres lots of ways to do this and minimise harm to yourself and others by doing so.

The easiest way is to get yourself a sharps bin, like they use in hospitals etc. You can get really small ones, that are easy to hide/cover up/decorate/ whatever and this is really the best way. They are inexpensive-i use one that has a cpacity of 1 litre (and it really small) and it costs less than £1. You can get them from your GP, or if your not keen on that, most chemists (ap;art from BOOTS in the UK for some reason) can order them in for you. Then all you have to do is seal it when its full, and return it to the chemist, or your GP when you need to dispose of it. And dont be shy aboput getting one from the chemist-people get them fro all kinds of reasons-diabetics, those who are injecting fertility drugs, people get them for their pets if they need injecting etc etc-they are a ton of reasons you might need one, and you really dont have to worry the pharmacist will think your a junkie, or you SI or whatever.

It also discourages you from re-using your sharps-DONT do this, because you can get really horrid painful infections from this, i kid you not. But if you use something that isnt disposable-make sure its clean, and been disenfected if you possibly can.

take lots of care

xxx

More glamourous stuff

 Someone left this as a comment on the previous post about purging-and it was really helpful, so thought i should make it its own post-so here it is-

"kind of related to blocking up your sinuses through purging is this: if you've got facial piercings, particularly nose and especially lip piercings, ever noticed that disgusting smell when you touch them/unscrew them? guess what that is. none other than acidy vomity bacteria. which can lead to horrible infections.

it clears up after a while, providing you haven't purged in a while, but i've found the best thing is to make sure you're keeping your piercings clean with savlon or some antibacterial spray, plus, washing them in salt water to keep them clean. and that will hopefully minimise the vomity smell and taste in your mouth/nose."

it time to talk about gastric refux.

This is something that REALLY sucks. I think its something more commonly associated with people that purge lots, but i have known anorectics to suffer with it to.

In simple terms, its like this-the top of your oesophagus has a protective mechanism, controlled by muscles, which basically seals it off and keeps everything travelling down the right way. When you purge, the reflex you are stimulating to do so, is forcing this open, allowing food/vomit to come back up the 'wrong way'. If you do this a lot, then the muscles controlling it become weak-and eventually it is just an open tube, which means acid from your stomach ends ujp in your mouth and at the back of the throat, which is REALLY horrible. Leaning forward, laying down-you end up with a pool of acid in your mouth.

In all the books i have read about bulimia, i have never seen this discussed, and yet it is THE most coomon implication of purging.

The more you throw up, the worse it gets. I t does get better, but it takes quite a long time-and the only way to stop it is to stop purging.

I know thats a lot simpler said than done-like really, im there right now.

This is from personal experience-and not medical advice, but when it gets bad, ive found rinsing my mouth out with a timy bit of bicarb mixed in water helps a lot-on the same principle that it helps your teeth by neutralisng acid, it takes away the burny feeling. Yoghurt is also really soothing, but sometimes eating itself really irritats the condition-which is something you just-honestly have to try your best to ignore. Fruit juice can make it worse-as can anything that is acidic in its nature, but dont let your diet suffer because of this.

perserverance is the key here,

but i do know that it sucks. You can get meds to help it-and over the conter heartburn stuff can help too-but its kinda like sticking a plaster on a massive wound, yknow.

this is one where you have to work on the cause of the problem, and not primarily its symptoms..

but now i have depressed you thoroughly-il end by saying-it does get better.

take care xxx

Thursday 8 July 2010

Not so glamourous

Have you ever pondered why you always feel like you've got blocked nose and sinuses, if you have been purging lots?

Purge enough, on a regular basis, and thats not snot-its vomit. It drains in to your sinuses, irritates them from its acidity and blocks your nose up. Niiiiice.

Bet you never found that in a book or a pro site, eh?

take care

xxx

ps-it totally clears up after a long period without purging, bit its sooo unpleasant at the time.

Tuesday 6 July 2010

thoughts on diet pills....

They dont work. Well, ok, they do-but only maybe, possibly if your BMI is significantly over 26. BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE DESIGNED FOR.

Other than that, they wont do a thing.Fact. They screw up your inside, give you terrible stomach upsets (most of them work on the basis that they block fat absortion by the body, and you end up pooing it out. which aint all that nice.and you lose all control over it.im not kidding), and make you ill. And poor.

Hang around for too long in holland and barrett, or other 'health' shops (i use ' for a reason) looking at diet aids and you will get banned from the shop.This has happened to several people i know, and is v embaressing. Similary, dont bother trying to buy them from chemists, as when you get to the checkouts, staff are trained to redirct you to the pharmacist, who will check your BMI is high enough before they sell them to you. Buy them on the internet, and your probably just buying sugar pills.oh the irony.

summing it up-dont even bother going there.

take care xxx

Thursday 1 July 2010

How to have a really bad day and still be alive at the end of it...

Go for a really long walk. Doeesnt matter if its raining-MOVE!
Listen to some tubthumping music
Have a little cry-but have a structured activity in mind to help you afterwards.Easier said than done, I know-but try.
Draw, paint, create-whatever floats your boat.
write a blog, write a diary-get it out, it helps.
Call a good friend. Make the effort. Good friends will always be there for you no matter how long its been.
Make a list of all the things that your ED stops you from doing. Then decide if you WANT to change. YOU can only change for yourself.
watch a film. Watch judge Judy or jeremy kyle-seriously, never fails to make me feel a little better! Likewise reading the news of the world!
Call your CPN/team and let them know things are feeling difficult.
Have a shower.
Tidy up
Dance like a lunatic. Actually, i think i do this anyway!
Read something that you really like. Sometimes the nbest books for comfort reading are ones you are familiar with-there is always comfort to be found in the familiar.Likewise music.
Write a letter to a friend.
Spend time with boyfriend/girlfriends, I am CONSTANTLY being told by CPN's that feeling close to your partner/sex/snuggling up is a really comforting thing to do. I'm yet to be convinced, but hey, its all worth a try. I also realise exactly how ridiculous this sounds-but hey, at least i made you laugh right?! :)
Get yourself a giant sized stressball. Beat the crap out of it. Or get a punchbag.
I find kickboxing helps quite a lot.
Take your goldfish for a walk.
Think of things to add to this list and email me-eatingdisorderfairy@gmail.com. The weirder the better!
Knit
dsesign an outfit
do something you love-doesnt matter what it is, as long as it makes you happy.
make some pretty cupcakes

ok you get the gist now.
I have a rule that i have to try and work through my list of distracting activities at least twice-if something doesnt work, move on, etc etc until you settle, before i can even consider doing something more destructive.

Its about developing strategies to distract yourself-the dreaded 'd' word.

you CAN do it. You just have to try REALLY hard.

take care xxx

some facts about self injury-Ed fairy style

This is not inteneded to be triggering-but here is your friendly trigger warning nethertheless-

*read with care*

It might not hurt at the time-but we will all tell you just how much it hurts afterwards. And how BORING it gets changing dressings, nurses appointments, the endless endless interogation by medical professionals.

I'm not saying SI wasnt something we all did to cope-im just saying, however much you may feel it helps, its a maladaptive strategy.It doesnt get you anywhere new. Try with all yur might to find something to replace it with.

Covering up scars and making up endless excuses for friends is really tiresome.

Rocking up to A&E, where the receptionist knows your name and date of birth before you even speak is NOT fun.

Infected wounds hurt more than you could ever imagine.

its scarily easy to do a hell of a lot of unintentional damage to yourself.

One of our girls was told at A&E that the doc knew someone who had ended up having an arm amputated, as they had cut the arteries so many times, they were no longer fixable.she just kept taking the grafts off them, and now she has lost her arm.

she was also told about people who have had to have major abdonimal surgery after SI to the stomach.

This is all true.

its about finding other ways-and i know, we know, its easier said than done.

we are not preaching here-heck, we are in no position too-but think about the consequences-it might help you put it off, slowely but surely.

take care xxx

Wednesday 30 June 2010

Something you ought to know about laxatives

They dont help you lose weight.period.

Yes, you might drop a little-but its water you are losing, not actual 'weight'. And taking them habitually will lead to water retention-making you feel you have put on weight, when you really havent.its a really bad cycle to get into.

Excessive use of laxatives will lead to bowel damage, and some pretty permement constipation. Rumour had it Elvis Presley killed himself due to chromic constipation. Cant be nice, eh?

From personal experience-this was a HARD habit to break. It was horrible at forst, i felt bloated, and i did put on some weight. But it all evened out-laxatives just make your weight fluctuate anyway-and it was worth it in the long run. Short term pain for long term gain. Thats your key here.

take care
xxx

look after your teeth...

My dentist told me that rinsing your mouth out with a tiny bit of bicarb of soda, mixed into a cup of water will help neutralise the acid in your mouth from purging. And dont brush your teeth straight away after, because you will just brush the acid into your teeth.

If purging is a problem, think about getting your teeth sealed.

Dentists are also really good at spotting bulimia-the damage it does to your teeth had quite a specific pattern.

take care xxxx

thoughts about plumbing...

Ok, first things first-please read our info pages before you read our posts

we are not mocking in any way. We are a group of people who have lived through, or are in recovery form eating disorders. And there are a lot of things that noone will ever tell you about eating disorders.

and we thought that it was about time that changed.

so today, i thought id sopend a few minutes thinking about plumbing. I dont mean yours, I mean the plumbing in your house. Your plumbing was not designed to cope with the contents of your fridge, in its original food form.FACT. therefore, be aware that you should really find yourself a good plumber. I suffer with bulimia. And have yet to find anything that discusses the practicalities of recovery, and suffering with the illness. And this IS a problem. I've had plumbers out a lot of times in the last couple of years. Blocked pipes makes everything-sinks showers, toilets-EVERYTHING back up. you know you have issues when your shower turns into a bath.

I also know someone who purged a lot, and the acid from the vomit corroded the pipes in their house-something their parents could nevr get their head around.

All i can say is this-liberal amounts a thick bleach down all your plugholes, toilets etc will help.

I'm not advocating purging. Again, i shall re-iterate that this is a blog about the practicalities of recovery.

take care xxxx