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