Expert: Melissa - 11/17/2008

Question
hello,

can i just first say that this site is amazing its clear you have helped many people..

i was bulimia for a couple of years and during this time i was quite depressed with my appearance, the bulimia seemed to make  me look even worse but i was addicted, now that ive been recovering for a couple of months i feel better more energetic etc, but my glands in my neck and fa ce have suddenly gone really swollen, there is no pain or warmth over the glands but its distressing for me because i look like a monster, when i saw my doctor he couldnt think of any reason why they might be swollen. But when i did my research online it said that during recovery the glands are so used to being overworked that they are still doing so, even though i've stopped being sick.

Is this true and if so is there any length of tim on this? i feel truly down about this and am worried that its permanant.

Answer
I can promise you that it won't be permanent. When I was in treatment, there was a gal there with pretty severe bulimia (she was throwing up 20+ times a day) and she had the same thing happen to her. When she did purge, the swelling would actually go down-but i am in no means advocating that as a solution. It will only get worse if the binge/purge cycle continues. I can't say how long it will take to get back to normal for you but i know for her it took a couple weeks. Our bodies are all different so it will likely be different for you.
I hope this helps.