Expert: Meg - 6/28/2007

Question
Hi Meg,

I have suffered from 3 months of bulimia.  I stopped about a month ago, but have not been able to stop the binge eating yet.

I have seen some frightening changes in this relatively short period of time and am wondering if some can be reversed or will return to normal with time.

Scaly skin? (skin now looks like a 40 year old instead of a 28 year old)

Hair loss (noticeably thinner--will it regrow to look like it did only about 5 months ago? (before disorder))

Spider veins and bulging looking veins/visible veins (all over body, not just legs)--I think the binging has overloaded my system.  I know after pregnancy, these can subside--so that is what I'm hoping.

Teeth--I think they are ok, but I do notice they've actually started turning inward like an old person's do and my gums have deteriorated--my teeth were never sensitive to cold, now they are.  And I have spaces between teeth instead of the gum coming down between them. (looks again like an old person)

Loose, strechy weird skin

Also, my baoobs and butt have really sort of shrunk/sunk. I've lost a lot of my good curves, while accumulating rolls of fat/cellulite everywhere else.

This is all very scary and sad--I feel like I've aged myself 20 years. I'd like to start looking forward and feel happy but it's very hard if I know that these things can't turn back to normal.

Answer
Hi Melissa,

I'm sorry that you're going through this and first want to commend you on stopping your purging and bulimic behaviors.  This is not easy and it shows what a strong person you are.

Yes, I definitely believe that all of the physical symptoms will improve the longer you are in recovery.  I've known women who were sick for years and fully recovered so its absolutely possible and will hopefully not take too long for you.  The best advice I have for you is to be as consistent as you can in your diet and give your body the time it needs to recover.  If you have any specific questions about your personal health issues, your doctor can do tests which will reassure you that things are normal and improving.

In the meantime, I would make sure that your diet is inclusive of all of the nutrients and food groups and not too restrictive (not only will this speed your recovery but also can help in stopping the binges).  Having an eating disorder is a really rough thing for one's body and so be patient with your body as it heals and give it time and acceptance (I know this sounds a bit cheesy but it really is true) and it will get back to normal fairly quickly.

I hope this helps and please feel free to write again if there is anything else I can help with or if anything in this answer is not clear.

Take care,
Meg