Expert: Loren - 7/19/2007

Question
Just a quick intro im a 27 year old man im 6f4 & my weight is  just over 12 stone  & for the first 26 years of my life i never had any problems with weight or food .

my life took a total change around this time last year after a freinds birthday party their where pictures taken & when i saw pictures of my self i was very upset because i looked huge & hated the way i lokked dispite only waying 16 stone slightly over weight some people made comments so i decidid to go on a diet & ended up trying a number of different one's the weight started to fall off but it whould go straight back on.



It was then that i started to skip meals all day at work then go home have my dinner but then purge it up at first i felt quite ashemed about this at home but got around my parents finding out by leaving the shower running at the time to  smother the noise. thiers some days where i will eat,eat,eat, & then look in the miror to some how punish myself.

Its got to the point now where ive lost 4 stone plus in the last year and still hate my body.

I no theirs somthing wrong with me but i dont feel i can tell anyone becuase im a fraid of the reacton i will recive.

Is their a name for what im actually suffering from ? or is it a combination of things


Answer
Hello Steve

As I am not a qualified doctor I cannot diagnose you with any specific eating disorder. However, I will say that the behavior you are describing to me is anorexia nervosa. The binge/purge cycle is bulimic but I think you have more characteristically anorexic tendencies.

I understand how difficult it is to seek help, especially for men. I'd advise you to visit your doctor. I'd also suggest, because of the difficulty of this, you identify which sex you'd feel more comfortable with - for example, I know for certain that I wouldn't have been able to seek help via a male doctor. Anyway, your GP will then take you forward from this, most likely through counselling.
I know it sounds drastic, but it really isn't uncommon and you're not alone. A therapist of some kind will help you identify the reasons you are doing this and get you through it and back to your old life.

Take care,
Loren
p.s. you can rest assured that any kind of therapy/counselling is totally confidential so you do not need to tell friends/family if you don't want to, although you may find that will help.