Expert: Leigh-Anne Persing, PA-C - 2/27/2007

Question
Hi my name is sophie and I'm doing a research paper on bulimia. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me.
What age did you become bulimic and did you first start to have eating problems during a particularly difficult time in your life?
2.What do you think was the hardest thing when you gave up this disorder?
3. After you quit do you still get tempted to do it sometimes?
4. Have you had anything scary happen to you as a result of your disorder and if so do you think it motivated you more to get over your disorder?
5. Do you feel that you are happier now that you quit?
Thanks allot!  

Answer
I started suffering from my eating disorder at the age of 15. however, I was overweight as a child and so I suffered from low self-esteem and body image throughout my school years, even in grade school.

I have not given up my disorder yet and I still suffr tremendously, but I continue to make strides towards recovery. The hardest part of recovery is changing the cognition (thinking) behind the eating disorder. Once you can change the thinking behind it the behaviors will start to change.

Temptation is always there. it's a matter of willpower to fight off that temptation. Like I said, I still deal with my eating disorder a lot, and frequently give in to the temptations. My problem is that I frequently use my behaviors as a way to keep my mind off of other stressors in my life. I have faulty coping mechanisms... and I need to learn other ways to destress!

I have had a couple of scary things happen because of my eating disorder. I have passed out a couple of times. One particular incident I was walking outside to throw away my garbage and must have passed out. I also had my first seizure during this incident. I hit my head on the side walk and this required 4 stitches. I couldn't remember anything that happened and when I finally came to I wasn't able to recall anything that happened... I wasn't able to tell the paramedics where I lived or how old I was. The whole time I was riding to the hospital in the ambulance all I could think of was "please don't let me end up like terri shiavo". The other scary thing that happened was that as a result of vomiting I developed a hematoma (or a collection of blood) on my uvula (the little hangy ball thing at the back of your throat. This can sometimes cause a ot of problems with breathing and infection. Luckily mine didn't get to that and it healed quickly on it's own.

The road to recovery continues to be a struggle and it's very frustrating at times... but my days that I don't participate in my ED behaviors are the days that I feel my best and I feel happier, proud of myself. So, I continue to strive for relief from my eating disorder behaviors.

I hope this helps you with your research paper. Let me know if I can help in any other way.