Bulimia (bulimia nervosa): causes, symptoms, complications, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Expert advice. Treatment of bulimia - methods and drugs. How to beat bulimia

Problems with eating behavior do not haunt people as often as colds and flu, but being able to recognize them at an early stage is just as important. What do the symptoms and treatment of bulimia look like, what causes uncontrolled overeating and how to cope with an attack - a modern person needs to know the answers to these questions in order to be fully armed when faced with the first manifestations of the disease in themselves or loved ones..

What is bulimia

In official medicine, there is an alternative name for this disease - kinorexia, among its main symptoms is uncontrolled appetite. From a simple craving to overeating, it differs in constancy, and bouts of gluttony can be replaced by an obsessive desire to cleanse the body. According to the medical classification, bulimia can be:

Primary - frequent bouts of hunger, a constant desire to chew something.
Secondary - against the background of anorexia, with a mandatory attempt to get rid of the food eaten.

It is difficult to differentiate the stages of this disease, since here the role is played not by the duration, but by the intensity of the manifestation of symptoms, the frequency of remissions and exacerbations, and the characteristics of human behavior. The most common classification:

Initial stage: patients cause vomiting up to 3 times a month, the disease has been present for 3 years.
Chronic disease: lasts about 5 years, the frequency of occurrence of an attack is daily, or for 7 years several times a week.

Gluttony as a disease

In a mild form with rare overeating as the only symptom, bulimia is not considered a serious pathology., since it can be a one-time reaction of the body to external psychogenic factors (mainly to severe stress). However, if the symptoms of the disease recur from day to day, a person feels a constant craving for taking laxatives, or people with normal weight feel guilty for every bite of food, but cannot stop, this is already a mental disorder fraught with complications.

What happens to the body during an attack of bulimia

For a person who has symptoms of bulimia, food becomes a drug, the dose of which, due to the disappearing feeling of satiety, has to be constantly increased. Overeating episodes and endless snacking are observed with increasing frequency. However, a person has an awareness of the abnormality of the diet, so a feeling of guilt constantly lives inside for what he has eaten, which at the same time gives rise to a new attack of hunger and the need to cleanse the body - the circle closes.

As a result, the body experiences dehydration from constantly induced vomiting, mucous membranes are injured, and uncontrolled intake of laxatives causes problems with the intestines.

Reasons for overeating

According to medical statistics, doctors in people with bulimia mainly diagnose the psychological cause of the development of an eating disorder, especially when it comes to women aged 15-16 and 22-25 years. Bulimia is especially prone to people with emotional instability. There are also physiological factors that provoke the disease:

insulin resistance;
the presence of hormonal disorders (mainly hypothalamic-pituitary insufficiency);
damage to the food center in the cerebral cortex (injuries);
metabolic syndrome.

If we consider exclusively bulimia nervosa, which is considered the most common, there are several groups of causes that can provoke it. The pressure of a society that has become obsessed with thinness in recent years can lead to a mental eating disorder. A family factor is also not ruled out - poor relationships with parents, a painful desire for perfectionism, attempts to follow other people's expectations often accompany the disease.

signs

The group of eating disorders is very broad, but it is not difficult to recognize the characteristic symptoms of bulimia. So, bulimia is characterized by a lack of control of behavior (unlike anorexia), which can lead to excessive consumption of not only food, but also drugs. The main symptom of this disease is constant overeating, but in addition to it, the undoubted signs are:

manic weight control;
constant thoughts about food;
dependence of self-esteem on appearance (figure, body weight);
regular attempts to cleanse the gastrointestinal tract;
exhausting exercise for weight loss.

Obsessive thoughts about food

The mind of a person with bulimia is almost always occupied exclusively with food: from the endless planning of breakfast, lunch and dinner, to the desire to constantly throw something into the mouth. An extra half an hour or an hour spent without food already makes it necessary to urgently eat tightly, even when there is no physiological hunger. If attempts to distract consciousness do not bring success, it is time to urgently treat bulimia: this is no longer the beginning.

Talk about healthy eating and weight gain

The modern trend towards natural food and a pumped up body is not dangerous in itself. However, a psychologically healthy person, striving for a beautiful figure and the rejection of “harmful”, knows the limits and limits of his abilities, and a bulimic sufferer goes to the extreme: he trains to exhaustion, tries only useful things, but constantly breaks down on high-calorie foods and then diligently provokes vomiting or sits on laxatives.

Sharp fluctuations in weight

Severe emaciation is predominantly characteristic of anorexics, and bulimia is considered a disease that does not provoke large weight loss, but is characterized by its instability. The patient either actively absorbs food, or tries to get it out of himself, which leads to disruption of the endocrine system and can cause a sharp decrease and increase in body weight without serious changes in volumes.

Deterioration in general health

Constant nervous tension and stress undermine the body's defenses, so a person becomes open to infections. Often the patient is faced with tonsillitis and pharyngitis. Daily attacks of vomiting, especially with long-term bulimia, lead to serious consequences:

develop diseases of the oral cavity;
teeth crumble;
heartburn and peptic ulcer appear;
scratches and wounds form on the fingers.

Psychological and psychosomatic disorders

Eating disorders and especially obsession with food lead to a constant tension of the nervous system, and if this is accompanied by frequent bouts of vomiting, the body gets severe stress. The result is increased fatigue, reduced concentration, memory impairment, daytime sleepiness, and vice versa - the inability to sleep at night. Due to breakdowns against the background of a craving for a healthy diet, a person develops depression.

Impaired functioning of the kidneys, liver and cardiovascular system

Metabolic shifts provoked by eating disorders are fraught with dangerous heart diseases (convulsions are a common symptom of their onset). No less vulnerable in this situation are the liver and kidneys, which cease to function properly. The pancreas, the rectum suffer less often - the production of bile is disturbed, there are problems with the stool.

Hormonal disruptions

The weight fluctuations and psychosomatic disorders already mentioned above always affect the work of the endocrine and reproductive systems, especially in women, which leads to serious consequences. The “lightest” complication is a decrease in sexual desire and a violation of the duration of the menstrual cycle. As kinorexia develops, amenorrhea and infertility are possible. Here you will need hormonal treatment from an endocrinologist.

How to Diagnose Bulimia

If anorexia, even in a photo, is easy to recognize by an emaciated appearance, then persons with kinorexia outwardly differ little from healthy ones, although the lack of self-control in eating behavior can give them away. Only a doctor is able to make a diagnosis, and the person himself often discovers this ailment in himself only at a late stage, when all the symptoms are present. However, since it is difficult to cure bulimia on your own in a neglected state and it leads to serious consequences for the whole body, you need to monitor:

attitude to food;
weight dynamics;
perception of your body.

Uncontrollable food cravings

Among the key signs of the disease, doctors call overeating, but this word means not only large portions of food during its main meals. Specialists identify 3 forms of this disease (general symptoms and treatment of bulimia will be similar for them):

Sudden appetite, which can appear regardless of the place of stay and time of day.
Night hunger.
Constant overeating (a person endlessly chews something).

The use of inadequate methods of losing weight

Among the symptoms of kinorexia, a person's attempts to get rid of the food he has just eaten stand out especially clearly, as he realizes that he has abused its quantity and daily calorie content. Mostly this happens through constant vomiting, which the patient causes independently and purposefully, but it is also possible to use laxatives or enemas.

Low body weight

In people suffering from bulimia at the initial stage, the weight is often normal - there is no malnutrition typical of anorexics. However, if the disease becomes chronic and has been observed for more than 5 years, due to the constant cleansing of the body against the background of overeating, the patient has constant weight jumps up and down, there are slight deviations from the normal body mass index.

Low self-esteem

When eating habits are disturbed due to social and family factors, doctors often diagnose problems with the patient's perception of himself. Even with normal weight, a person experiences dissatisfaction with appearance, maniacally strives to lose weight, combining cleansing the body after overeating with exhausting physical exertion, against the background of this dissatisfaction, he seeks solace in food.

How to deal with gluttony

A visit to a psychotherapist (not a psychologist!), if the illness has no physiological prerequisites, is the main moment in the fight against kinorexia both in the initial stages of the disease and later. It is almost impossible to get rid of this problem on your own, so you need to discuss the symptoms and treatment regimen of bulimia with a specialist. The patient may be at home, but at a later stage, moving to a hospital is not excluded.

Indications for inpatient treatment

Hospitalization of a person who has symptoms of eating problems is required if complications arise with the heart or gastrointestinal tract, or if this mental disorder has caused anorexia, a decrease in body weight by 70% of the norm. A doctor may require treatment of a patient in a hospital if:

the appearance of suicidal thoughts;
confusion, complete insomnia;
heart failure;
calcium deficiency;
occurrence of internal bleeding.

Folk remedies

Studying the symptoms and treatments for bulimia, you can turn to herbal medicine, but it gives little effect. It is impossible to defeat the disease exclusively with herbal decoctions, but they help strengthen the nervous system, partially suppress appetite, support the heart, kidneys, liver. Phytotherapy makes sense at any stage of treatment, but resort to it after consulting a doctor.

Methods for treating bulimia

Binge eating attacks occur predominantly in the context of psychological problems, so psychotherapeutic techniques used by a specialist should take center stage in a treatment regimen designed to combat bulimia. The use of medications is more practiced for people with an organic eating disorder, or as an additional moment to the main course of psychotherapeutic sessions in the later stages of the disease.

Psychotherapeutic methods

Doctors call behavioral therapy one of the most effective methods of treating bulimia, in which the patient learns to rethink his actions and beliefs, to cope with situations that are insoluble in his opinion. If we compare this technique in terms of effectiveness with taking antidepressants, then it will be much more effective, but in the later stages of the disease, even drug therapy is added to it. Additionally, doctors may advise:

Hypnosis (more rarely self-hypnosis) - to control the need for food. But he will not eliminate the causes of the development of the disease.
Group psychotherapy sessions - they help the patient to realize psychological dependence, relax in a circle of people with the same problem.
Family therapy - to help the patient develop healthy self-esteem through the support of relatives, but it only makes sense for those who are close to the family.

Medical treatment

In the case of diagnosing diseases of the nervous system and brain, doctors primarily prescribe drugs to solve this problem, and with other prerequisites for a nervous eating disorder, patients take antidepressants and antiemetics. Their independent appointment is prohibited, especially for long-term treatment. The complex treatment includes:

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors - Fluoxetine, Citalopram: stimulate serotonin receptors, are used in severe depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Tricyclic antidepressants - Amitriptyline, Melipramine: for the treatment of moderate depression, elimination of appetite disorders, insomnia.
Antiemetics - Cerucal, Domperidone: quickly suppress dopamine receptors, but do not contribute to the treatment of eating disorders.

Non-traditional methods of dealing with the disease

According to doctors, treatment by methods of oriental medicine and several other non-traditional methods does not differ in high efficiency, but can be used as an additional factor to speed up the healing process. Mostly correct treatment for bulimia includes:

reflexology (acupuncture);
art therapy (creative activity to solve psychological problems);
yoga.

What leads to gluttony - dangerous consequences

Primary kinorexia can cause obesity, diabetes, gallbladder and liver malfunction due to uncontrolled eating. However, if it occurs against the background of anorexia, with constant attempts to cleanse the stomach, we have to talk about more severe consequences of bulimia:

destruction of tooth enamel;
violation of the menstrual cycle;
peptic ulcer, enteritis;
endocrine diseases;
violation of water and electrolyte balance;
damage to the respiratory tract.

Video

The most common medical name for the disease caused by the processes of uncontrolled overeating is bulimia or kinorexia.

Signs of the disease can manifest themselves in some pathologies caused by excessive accumulation of adipose tissue (obesity), bulimia nervosa syndrome, or endogenous mental illness. But it can also be an independent pathology in perfectly healthy, normal people.

Bulimia - what is it?

Bulimia is the most common type of eating disorders caused by the manifestation of irrepressible (wolf) hunger. In multiple cases, bulimic pathology may be the result of psychogenic disorders in patients with mental and neurological problems, often adjacent to anxiety and phobias, with depression syndromes.

The manifestation of the disease is characterized by alternation (alternation) of two stages:

An indefatigable feeling of hunger accompanied by excellent appetite with an absent sense of proportion mechanism. As they say in simple terms - "lack of brakes."
The second stage is the maximum disposal of food eaten by any means, even harmful to health.

The duration of each stage can be any, which depends on the severity of the abnormal process, manifesting itself with symptoms of varying severity at the behavioral (behavioral) level, or as a result of mental and physiological dependence.

Kinorexic disorders: causes

The genesis of disorders is based on hypothetical variants, since it has not been studied for certain. However, predisposing leading factors initiating the manifestation of kinorexia have been identified, which include:

Genetic inheritance of family mental, somatoform (contrived), depressive and anxiety-phobic pathologies;
Anatomical defects in various functions of the central nervous system;
Endocrine and metabolic pathologies;
Failures in the inhibitory function of CNS neurotransmitters;
Hereditary chronic dependence of "ancestors" to alcohol or drugs.

Against the background of even one of these disorders, an unconscious life scenario can be formed in the patient's subconscious, which is expressed by an obsessive need for food. The impetus for creating an anomalous scenario is:

Individual psychological characteristics of the patient (sensitivity, anxiety, timidity);
Low inadequate self-esteem and a sense of insecurity in their abilities;
Strict and harsh methods of education and critical external assessment of parents;
Influence of the informal asocial environment;
Unreasonable self-flagellation and guilt due to the divorce of parents;
Physical, sexual or mental abuse;
Frustration situations (failures, deceit, unfulfilled expectations);
Unfortunate experience of first love and fear of loneliness;

Symptoms of bulimia according to the forms of manifestation

Statistical data indicate the predominant manifestation of symptoms of bulimia in women, fixing the onset and development of the disease at a certain age.

initial form- pubertal kinorexia (bulimia), observed in adolescence (up to 16 years), corresponding to the period of the formation of hormones and the restructuring of the body.

Second form kinorexia nervosa (bulimia). It is characterized by the manifestation on the segment of personal maturation in the first period of maturity. After 35 years, pathology in female patients is very rare. In many cases, addiction to excessive gluttony at this age is manifested by symptoms of bulimia nervosa - signs of neuropsychiatric disorders or neurotic conditions.

The manifestation of the disease in men is very rare. But there are no grounds for asserting such a manifestation as neuropsychiatric disorders. Such a phenomenon as gluttony followed by stomach cleansing is most likely due to the fashion trend among young people - to have an athletically slender figure.

Behavioral eating disorders can be manifested by various clinical symptom complexes - constantly, and manifested by a paroxysmal course (in the form of seizures), which can provoke - physiological needs for food, psycho-emotional experiences, anxiety and depression.

Emotional disorders are a typical stereotyped reaction to affective situations, and overeating is a kind of defensive reaction from their influence.

At the same time, the decrease in mental stress occurs not due to the digestion of food, but due to a decrease in uncomfortable experiences in the process of its absorption. This reaction eventually leads to the development of obesity.

The emotiogenic signs of bulimia include the phenomena of night gluttony (up to 10% of manifestations) and compulsive (compulsory, relieving anxiety) overeating (more than 25% of cases), and mood, mental disorders.

Bulimia nocturnal syndrome is caused by dysfunction of the serotonin system of the brain, manifested by three-phase symptoms:

Anorexia in the morning, characterized by lack of appetite and aversion to food;
Evening and nocturnal kinorexia, with a sharp increase in an irresistible need for food, accompanied by a nocturnal zhor - a "belly feast";
Psychophysiological insomnia due to the influence of a stress factor.

This behavior is noted to be advantageous in women prone to mental disorders. Morning food disgusts them, and violent ingestion can cause nausea or a gag reflex. In the second half of the day, the need for food increases sharply, in the late afternoon, an indefatigable zhor of everything begins in a row. But the feeling of satisfying hunger is very rare.

They justify insomnia with a feeling of hunger, which does not allow them to sleep and wakes them up in the middle of the night. Others justify night eating as a soothing and relaxing method that helps to distract from the sad reality and fall asleep faster, perceiving night gluttony as a sedative sleeping pill.

Numerous examinations of such patients have proven that the main stimulant of wakefulness in them is hunger and satiety.

The main signs of bulimia

First of all, the bright symptoms of bulimia, characteristic of patients, are manifested by behavioral signs - they consume a huge amount of food. At the same time, the meal is hurried, poorly chewed and swallowed in large pieces. After the "meal", they quickly rush to get rid of it, retire to cause a gag reflex.

Patients are secretive and withdrawn, characterized by non-standard behavior and signs of mental disorders. They are overly addicted to the methods of all kinds of diets and the continuous counting of calories in the diet consumed.

They constantly carry with them an extensive arsenal of medicines that help get rid of food (emetics, diuretics, laxatives).

Physiological disorders are caused by:

Loss of strength and general disorders;
Physical weakness and predisposition to ENT pathologies;
Failure and absence of menstrual flow;
Frequent changes in weight;
Violation of metabolic processes;
Pathological processes in the digestive tract, in the salivation system, dental problems;
Depressive states.

The main manifestation of bulimic symptoms is paroxysmal in nature in the form of episodes of forced overeating, during which, in a short time, a lot of different food is absorbed - any one that comes to hand.

Lost full control over the amount of food absorbed in one "sit".

Such an "orgy" can last up to 2 hours in a row. Repeat a couple of times a week, but continue for a long time, stretching for several days. At the same time, the “meal” takes place in “proud solitude” and is carefully hidden from relatives and people around. During and after the attack, the patient experiences stomach pain and nausea, self-contempt, guilt, and despair, but no satiety.

Psychologically, the manifestation of bulimic neurosis is very painful. The patient is well aware of the harmfulness of overeating, realizes how detrimental it will be to his own health, but he is not able to drown out his irrepressible hunger. To avoid painful consequences, the “glutton” tries by any means to get rid of what he has eaten - artificially induce vomiting or take laxatives.

Periods of gluttony are replaced by repentance and depressive states, often turning into neuropsychic anorexia with a complete lack of appetite.

The patient loses the meaning of life, develops mental pathologies of a neurasthenic nature. As a result, addiction to alcohol or drugs may develop.

Treatment of bulimia - methods and drugs

Self-treatment of bulimia is so rare that sooner or later it forces the patient to seek medical help.

The main diagnostic criterion for bulimia is due to a detailed survey, not even of the patient himself, but of his environment. The circumstances preceding the development of the pathology, the symptoms and the patient's well-being are clarified. With personal contact, deviations of a mental nature are clarified. The need for additional studies is determined to identify certain disorders, comorbidities:

examination of blood and urine;
measurement of blood pressure;
cardiac monitoring by ECG.

Diagnosis is confirmed on the basis of characteristic symptoms, when the act of overeating in combination with cleansing the stomach is noted at least twice a week, for several months (3 months or more).

The tactics of treating bulimia (kinorexia) is determined in accordance with the severity of pathological manifestations.

The healing process begins with the patient's readiness to recognize the existence of the disease and to reveal a voluntary desire to cope with it. Treatment is long and complicated, sometimes you need to change a lot in life.

According to statistics, a complete cure is observed only in 50% of patients. Consistently positive results are obtained by psychological treatment in tandem with drug therapy with antidepressant drugs.

Psychotherapeutic treatment of bulimia

Today it is based on the principles and methods of treatment used in many countries - ("Cognitive Behavioral Treatment"), due to a series of communication between the patient and the psychotherapist. Such meetings help the patient to assess the problem at the level of emotions and independently find a new scenario for solving it.

In the process of training, the doctor's task is to convey to the patient that his gluttony is nothing more than a defensive reaction from psychological problems and external dependence. Awareness of this will enable the patient to independently build a line of his behavior. The patient is offered to keep a food diary, which will clearly help him analyze the situations that affect the attacks of uncontrolled eating.

The next applied psychotherapeutic technique is Interpersonal Therapy, due to the importance of social contact, influence on the patient and his connections with the surrounding reality. The doctor determines the factor that supports the patient, dear to him, which would reduce the super-significance of food as a central factor in his life.

Drugs and treatments for bulimia

Most often, in the treatment of bulimia with drugs, multicyclic antidepressant drugs of the SSRI group are used - Fluoxytin, Paroxetine, or Citalopram, and Sertraline, Fluvoxamine, or Dapaxetine. Their action is due to the cumulative nature and manifests itself after some time. Contribute to the correction of eating disorders, mental disorders and phobias.

The treatment process includes consultative visits to a nutritionist who teaches the right attitude to food with an individual selection of a diet and a detailed plan for therapeutic nutrition.

Complications of kinorexia

Constant cleansing procedures and taking various drugs that cause a gag reflex leads to the development of various pathologies.

The work of the intestines and stomach is disturbed, sometimes with the processes of internal hemorrhages. Due to salt and alkaline imbalance, functional disorders in the brain and heart structures can occur. As for the secondary consequences, they can manifest themselves:

alopecia - baldness and baldness;
yellowness of the skin;
premature appearance of wrinkles;
the development of muscle atrophy;
pulmonary pathologies;
problems with teeth.

The processes of dehydration and electrolyte deficiency can lead to disruption of many functions in the body. The most dangerous is the rupture of the esophagus or stomach due to severe overeating. The consequences of bulimia can turn into a disability "glutton".

Bulimia is a mental illness that is characterized by the constant questioning of people about the food they eat, uncontrollable bouts of eating. Such a disease is largely associated with nervous and mental disorders, stress, as well as depression, leading to an irresistible desire to constantly talk about food, diets, and also your weight.

If signs and symptoms of bulimia are identified, its treatment should be carried out under medical supervision (photo below). The disease of bulimia is quite common throughout the world - according to various sources, about 5% of adolescents and women of the entire planet suffer from it. Many scientists argue that bulimia is not a fatal disease, but there is no exact data on the impact of this disease on human vitality. The history describes many cases of girls bringing themselves to the state of death, in connection with the progressive stage of development of bulimia.

Classification of bulimia

To date, scientists have not identified a specific classification of bulimia that would characterize all behavioral and psychological types of human behavior that cause the progression of bulimic symptoms.

Conventionally, bulimia is divided into two subtypes:

Primary bulimia (true bulimia) - this disease characterizes the uncontrollable desire to eat food, a constant feeling of hunger, as well as constant bouts of overeating.
Bulimia associated with the development of anorexia - this phenomenon is also common in people suffering from anorexia. This is due to the psychological characteristics of the course of anorexia. This condition causes sharp bouts of overeating, accompanied by a feeling of fear and an attempt to get rid of and cleanse itself of the food eaten.

If symptoms of bulimia appear and the disease has not been treated, you must go to the hospital to confirm the diagnosis and prescribe a course of therapy (you can see the treatment methods on the video below).

Causes and development of symptoms of bulimia

The main cause of bulimia in adolescence is considered to be the psychological aspect, which is caused by a lack of attention and positive emotions in early childhood, a limited circle of children's communication, as well as poor relationships with peers. Such an impact on the child leads to the fact that he begins to replace the pleasure of communication - with the search for other ways of obtaining pleasure, which, often, is food. Every year the child begins to absorb more and more food, control over which is gradually reduced to zero.

In women, the cause of the development of bulimia is also a mental factor associated with the poor attitude of men and / or people around them to the appearance and behavior of the girl, as well as a lack of understanding of women's problems, low self-esteem, conflicts in the family, divorces, and many others. factors. Stress and frequent depression are also a common cause of bulimia. This leads to the fact that the woman begins to "seize" problems, gradually getting used to and increasing the amount of food absorbed.

In addition, the development of symptoms of bulimia can be physiological in nature. This is due to the occurrence of developmental disorders, injuries and damage to the parts of the brain that are responsible for controlling the metabolic processes of the body. In addition, factors contributing to the development of the disease can be diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism, brain tumors, and others. Physiological damage to brain cells leads to the shutdown of areas responsible for a person's ability to control the level of food.

Bulimia Symptoms

The main and, perhaps, the main symptom of bulimia is the patient's uncontrollable craving for food. The patient constantly talks about food, diets, taste sensations when using this or that product. In addition, a patient with bulimia often starts talking about being overweight.

Constant changes in weight in one direction or the other may also indicate the development of bulimia. Usually, patients come to radical methods of rapid weight loss in order to quickly lose weight. This way, basically, is a hunger strike, which further leads to breakdowns and “gluttony”.

Against the background of the development of the main symptom of bulimia, symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting, as well as impaired coordination, attention, and insomnia begin to develop. Patients suffering from this disease usually complain of poor and rare stools. Overeating often leads to constipation, which also adversely affects the general condition of the patient. Women suffering from bulimia note the occurrence of problems with the regulation of the menstrual cycle, its constant failures and the complete absence of menstruation, the so-called amenorrhea.

When bulimia attacks occur, the patient has obsessive ideas about food, he constantly thinks about some dish, tries to imagine its appearance, the ingredients included in this dish. This condition occurs spontaneously in them, even on a full stomach. In this regard, the attentiveness and concentration of a person on their activities are deteriorating.

The main characteristic of the symptoms of bulimia is that all attacks increase and worsen in a short period of time, and treatment is required for a long time (below is a photo of the patient before and after treatment). How to treat can only be told by a doctor who will prescribe the first day of taking the necessary drugs

Bulimia treatment

The main criterion for a full recovery is the early diagnosis of the symptoms of bulimia, and its timely treatment.

To date, there are a fairly large number of methods for detecting bulimia, if clinical signs of which are detected, it is necessary to start treatment on the first day.

The treatment of bulimia is based on three main stages: psychotherapy, diet and medication.

Today, psychotherapy is considered the basis for the treatment of this disease, which is aimed at identifying the main causes of occurrence, normalizing and decompensating the patient's mental state, as well as teaching the patient to find various ways to improve his condition without limiting himself to eating food.

Psychotherapy involves teaching the patient to find positive aspects in himself, to look for good moments in any unpleasant situations. In psychotherapeutic treatment, various methods of communication with the patient are used: during treatment, the patient is provided with photos and videos that make it clear that a person suffering from this disease is not alone in this world. In addition, a frequent method of treating a patient is the so-called "psychological communication", in which the patient communicates with people suffering from this disease and cured of this disease.

A patient who has symptoms of bulimia and is undergoing self-treatment should be constantly under the supervision of specialists, because usually such therapy does not have positive consequences. This is due to the complete denial of the patient's own condition. In addition, many people, upon learning of their diagnosis, are looking for alternative treatments for bulimia, often resorting to the use of folk remedies. Such methods also do not lead to a positive result, which causes the patient even more disappointment and causes a new breakdown. With symptoms of bulimia, in addition to drug therapy, treatment with folk remedies is also possible, but it is an additional measure.

Against the background of psychotherapeutic treatment, a number of measures are being taken, due to the patient taking medications, including tablet and oral forms, which help to improve the patient's mental state, strengthen nerve cells and the patient's ability to control diet. With symptoms of bulimia, its treatment is carried out under the supervision of a doctor, who, if necessary, will prescribe the necessary pills.

The main drugs used in the treatment of bulimia include several groups:

Antidepressants. Such drugs contribute to the most rapid exit of the patient from stressful situations, as well as the normalization of the mental level of the patient's mood.
Antiemetics. Such drugs contribute to the normalization of digestion until the onset of action of antidepressants.
Drugs that contribute to the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Diet therapy is another criterion that determines the full recovery of the patient. The main basis for the normalization of nutrition in bulimia, like many other diseases, is dietary compliance. Recommended 5 meals a day in small portions with a uniform distribution of calories throughout the day.

In this case, the patient is limited in the use of salty, sweet, floury, fatty foods that cause the so-called "addiction". In addition, many experts believe that in order to achieve the best effect of treatment, it is necessary to limit the intake of potatoes and corn to a minimum. Such ingredients are not only poorly absorbed by the body, but also adversely affect the human nervous system.

cod;
salmon;
tuna;
vegetables (except prohibited);
fruit.

The main criterion for the treatment of bulimia is the development of the patient's habit of eating according to the regimen. This is achieved over a long period of time. During this time, the patient's body gets used to the absorption of food and vitamins at a certain time, while not experiencing discomfort and desire to eat at other hours.

In the treatment of bulimia, it is necessary to take into account the fact that a full recovery of the patient will require a large amount of time and effort. Today, this problem is quite relevant in the modern world, due to which the methods of treating this disease are constantly being developed and improved, contributing to the fastest and fastest recovery and socialization of patients.

It must be remembered that a favorable environment, proper upbringing and a wide circle of communication of a child in childhood contribute to a more comfortable feeling of a person in later life.

Scientists diagnosed signs of bulimia even in kings who lived hundreds of years ago. Despite this, the official diagnosis of bulimia was recognized just over 35 years ago. Bulimia nervosa is a mental disorder in which the patient overeats at almost every meal, but after eating, induces vomiting (using laxatives, exhausting exercise, fasting, or a strict diet) in fear of gaining excess weight. Most often diagnosed in young girls.

All about bulimia

What is bulimia, and what is the peculiarity of this disease? As already mentioned, the disorder is more typical for the fair sex, especially for those who carefully monitor their weight. Often the disease develops as a result of an irresistible desire to lose weight. Alas, the artificial induction of vomiting after eating does not contribute to shedding extra pounds, and some time after the onset of the development of the pathology, the patient gains weight even faster.

The problem with bulimia is that this disease can go unnoticed for a long time both for the patient himself (after all, he believes that keeping fit is a normal desire), and for those around him (who do not notice the change in the patient's behavior). In addition, getting rid of the disease is not easy enough, because it depends on the patient's self-esteem, on his attitude to his appearance, nutrition, etc. Stop overeating and start to control the amount of food consumed is becoming increasingly difficult.

The risk group includes girls from 13 to 35 - 37 years old. The greatest peaks in the manifestation of symptoms are observed at 15-16, 21-24 and 26-28 years.

Bulimia and anorexia: the difference

People who are not familiar with eating disorders often confuse the two diseases, although they have significant differences. How dangerous is each of the pathologies? First of all, exhaustion and other, sometimes irreversible health consequences.

In women with anorexia, the obsessive desire to lose weight is accompanied by tight control over the amount of food consumed and its composition, as well as the amount of physical activity. Patients are afraid to get better, rarely attend noisy events because of the fear of having to eat, tend to hide their figure behind shapeless clothes. Often, such patients have certain rituals associated with nutrition: counting calories, crushing portions (even to very small sizes), preparing food and then throwing it away, and so on.

In patients with anorexia, weight quickly falls, while the consequences for the body can be very deplorable. Girls "lose" the menstrual cycle, often menstruation disappears altogether. Patients constantly feel cold, freeze even in warm weather, their hair falls out, their nails exfoliate and break from a lack of minerals. Often, after these manifestations, after some time, death occurs from exhaustion of the body.

A patient with bulimia behaves completely differently. Nutrition does not “frighten” such patients; total control over the amount of food eaten is unacceptable for them. On the contrary, bulimics constantly think about food, overeat, sometimes even hide food without any need. However, immediately after eating, patients take laxatives or induce vomiting. With bulimia, patients manage to take antidepressants (for example, fluoxetine, well known among anorexics and bulimics) to reduce appetite or lose weight. The diet follows one after the other, but the patient cannot stay on any of them, as he quickly breaks into food.

People with bulimia also suffer from changes in the body, just like anorexics. Bulimics experience constant irritation of the throat mucosa, small capillary hemorrhages on the face, tooth loss, decreased performance, chronic fatigue and muscle pain. Their weight can jump by 5 - 10 kg even for a short period of time. Depression, feelings of depression, self-hatred and guilt develop. The patient unjustifiably severely criticizes himself, but at the same time he needs the approval of society. Anorexia and bulimia have a number of similarities:

reasons - often both pathologies can cause disapproving words of others about a person’s appearance or his own low self-esteem;
stages - at first, both anorexia and bulimia go unnoticed by the patient, then gradually pathophysiological processes begin to develop, which can eventually lead to death;
symptoms and treatment - some similarity of symptoms is associated with the shame of patients in front of themselves and others (unwillingness to eat in public, constant weight control, depression, etc.), while treatment coincides in the need for psychological support for the patient.

Diagnosis of bulimia

Usually, an examination by a qualified psychiatrist is sufficient to make a diagnosis. He not only assesses the mental state of the patient and talks with him about the identified symptoms, but also observes his behavior, tries to detect pathophysiological signs of the disease (skin changes, an increase in the parotid salivary gland, muscle weakness, and others).

The best test for bulimia at home is an adequate assessment of your behavior, attitude towards yourself and your appearance. You can also try to understand if you have some of the above symptoms - overeating, depression, desire to take diet pills or medication to reduce appetite.

How to treat bulimia

Since it is impossible to “get sick” with bulimia in the usual sense of the word for an ordinary person, the treatment will not be easy. It must necessarily combine psychotherapeutic sessions, taking a certain number of drugs, support from loved ones and, of course, the desire of the patient himself to overcome the disease.

How to fight? You need to start with a consultation with a psychotherapist. Experience shows that patients with bulimia are most often treated on an outpatient basis, although hospitalization in a neuropsychiatric hospital is more effective. Round-the-clock monitoring of bulimics and their support by qualified medical personnel contribute to a speedy recovery. According to the rules, only patients with a significant deterioration in health, comorbidities, a combination of anorexia and bulimia, or weight loss of more than 20% of the original are subject to hospitalization.

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The patient must be prescribed courses of psychotherapy. The doctor helps the patient understand himself, the causes of eating disorders, and also forms his normal ideas about the weight and appearance of a person, ways to achieve success, etc. The psychotherapist supports the ward, helps him to understand the features of rational nutrition.

An important component of treatment will be the support of loved ones. Usually, relatives and friends of the patient, before visiting him in the clinic, consult with the doctor about “what can and cannot be” said, what topics can and cannot be discussed, and how best to set up a bulimic for recovery.

As for the medical method of treatment, it also has its own characteristics. The patient is prescribed drugs not only to get rid of the disorder itself, but also vitamin complexes, immunomodulators and other drugs to maintain health.

Interestingly, the previously mentioned drug fluoxetine is often used in the treatment of bulimia. If we consider this fact from a psychological point of view, then taking the medicine is not advisable. The patient may develop a craving for taking the drug for the sake of losing weight, reducing appetite, etc. For the same reason, fluoxetine is not prescribed for patients who have been diagnosed with two diagnoses at once: anorexia and bulimia.

Bulimia and pregnancy

Despite the fact that patients with eating disorders often have problems with women's health, some of them do become pregnant. Very often, it does not end with the birth of a child due to pathologies of gestation and mental problems of the mother.

During pregnancy in patients with bulimia, in addition to depression - a symptom of the disease, there is also a normal condition for expectant mothers - a change in hormonal levels. Moreover, such "jumps" of hormones can be both positive (sick women manage to cope with the disease and even recover from bulimia on their own), and negative (even more oppression, worries about appearance, etc.).

What does bulimia lead to in the latter case? The consequences are hard to predict. If you do not consult a psychiatrist in time, both a woman and a child or even children (with multiple pregnancies) may experience significant damage to internal organs, there are cases of spontaneous miscarriages. This is due to the use of laxatives and antidepressants, which are contraindicated during childbearing.

Do not hope for a miracle and do not try to find the answer to the question "How to treat bulimia at home?" This is a really serious pathology that requires the intervention of a doctor. If you try to cope with the disease on your own, you can provoke even more overeating, followed by weight gain and a repeated desire to lose everything that was gained. Units manage to get out of the vicious circle, and no one guarantees that you will be lucky to enter their number.