Has anyone had bulimia for 20 years or more? What are the long term effects of this activity?

Question

I have purged occasionally for the last 27 years. I am 40 years old and might go a month without purging, but then I might purge 5 times in a week. I am wondering if anyone else is in my situation and if they are suffering physically in any way.
Thanks for your time.

Answer 1

The long term effect of Bulimia is really trajec, I am afraid. The throat cannot handle the constant purging, and will, eventually, start to bleed very heavily, and cause death.
I have seen many people with Bulimia, and watched them scarf down huge amounts of food at a time. Then, they excuse themselves to the bathroom. There, a finger is pushed down their throat until vomiting occurs. This is very much LIKE Anorexia. Anorexics will just avoid eating food, period. The anorexic's body starts to live off the body, itself, and the person will starve to death.
Bulimic people have the really strong desire not to gain weight, as the Anorexics do, but the act of causing all the food to come back up, again, will, eventually end in bleeding to death.
Anyone who finds himself/herself forcing food to come back up and to vomit the food, is seriously ill, and needs attention. Using medications to force diarhea or forcing a finger down the throat are very, very serious actions, and truly must be dealt with at the doctor level.
Normally, the person doing any of this has a 'not true' self picture of his/her own weight. To people with these problems, the mirror just lies! The mirror tells them that they are FAT, when, normally, these people are extremely thin, and in need of nutritious food that STAYS in the system. It does no good to tell these people that they are thin, when, their mirrors tell them they are just chunky fat.
Please, if you truly have this problem, and it IS a huge problem, see your doctor and tell the truth. Telling the truth when anyone is anorexic or bulimic is very hard to do. No one wants to admit that he/she is causing vomiting or diarhea in himself/herself. If you want to stay alive, see your doctor, tell your doctor the truth, and see how the doctor can help you. I guarantee, you are NOT even borderline heavy if you have any of these symptoms.

Answer 2

Effects of Bulimia Nervosa

The frequent purging that occurs with bulimia does serious damage to the body.

Self-induced vomiting:

# Damages the digestive system: it can cause a peptic ulcer which is an area of the stomach or duodenal lining which becomes eroded by stomach acid. These are known as peptic ulcers. The symptoms can vary, with some people not noticing anything out of the ordinary but others may vomit blood and experience abdomen or chest pains. The pain is usually increased when the individual eats or drinks. Peptic ulcers can be serious and need immediate attention if you are vomiting blood or passing digested blood in your stools.
# Damages the oesophagus (throat), since stomach acid irritates the oesophagus, which can cause inflammation and raw areas, sometimes making swallowing painful. Of greater concern is a rupture of the oesophagus, because this can be fatal in some cases. A Mallory-Weiss tear is the technical term for the rupture or tearing of the mucous membrane of the oesophagus at its junction with the stomach. It is caused by repeated vomiting and the person will have bright red blood in their vomit. You should always consult your doctor if you are vomiting blood.
# Brings stomach acids into the mouth, causing the tooth enamel to wear away, and tooth decay to occur, giving the teeth a ragged appearance and cavities. Eventually all teeth may need extraction. If you are bulimic, it is recommended that you do NOT brush your teeth straight after vomiting. Instead you should drink water, as this will be gentler on your teeth and help replenish lost fluids.
# Swollen salivary glands
# Stomach cramps and difficulty in swallowing
# Dehydration: The healthy functioning of cells and tissues is dependent upon a certain level of water content in the body. Also, salt and other minerals need to be kept within a narrow range. In a person who has become dehydrated, it's possible they are suffering from a depletion in salt as well as water. Long term dehydration can ultimately lead to kidney failure. Amongst bulimics, dehydration usually occurs because the stomach is being emptied of its gastric fluids.

Abuse of laxatives and diuretics:

# Causes constipation, sicne the body can no longer produce a bowel movement on its own
# Bloating, water retention, and oedema (swelling) of the stomach.
# Because the body is constantly being denied the nutrients and fluids it needs to survive, the kidneys and heart will also suffer. Specifically, a lack of potassium will result in cardiac abnormalities and possible kidney failure, which can also result in death.