how long will it take for effects of bulimia to occur?

Question

when do the effects of bulimia start to occur?
how long do you need to be bulimic?

and don't say get help because this is for a report.
i find this easier and more effective then google.

thanks for sharing your story sh2007!
it helped a lot.

Answer 1

Hi,

i have been bulimic for about 3 years approximately (getting help currently). It's internal long term effects is something I haven't felt yet, perhaps they will take a while to show. People do say it starts to effect your internal organs after about a week or so.

However there are the straight away physcical effects such as burst blood vessals in the face, under the eyes. Extreme tireness, sore ribs/stomach/throat etc..

After a year or so I noticed the enamle on my teeth starting to go.

Also the emotional effects of feeling low self esteem, feeling of failure, shame, self lothing etc are pretty straight away..however sometimes they are the cause and not as a result.

Hope that helps a little
if you have any other questions for your report you can feel free to email me.
x

Answer 2

You see that's a tricky question because bulimia nervosa in and or itself has very few effects such as yellowing & wear on the teeth & gums from vomiting [dental problems & lose teeth, etc]. Frequent vomiting or diarrhea can damage intestines, kidneys, & cause potassium deficiencies and heart problems. But remember, not all bulimics vomit to purge [its called the binge-purge disorder]. People can be bulimic for years, they may even stop for awhile in between. There body wait stays about the same but there are fluctuations. On some occasions, the binge-purge disorder of bulimia makes the person start to lose weight to the point it is then considered anorexia nervosa. Anorexia is an official psychological disorder while bulimia isn't [as of 2003]. Compared to anorexia [which is almost all], half of bulimic women have irregular periods [amenorrheic] because some become drastically underweight like anorexics.Other than that, bulimia is about how the person feels about there control over the world around them. People with bulimia will binge [stuff themselves] then feel powerless and bad. To ease their anxiety and disgust, they purge [vomit, laxative, etc.]. This also makes them more hungry because vomiting takes away the feeling of fullness leading to more binging. This is why bulimics may become anorexic because they may chose to restrict [not eat] to gain control or ease anxiety. Other than that, People with bulimia have mood swings and other emotional problems but that's just a characteristic of those type of people not a cause of the disorder. So you really have to look at bulimia along side anorexia [they are so closely related] to get a real idea of time and effects.