Bulimia nervosa is a serious eating disorder characterized by frequent episodes of binge eating, followed by frantic efforts to avoid gaining weight that can be fatal if left untreated. If left untreated, bulimia nervosa can lead to serious and even life-threatening problems, such as depression, anxiety disorders, heart damage, kidney damage, injury to all parts of the digestive system, and severe dental damage. Bulimia nervosa, not unlike anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by eating large amounts of food and a need to eliminate what has been consumed.
Bulimia can be difficult to identify. When you’re struggling with bulimia, life is a constant battle between the desire to lose weight or stay thin and the overwhelming compulsion to binge eat. Bulimia Treatment is generally done using a team approach that includes you, your family, your primary care doctor or other medical provider, as well as mental health providers and dietitians experienced in treating eating disorders.
The most dangerous side effect of bulimia is dehydration due to purging. Low potassium levels trigger a wide range of symptoms ranging from lethargy and cloudy thinking to irregular heartbeat and death. Bulimia Treatment usually begins with psychological treatments, aimed to help you re-establish healthy attitudes towards eating. To treat the symptoms of bulimia nervosa, people often benefit significantly from therapy.
Treatment For Bulimia Nervosa involves psychological counseling and sometimes medicines such as antidepressants. Both professional counseling and antidepressant medicine can help reduce episodes of binging and purging and help you recover from bulimia.
Self-help support groups are an especially powerful and effective means of ensuring long-term treatment compliance and decrease the relapse rate.