even tho i dont purge NEAR as much as i used to, i have a horrible habit of regurgitation. now and days every time i see a pic of me my face looks so bloated and huge!! my cheeks seem to be puffy nonstop. i naurally have a rounder, fuller face cuz of genetics, but im not shure if this is genetic. it could be my ED telling me im fat, or i really dont know...if i find a way to stop this dumb gross discusting habit of rechewing my food, do u think my face mite not look as "big?"

I have been bullimic for 17 years. At first I had to induce it with other means and that definitely caused my face to bulge. It is NOT your ED telling you that you are fat. Excessive chewing can lead to swollen parotid glands (salivary glands) which cause the face to swell. I notice my gland swell from dehydration and too much salt or chemicals that contain salt. Try to stay hydrated and don't chew so much. The longer you have a problem the more your body probably wants to let you know it's bad for you. Take it as a sign and stop! I wish I could! Good luck.

wil my cheeks go down when i stop?

Yes they will Sammy T. If you have ever read any info. on bulimics, which i'm sure you have, they will adopt the "chipmunk cheeks" look. I have the same rounder face issue caused by genetics, and beleive me I don't need to be causing myself to achieve an even rounder one. It does not mean you're fat, just that your glands are swelling and you have a problem.

o man, now i have just realized something...well this regurgitation is a nasty habit i have that i want to let go of but yet i dont. im addicted literally!! even tho im keeping the food down more often, i could still get rotten teeth. i love my teeth and i dont want them to fall out. i dont regurgitate until the acids come, just when its still food. im so scared and panicing...AAH!

Hi SammyT- I am confused as to what you mean when you say "regurgitation". Is that throwing up? Also about your puffy face question- My face was definitly A lot rounder and puffier when I was purging a few times a day or week. Now that its a lot less- maybe once a month or I could go 6 months without purging, its back to normal and a lot more slender, so Your glands do go back to normal. :)

I have been bulimic for just over 10 years and I dont think that I have the puffy cheeks. I have heard so many people talk about this and everytime I wonder why I dont have this. Am I just lucky in this aspect or do alot of people who suffer from bulimia not have this?

Jamie

by regurgitation, i mean, the food comes up, and i have no choice but to rechew and swallow in order to keep it down. i dont do it purposely. but i cant stop. i think i screwed up my refluxes or something. im scared becasue its no better for my teeth than purging and i really dont want my teeth to fall out. :S

SammyT-
I am really paranoid about my teeth too. I wonder how much damage I have done over the past 10 years... I am a lot better now, but still once in a while I will B and P.
The thing that made me feel a lot better was to tell my dentist. I actually told the hygenist who was cleaning my teeth that I "used to be" Bulimic and did my teeth look damaged in any way? She was super sweet and looked at them very carefully and said they looked fine. The Dr. then looked and said they didn't show any signs of damage.
So, I guess I am very, very lucky. Just make sure you go tto the dentist regularly! A lot of times they can fix a small problem easily, its when the problem gets bigger it gets harder and more expensive to fix.

i was bulimic for a while in junior high and part of highschool... people were always telling me my face looked sunken in and skeleten like. :bouncing:

I have been anorexic for 12 years and bullimic for about 9...I too noticed the glands just below my jawline (saliva glands i think) began to get swollen after a couple years of b and p. I'm pretty self-conscious about it. I have noticed that the swelling seems to go down a little when I am able to stop the b and p'ing for a while. Unfortunately, it's pretty rare that i am able to have that kind of success. I think the only times I am able to control my e.d. is when i'm on vactaion. Too bad life can't be one big long holiday away from stress and turmoil - then i could escape my e.d. permanently!! But there is no easy solution is there...
As for my teeth...i have had to undergo a number of root canals and now have two veneers on my two front teeth. The enamel is wearing away on many of my teeth now. It's incredibly upsetting...and expensive.
If there is any deterrent to stop this behaviour...the wasting away of your body, teeth and appearance is definitely a big one. Trust me.