I was just wondering how long everyone with bulimia has been sick with it? (if you care to discuss it). I think I may be one of the "longest" bulimics on here...going on 9 years.

I have been bulimic for 11 years.

Hi maggie...I am not at all "happy" to hear that you have been bulimic for 11 years...I am very very sorry..but It is kind of comforting to hear that I'm not the only "long term bulimic."

Has anything ever helped you with your bulimia? I haven't found anything that has helped. I am starting to get very very worried about the long term effects of bulmia...like, I keep thinking I will die of a heart attack, if not now than prematurely at age 35 or something.

I have gone years and mths with out 'being sick'. So I have stopped for long periods of time. But food, weight loss, and the thought of throwing up, has been on my mind every day for 11 years. This last year(12 mths) Ive made my sick at least once a week. I just told my husband 5 days ago about my prob and was told i'm supposed to be finding help bye my self. Its just hard.

About long term effects. Thats tricky for me. Half of my brain is telling me i have done it of and on, like i said ive stopped for long periods of time. So i think nothing will bad will happen. So I just blow it off. The other side of my brain tells me Well duh you are harming your self and WILL die if it continues. I have never gotten help. I will though. Like I said its only been 5 days since i have asked for help.

I am too happy to know you and others are going threw the same thing. Ok so i'm not happy about it at all but you know what I mean.
I hope you continue to get help untill help works for you.

my heart goes out to you both. i don't know what i am really. i think i was anorexic (but not super horribly, but still bad) then into some serious binge eating which i never threw up after (i can't make myself do it) but i used to exercise and eat VERY little the next day, so i think it still qualifies as some form of bulimia. now i just binge without much ryhme or reason, but i force myself to eat "normal" (1200 calories) the next day. IT SUCKS. i just went into the therapist for the first time yesterday, and i'm SO excited to start getting help.

anyway, what i meant to say is that i've been dealing with this total problem for a little over two years, and this binge, etc. problem for about 9 months. it's so hard and it has completely dominated and ruined my life. i feel for both of you. you WILL get better someday, and you are each VERY strong for getting through so many years in ED hell.

best of luck.

it's around 7 years for me....and i'm still on square one. I am more educated and aware in regards to my disorder. i know why i do it and what triggers me, but I dont stop myself, and physically, I am worse now than I have ever been...sigh

Coming up six years now, but was doing really well for a couple of years. This years been pretty bad, but I'm more anorexic than bulimic. In the end, we're all in the same boat I guess. I wouldn't personally want anyone to even have to go through a month of this.

Hi fellow E.D.'r-Guess I'm An unusual case. I'm a 48 yr.male. Bulimic 15 yrs. It's driving me crazy but can't stop. also recovering Alcoholic w/major depression & P.T.S.D.

Hmmm.... It started with binge eating when I was about 15, then turned into bulimia (throwing up and excessive exercise), so I guess my time is in the 13-14 year range. Wow- I never really thought about it like that. That makes it all the more "real". My bulimia has been very under control for the past 6 months or so, but I do slip up every once in a while.... like 15 minutes ago, for example... I am supposed to go away hiking and camping for the weekend with 3 girls who are best friends... I guess I am feeling nervous about that. I dont know if its going to go well or not- what if we get out there and these girls exclude me?-wouldnt be the first time thats happened. I'm scared not having enyone there to lean on if they exclude me. Anyways... waaaaay off topic.

ED's are a incredibly hard thing to beat (I am Mrs. Obvious)... its not surprising that everyone who has responded to your question, and yourself, has been dealing with it for some time.... I dont think you ever actually "recover"- I think you just learn to control it.

Take care of yourselves!!!!!
Becky

feb 18th was 10 years for me

This tread caught my eye and although I have'nt had an eating disorder for years I just thought I'd share my experience. It feels a bit strange thinking of myself as bulimic now because it's been 13 years since I practiced it. I was anorexic as teenager and could'nt handle the starvation in my 20's so turned to bulimia. I remained bulimic for almost 13 years. I did'nt recieve treatment, although at the time I don't think it was as recognized as it is today. What 'cured' me was that I just got absolutely scared of dying from a heart attack and the image of being found slumped over with my head down the toilet, terrified me. I found I could no longer make myself sick because of my fear. The strange thing is that while I spent all those years battling with food and my appetite once, I stopped being bulimic I have never had a weight problem since and my weight has remained steady.
I wish you all well, I know what a hell it can be.

2 years for me..almost 3. Boo...im so sorry to all of u who have been bulimic for over 10 years and longer than me...thats crazy...i shure hope u all get better soon :)

I have been bulimic for over 10 years... I am in recovery for the 3rd time... Hopefully the last time....
Nicole :angel:

2years - pitiful compared to everyone else erally!

xx :bouncing: :bouncing: :bouncing:

There's nothing pitiful about it.... I for one haven't exactly enjoyed the past six years, and six years isn't even a lot compared to some poor people. :(

wow, this is so weird writing it out. I have been bulimic for 2 years. It seems so strange. I remember the first time perfectly well, but all the times between now and then kind of blend together and I forget how long it's actually been. And now I know I need to tell someone but I am scared about what that will mean.

Oh my, it'll be 13 years in September that I've been struggling with both anorexia and bulimia.

Thanks to everyone who replyed...I actually just did the math....it will be NINE years this winter since I started the bulimia. I was "recovered" for a year and half but I still count that time as my being bulimic because I still obsessed over it every day. I agree with the person (sorry, forgot your name!) who said she was so scared to think of herself dying of a heart attack and someone finding her slumped over the toliet...that goes through my mind every time I do it and I just cry and cry afterwards. Everytime I throw up, I make a bargain with God and say, "I promise this will be my last time if you just don't let me die tonight...", but I always renig on my promise and do it again, making the same bargain with God over and over again!! I half expect myself to die every night but I always wake up in the morning again, and I make myself forget all the fear I have of dying and I throw up again....I really do wonder how long I can go on like this.
I once asked myself, philosophically, "Would I just rather kill myself than live like this for the rest of my life?" and my answer was, sadly...."No, because I LIKE TO EAT TOO MUCH." Sad, Sad, Sad.
I do love life, however sad it is for me, and it sickens me to think that I could die because of food.

Well, perhaps I have everyone beat. 25 years. It started out slowly when I was about 18 (I'm 43 now). It was full blown in my early 20's with anorexia on top of it. I have had periods of "remission" with no urges whatsoever. But once the cycle starts up, it is vicious and hard to break. I've also been all over the scale as far as weight goes.

I have been doing well over the last few months, but dammit, I've packed on some weight lately (which is a trigger for me) and the binges have been hitting me a couple times a week.

Anyway, I urge you all to PLEASE take care of your health. Back in the early 80's when it was really bad for me, I thought I was the ONLY person with it. I had no one to talk to. It was a huge secret that no one knew abouot. I didn't know about the damage it was doing and what I could do to help ease the damage I was doing. Most of my teeth are crowned. The ones not crowned are very sensitive. I feel that I look older than my 43 years. And I have gut troubles.

I do see a doctor and take antidepressants which do help. So long as I don't get in the vicious cycle, eat right, and take care of myself, I can usually keep the monster at bay. But there are those times when I get really stressed and the monster takes over.

~zeez

It started for me when I was 12, and I'll be 50 in November. I can echo what zeez has said.

When I first got sick, there was one book out about Anorexia Nervosa by Hilda Bruch. Binging and vomiting was a part of it. There was no word 'bulimia'. There were no Eating Disorders. And I was hospitalized in a general psych ward and they didn't know how to help me.

One thing that I didn't really know until recently (the past 15 years or so) is that the disease is progressive. When it comes and goes, and then comes back, it comes back worse. Avail yourselves of the modern treatment that's now offered. I just wish the insurance companies had it more together to pick up the tab because treatment can take decades.

New here. Just thought I'd reply to this really quick, but I was bulimic/anorexic for probably 15 years. I wasn't full anorexic, but tried to starve myself and ... well, when I couldn't you all know what happens next :(
I would throw up several times a day.
Anyhow, I am fully recovered, been so about 10 years I guess. Hope this gives hope to others that it IS possible to get over such a horrible disease (and I did it w/o therapy).

Well I have had a problem with the idea of eating for around 14 years. Have had an eating disorder for ten and a half years. Predominantly I have stayed as a purging anoretic. So I do purge, sometimes very often, but usually what I would class as a binge is not classed as a binge by my ed team, just classed as a normal, or even less than normal, meal.
I wanted to agree with Staceycat though, to try and encourage people to get help asap. The longer you leave an eating disorder, the worse it gets, physically and emotionally. I have caused a list, too disgusting to write, of damage that has happened to my body. I swear my poor body feels as if it must be time to retire, yet I am only 24.
The amount of time you have suffered though is not a measure by which to feel blase about your ed. Just because someone else has suffered longer than you may have does not make it any less dangerous and potentially fatal for you to practice an ed. I knew a guy who was bulimic, and only 3months into his first bout he had a heart attack and nearly died. If he had not already been in the hospital he most probably would have died that day.
It is possible to get better though. I have seen it with my own eyes, people who have literally nearly been at deaths door that have suddenly found the courage to allow themselves to leran to live again.
I hope the same happens for you all very soon. I would not wish an eating disorder on my worst enemy.
Hugs from H :wave:

PS - To all my friends of old, I hope you are all doing well. I still think of you all the time.

holy...those are alot of years...im so sorry to EVERYONE HERE! i just wanted to post that i love u all and i pray for u all everyday...literally i do. nobody should live thru this for those many years...no no no....stay strong peeps!! for WE WILL BEAT THIS WHEN OUR DAY COMES>>>AND OUR DAY WILL COME SOON....U SEE :)

I think some people can be bulimic for years and learn to deal with it...and I do think in a way our bodies "adjust" to it. And others can be bulimic for such a short time and not be able to deal with it, and die from it. I don't know how some of our bodies hold up for so long. It is a miracle or accomidation?

Hope everyone is well..

A quick question. If a heart attack brought on my bulimia only or mainly caused by our bodies potassium level dropping? My potassium has never been low and it bewilders me...However, I always did eat a banana after a purge to increase my potassium.

mines adjusted....i dotn even have to force myself to throw up, it just comes up...which is an advantage for my ED, but for me as in Samantha, it sucks..

Hey SammyT

I read that the problem you have with your food just coming back up, not having the make yourself throw up, is a form of severe acid reflux?? Have you ever asked about this? I know even some non bulimic people with severe reflux regurgitate their food.

o i regurgitate like mad....i am rite now actually. after every meal i rechew my food for a couple hours..is discusting i know, i dunno what it is..i havent told nebody yet but i have been looking for info and i found "rumination" disorder? but it sed it wasm ostly found in babies. its gross, i always sumwhat hide away after eating with ppl cuz my cheeks will puff up then go normal, then puff up then go normal. its gross but i have no idea how to stop.

one year for me... almost exactly.

i started on my birthday last year... i was feeling a little chubby and the fact i had just eaten a big slice of birthday cake wasn't helping matters. i thought throwing up would be an okay quick-fix as long as i only did it once.

until then, i had no idea PUKING could be addictive! :(

I'm 35 and I've been anorexic and bulimic since the age of 13. Scary huh? It started out as a simple diet from thinking I was horridly fat and the scary thing was I was already thin at that time. How wrong was that?! Anyway.... I would over exercise til I'd almost pass out, and discovered that the chew-spit-out food technique was a way to staying thin. Icky.... I feel gross thinking about all the things I've done to myself.... Oh.... And... The self starvation. I don't even want to think about that.

To me this ED is like a demon. I absolutely hate it. Luckily, I have a good pdoc/tdoc who have helped me a long the way. Things are on the up and up in my life. Right now I'm seeing a nutritionist every month to help assist with my eating habits.

coffeegirl...

I'm not bulimic but does smashing a few TUMS in water help with neutralizing the acid that tears the esophogus(sp?)