hi im fairly new and i posted on the high/low blood pressure part about this but then it ended up turning out with them talking about me getting help with my ed. so i decided to post here. ok well im 17 and have had ana/mia for the past year-ish. and ive always had low blood pressure but i took my bp early last week and it was 81/47 and my pulse was as low as like 42 and over the next couple days it was no higher than 105/65. my main ? is, do you think that this bp is TOO low to the point where i could die? and do you think this is caused by my ed (just to let you know my parents dont know and i havent been to a dr, diagnosed or anything) i just want facts about my bp please, i know that i need to get help for my ed but im not focusing on that right now! thanks for responding if you do!

I'm no blood pressure specialist but that sounds a little on the low side. I know that everyone is different, the bottom reading sounds low. Have you gone to a doctor to just talk about the blood pressure - it sounds like you're not ready to talk about the ED yet (that is perfectly fine:) ) It may be a good idea then you can quit worrying about it...remember that ED wreak havoc with your entire system whether you starve,throw up, overeat or a combination of things.....good luck

no i have not gone to the dr because i dont want to be found out about my ed. and no i am def. not ready to get help for my ed. im just not to that point yet. i know it would in best interest for me to get help because i know how bad it is but i just cant.... i will eventually. but im afraid if i go in for my blood pressure they will find my electorlytes to be imbalanced from purging or something that could make me discovered. do you know if theres a way to get checked out for my blood pressure without being discovered?

no there isn't..I find it interesting that you seem quite upset about your blood pressure but not as concerned about ED ( not putting you down at all just wondering) . Are you worried about your parents finding out? What if nothing did show up as far as ED but something did show up for your heart? If you choose to go see the doc you can pick and choose what you tell them - it would be better if you could be honest with them but if you are not ready then you are not ready. Are you old enough that you could tell your parents that you want to see the doctor alone and not have a parent in the room with you? Im kind of grasping at straws here. If you are over 18 then your parents don't need to know anything unless you want to tell them, some people tell some don't. If you went in for a regular check up they take your blood pressure...they usually will say hmm that's a little high today, or that's a little low kind of thing.... it seems like if you are worried about your blood pressure and want to find out whats really going on a doctor visit is in order - it sounds like you feel a little trapped or cornered at this point? Wish I could be more help

duh Texas I just re-read your first post. 17 yrs old - I feel stupid :) I have what some of us call ED brain... a little bit foggy sometimes

the only reason why im more concerned about my bp right now is because i know its something instant that can happen. and its something im not i guess ashamed? of.... ya i dont think im old enough to where i cant have my parents with me. since im 17 but even so they would end up telling my parents since im a minor. but i dont have to go to the normal doctor for a while and an orthopedic isnt gonna figure things out. but yes i guess in a way i feel trapped.....

what's your worst fear about the parents? They won't be any less upset or confused a year from now or even five years from now unless of course you don't have much of a relationship with them. Parents often take ED's personally - it really isn't about them at all

ya well i fear that ill put em thru more pain- they have had to deal with me with attempted suicide years ago and cutting and being depressed. i just dont want to add more pain to them. right after i tried to commit suicide when i was like 12 my mom started having panic attacks and became depressed and was put on a bunch of meds and my dad developed high blood pressure so i felt it was my fault so basically i dont want them to know cuz i dont want them to A. look like down upon me or look at me differently and B cause more pain/stress.ya parents do take it personally and i dont think its about them either its nothing they did or anything.....

you know it may be better to just reach out to them if you can - I know that almost sounds ridiculous but wouldn't it be better to say hey I have this problem instead of letting them find out if something bad should happen - like a heart attack or you pass out from throwing up or from not getting enough nutrition. As a mom of three I know which I would rather deal with even though both are really hard....it sounds like you've traded problems, all very dangerous ones at that. I'm not one to talk you know I'm not doing myself any good with my ED but my adult children know and the 14 yr old sort of knows so it isn't a secret anymore.... Are you in therapy or anything?

ya it probably would be better but honestly i dont want the help yet. im not ready to recover. this may sound bad or stupid but im not skinny enough to recover. i dont want to be the fattest one in recovery. thats my point of view. ya i would hate to have my parents find out from me having a major problem wtih my health like a heart attack or something like that. do you still suffer from an ED or are you recovered? no i am not in therapy i went a couple times but i convinced the lady i was fine... plus she also called me stupid for cutting... so i didnt like her!

Heya,
I think the only stupid one in that scenario was your therapist. But don't worry, they are not all like that I swear. The first therapist I saw ended up crying hysterically and then said she could not handle seeing me because my story had made her too sad. Gee, lady, try actually living my story. But anyway, I can laugh about it now because I have a therapist who is fantastic. No matter how stupid I feel I have been, she never judges me for it.
As for the blood pressure thing, well that is low. Your heart rate too. I would severely recommend you go get that checked out asap. People can die from heart attacks so easily, caused by their eds. You don't need to admit to an ed, they cannot prove anything if you aren't willing to share that information.
Please go get checked, nobody is trying to stop you from your ed if you are not ready. Besides, only you can make the decision to get better. But what if it kills you before you decide to get help? And that would hurt your parents a lot more.
More importantly though, your life is precious. Do not risk your life for this ed. And also, people can have an ed at any weight, and even when you are so thin you can barely walk you still feel too fat for help. It is part of the ed.
OK, thats enough waffling from me. I hope you get somehelp soon though.
Hugs from H :wave:

ya it was no fun with that lady. and i know that not all therapists are like that but i just prefer not to talk about my problems with someone i just met like thtat. my heart rate isnt usually that slow but thats the slowest its been. ya i unfortunately know that ppl can die from heart complications from an ED. but isnt it true that if i go into a dr and they figure it out they will tell my parents since im a minor? thanks for understanding that im not ready to get help. i posted this in the blood pressure area and they didnt understand

I don't know how they will figure it out unless you tell them - lab tests don't come back with "suspicious for eating disorder:) and neither do EKG or any of that. GO SEE THE DOCTOR!!!! Tell them your symptoms leave out the ED part if that is what you choose to do, so many of the ED symptoms you can have from other medical issues...

ya but if they draw blood and see that my electrolytes are imbalanced.... and i know that will be a red flagwith my low blood pressure and everything.... so i dont know

and those can be out balance for a multitude of reasons not just ED please Texas try not to be so stubborn....:) I am a social worker in a hospital - I see labs out of whack everyday and they don't all have ED... if you have an infection they can be out of balance, if you are dehydrated they can be out of balance I promise....

ok. if i take it again tommorrow and its still that low ill tell my parents and see what they say. im not trying to be stubborn i just really dont want it out in the open.....

I can tell you exactly why your bp is low. I have been bullemic for 17 years, and in the last 2 weeks I have finally began to gain contol. When you purge regularly you get dehydrated and your body is deprived of necessary electolytes such as potassium, sodium, magnesium and calcium. They effect your heart functions. The medical problem is called Hyperkelemia and it can be fatal. I have always had a low bp, around 90/60, because I am thin, and bullemic, plus I exercise, but a pulse rate of 42 is dangerously too low. I know this because I have fainted many times in public places over the last years. I suggest you tell your doctor this and if you continue to purge you really need to be given Potassium Chloride or Klor-con. You are young and your body can probably take it, but now at the age of 35 realizing for the first time I have the power to get better, I just wish I could have known this when I was your age. Google hyperkelemia and go to the doctor and have him check your electrolytes. Good luck my friend.

im mostly anorexic with i guess bulimic tendencies... i have been trying not to purge because i know that it would kill me faster than anorexia.ill look up the hyperkelemia today. the pulse of 42 was the lowest ive sen it at normally its around 60 but sometimes it falls. i havent fainted yet becuase of this but i have come close to and am always lightheaded/get dizzy. but its not too too bad. ill check my bp again today. thanks

Don't be fooled by the thought that bullemia will kill you faster than anorexia. Au contaire Texas Cowgirl. I have lived with severe bullemia, really severe, for 17 years and I am stll kicking. It takes approx 40 days of starvation to lead to death, so do the math. Plus with the bullemia, it's a slow death and while you get older your life is miserable because your hair falls out, your skin looks terrible, you are irritable all of the time and basically your whole life becomes controlled by it. As I said before I am just beginning to gain control. I never thought I would live past 30, and now at the age of 35, after seing that I do have the strength and the ability to get better, I just wish it happened years and years ago. Please stay in touch, we can help eachother I think.

i know that both can kill and i honestly would rather not die anyways! but i will eventually get to the point where ill break down and get help or i will be caught and be forced to get help. i could never end up fasting for 40 days so id ont have to worry about that. i can last a week at most. but by then i end up binging! then i purge so its a cycle definitely! are you recieving help right now or attempting it yourself?

I am trying to find a therapist, one I saw that I didn't like, the 2nd is closing his practice on the first of Sept, real ethical huh? Mostly, I hit rock bottom about 2 and half weeks ago. I was ready to kill myself. I decided that when you are at the bottom you have no where to go but up, so I started working out, getting sun every day, (I have a nice pool and gym at my apt building)
and I have been taking small doses of herbal supplements that I bought at GNC which are helping me. I don't know if I am allowed to say that on theses boards. I called a therapist that I have kept in touch with for 13 years sice I was last treated with him, he helped me alot, but I moved out of the state. He has agreed to have phone therapy with me, for a short term basis, while he helps me look for a therapist in the area I live. I don't know what kind of realtionship you have with your parents, if you are in school or work, and you are younger than I am, but if I can help you even the tiniest bit, then it helps me that much more. Keep in touch. I am on line every day.

Wow sounds like fun trying to find a therapist! Ive been to that point…. Ready to kill myself but it was a couple years ago. I still think about it but I couldn’t do it to my family and friends. that’s awesome that hes willing to do phone therapy with you! I don’t have a great relationship with my parents. We fight quite often and I am in school and work im very stressed by both right now actually! And yes im younger- im only 17 I don’t know if you knew that. Have you been to a dr about ur ED or anything. Have you been like diagnosed?

Sorry I didn't rely rigth away. I have a long history with my ed. It really started when I was about 11 ang got a book from the library on how to fast. I wasn't really overweight when I was young, but my mom used to go to these Overeaters Anonymous meetings, and she wasn't even overweight. I think she went to make herself feel better around bigger women, sick right? Anyway she made me come to a meeting with her and then put me on some diet and the food tasted awful and so I figured I must be fat and there is where it all began. My parents got divorced when I was 15, a frosh in highschool and I gained like 30 pounds . Over the next 4 years would strve mysels, lose some weight put it back on, then discovered laxatives and Ipecac. Any one reading this DO NOT USE IPECAC, plesae it will kill you I promise. At 17 I felt suicidal and was hospitalized and told I had an ed, which I thought could not be true because I was over weight. Between 17 and 21 I was hospitalized 4 more times for Bullemia, depression and Borderline Personality Disorder. I finally got my weight down and have been able to maintain 87 lbs, whic for my 5 foot frame, I am told is too low, for the last 13 years from the bigeing and purging. Now I am doing better, I have only purged twice in the last 9 days which I think is a major inprovement, being that I hadnt had one day in the last 15 years that I didn't purge. So yes I am diagnosedand trying to get help after 13 years of no therapy. If you can't talk to tour parents, I have an idea for you. Go to myselfhelp.com. IT costs $15 a month for complete online access. Just scheck it out. My phone therapist advised me to do this. Texas cowgirl I wan to save you from too many years of a wasted life. You can get control, and one last thing. You are still in puberty, It doesn't really end until about age 22-24 and your hormones will mess up your body and mind the most at this time. Please Please Please get help. I am totally here for you.

Hi TexasCowgirl8, One more thing I forgot to mention, if I am allowed, was about your comment about not killing yourself because of what it would do to your friends and family. I know first hand what it does, because my identical twin sister killed herself when we were 21, and she suffered the same problems that I do. It destroyed my family and even made my realtionship with my older sister basically become estranged. We have only talked or seen eachother once at a family reunion is about 12 years. I think she was afraid I would do the same thing now. So that's what has kept me from doing it all these years, I would get to that rock bottom place then think of my sister, my family and my husband, and it always stopped me.
Keep in touch, please.

wow- youve had a long struggle with this. youve been hospitalized many times but never recovered? are you attempting it right now? ill look into that website you told me about but i dont know how much i would end up using it especially for 15$ a month. im a student.... im broke lol. but yesterday my parents approached me with telling me they may have to file bankruptcy with their business.... which means we dont have money which makes me feel worse about coming clean because that would mean we would be spending ALOT of money that we dont have. the reasons taht you have with your family and suicide are the reasons why i wont do it either. i havent had to deal with it in my family but a girl in my school killed herself a year ago yesterday and i wasnt even like close to her but it hit me hard....i just cant do that to the people i know anymore. i cant be that selfish- in my heart i know things will eventually get better even if its not good right now. i think i want to start going to a therapist but honestly i dont know if i could sit there and spill my problems to someone i dont really know. and have to worry about if ill be called stupid again. and i dont want to ask my parents cuz then it will bring on a long convo of why do i need it and all that. depression runs in my family so i know it would be no shock to them if something happened with me.

You sound very smart and very concerned with many things right now. It seems like you are carrying an excessive amount of stress on your shoulders. I am proud of your reasons not to kill yourself. If you can't afford therapy, remember you have me and the others on these boards who are here to support you. Stay strong my friend and try to focus on you and taking care of yourself. If you feel like a burden to your family, just think how if you get sicker you will feel even more like a burden to them. Trust me on this one, I know from first hand experiece. If you can see a therapist, find the right one, someone you feel comfortable with, you don't have to talk to the first one you see. Again trust me again on this. A therapist will never tell you that you are stupid, and if one does, immediately, realize he is not a professional and try to find someone who is. Hang in there Texascowgirl. :wave:

thanks. yes i do feel like i carry alot of stress and other things right now. im trying to graduate early from school so my schedule is very hectic. its very difficult right now. for a while i had about 5 things going on that took up at least 8-9 hours aday to do. right now i feel like i have no social life. my nights are spent working. and right now im trying to figure out how i can help my parents out with the business... im going to ask for more hours at work and try to explain to them why without letting them know my life story! that way i can earn money to help out my parents. only problem is gettin them to accept the money :rolleyes:... ya maybe once all this money issue is better i can attempt to find a therapist. i did have a therapist call me stupid for cutting thats why i dont want to go to one. plus i know that they can legally tell my parents things that they think is harmful to me... like if i told about my ED to them... they are able to tell my mom. this happened last time i wouldnt tell her anything about illgeal stuff because i knew she could tell my mom and i didnt want that so i had to lie to her. but i hated her anyways! thanks for being soooo understanding with me! when i was on the blood pressure area of this site the ppl couldnt understand me and it was quite difficult but i appreciate A. that you dont treat me like a kid since i am younger and B. that you understand the ED part of this situation and C. that your not like trying to force me to go recover. just letting you know what it means to me! :)

I am so not here to judge you. I was you, I am you. Listening to you is like listening to myself when I was 17. I jus t don't want you to be on these board 17 years from now talking to a 17 year old about how you are still bulimic. When you said cutting, dd you mean the cutitng I am thinking about? I never did that but my twin did that. It said it made her feel alive. Just remember the more you cut yourself, the more scars you will have that will be permanent to remind you forever, Try to work on healing your internal scars. It is not your responsibility to tkae care of your parents right now. I know you want to help them, but you need to help yourself first. I actually had a binge tonight and I had been doing so well and I was so upset. I have a good relationship with my mom, and after talking with her I was able to understand what the feelings were that caused it and I will jump right back on my saddle. We all have our good moments and bad ones, but remember they are just moments and they pass.
I am going to bed now, it's been a very emotional evening for me. Take care, hope to hear fro you soon.

ya i know what you mean. yes i meant cutting as in like self injury. i havent in a while though. i was talking with my mom the other day about therapists and such and we were talking about the last lady i saw and i said i hated her and she said you probably would hate anyone cuz you dont wanna go to a therapist i was like thats not true i hate her cuz she called me stupid (for cutting) and she goes well you were... i just sat there.... then was like f you and got up and walked away. this is what im talking about... they dont make things easy. and when my mom was scheduling my bone density test ( not because of the ED) she was on the phone with the lady and she was like i know yall can do them for her age cuz shes young to have this done but i know bc of like eating disorders, but this isnt the case... it sounded almost like she would disown me if i did. even tho she claims she was anorexic when she was younger. highly doubtful. i even talked to my aunt (her sister) about it. o well. im just really tired of dealing with all this now!

Remember how I told you to take care of you? I know it is hard right now because you are young and living at home, but imagine a forcefield around you, that bad therapists and unsupportive parents or people can not breakthrough and come to the boards for help and cyberhugs to recharge that forcefield when you need it. Right now I am adding a huge amount of power to it. Stay strong ! :bouncing: That's my positive energy for you today. :wave:

Both anorexia and bulimia can have devastating effects on your heart- in fact, most, if not all, of women who die of eating disorders die of heart failure. Of course, some fluctuation in blood pressure is very common... but your pulse is way too low. I don't know how long your heart rate has to stay low until it hurts you permanently, but low blood pressure and a low heart rate can cause brain damage and organ damage, especially to your liver and reproductive system. Underneath it all, you care about yourself and you want to live happily... I've been there, and I wish I knew how to convince you to confront your ED :(.

thanks bk.... ive been ignoring my mom lately and hopefully things will get better. i am having alot of issues with firends and guys but htey dont know what the bad thing with that is it either makes me go days w/o eating or makes me binge and purge more. but im trying to not do that.

my pulse isnt normally in the 40's just sometimes. my bp has been aroune 90/55 lately but i still feel like im gonna pass out sometimes. i know i should get help for my ed and ive been thinking about it but i just cant pull thru with it. i dont know....

Texascogirl, please read the threads and posts between snitter and myself. We are really bonding and getting so much help from eachother, and I feel that same kind of bond with you, so please join our race and I give you a big cyberhuf for the day. :wave: :bouncing: