diuretic use

Medical Complications of Purging in Bulimia Nervosa

Tetyana 1 Comment

Eating disorders are mental disorders with physical complications. Sometimes lots of them. I’ve blogged before about medical complications that are likely to come up in an emergency room setting, but that was a while ago. So I thought today I’d focus specifically on medical complications  that occur in bulimia nervosa (BN) as a result of purging (self-induced vomiting, laxative abuse, and diuretic abuse).

These complications are particularly important because patients with BN often appear healthy and can thus more easily hide their disorder, meaning that treatment is often initiated many years after disorder onset, and the duration of BN is often long, with recovery rates far lower than they should be (in one study, the 5-year recovery rate was a little more than 50%), which means that these complications can persist for many years.

I’ll go through some of the complications of self-induced vomiting, laxative abuse, diuretic abuse, … Continue reading →

Financial Burden of Bulimia Nervosa: Cost of Food, Laxatives, Diuretics, and Diet Pills Adds Up

Tetyana 12 Comments

The financial burden of bulimia nervosa can be substantial, and yet little is known about the monetary costs associated with bulimic symptoms. At least little is known in academic circles – there is definitely a lot of anecdotal evidence floating around the internet. I found just one paper from 2009 by Scott J. Crow and colleagues. I stumbled upon it accidentally, actually. I was searching for articles on the economic burden of eating disorders (treatment cost, productivity loss, etc..) for a post I’m planning, but I thought I’d write about this in the mean time.

It is a short paper but I think it is important because it highlights an often overlooked issue.

The method Crow et al used to evaluate how much money individuals with bulimia nervosa spend on food, laxatives, diuretics and diet pills is simple (keep in mind, this hasn’t really been done before). Essentially, they asked … Continue reading →