Recovered from an eating disorder and now plauged with anxiety

[velvet_diamonds]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here. Feel so relieved to have found an online community that's home to people who understand how horrible anxiety is.

I'm 21 now and suffered with bulimia from the age of 15 until last summer. I confided in my mother and she told me she'd also had it when she was younger. She's since helped me recover by making me healthy, light meals and talking about it etc. I went to the doctors and they took the salt levels in my blood, monitored my heart, weight etc and said I should be fine provided I start eating properly.

However as soon as I stopped my binging and purging habits I became plagued with anxiety. The main symptom is constantly feeling like there is trapped wind in my chest. It helps when I drink water but never completely goes away. I also feel disorientated all the time and sometimes it even feels like the floor is moving under my feet. My insides also make strange noises all day and people often comment on this!

Night times are an absolute nightmare as soon after I dropped off I wake up feeling like I've suddenly stopped breathing and whenever I do manage to get sleep I wake up clammy and panicking in the morning. Sometimes my whole body feels numb so im scared to stand up and I also get chest pains on the left side. I'm very frightened about the chest pains, especially as I've read that bulimics/former bulimics have an increased chance of having a heart attack and that 10% eventually die from their disorder.

I was out drinking last night and my symptoms today have been terrible so I think that has an effect. If ever I feel I've eaten too much my symptoms go beyond control too but I've managed to resist the urge to purge my food for months.

Can anyone empathise? x

[Nechtan]

Hi,

Sorry I cannot relate personally to your story but my wife was bulimiac when I first met her- unknown to me in the beginning. This was before my own anxiety and when I eventually found out we dealt with it together. A bit like you and your mum. It was really hard for her at the start and she had alot of strange symptoms she had never experienced before. With time though they went.

In your own case I think you really need to talk to your GP again. It is a big transition for you and any doubts you have should be adressed to put your mind at rest. Your body will be going through changes now which is why you will be experiencing some symptoms that are foreign to you. But you should not be left alone to deal with this. Your GP should be either helping you through it with regular appointments or refer you to someone who can do just that. It is not fair to be dealing with this on your own so please insist on getting regular visits so your progress can be checked.

Take care and I hope your progress is swift,

Nechtan

[Emaa]

Hi [: Welcome to NMP

I think it's your body just getting used to food again properly. Your mind too.

I think the feeling of being disorientated is probably from anxiety, The stopping breathing in the sleep thing, I get that! And I wake up clammy. I know that IS just anxiety. When the doctor told me it sounded like panic attacks I thought she was wrong because I didn't even feel panicky at the time this would happen.. But when I started to accept they were panic attacks they've stopped - Almost completely now (In my sleep anyways) It's horrible, I got to the point where I was scared to go to sleep because of it, and I was researching horrible things - Which didn't help.

Yes bulimics have an increased chance of having a heart attack, but you're over that now right? So your chance won't be TOO high and it won't get any higher anyway. The 10% thing wouldn't really apply to you any more because you're passed that [:

It really sounds like your symptoms are psychological - With them getting worse if you've eaten too much and after drinking alcohol (I can't drink due to my anxiety as it makes it worse)

I know I've probably not been much help, but I saw no-one replied and I didn't want you to think you were on your own [: xx

[Dominic1975]

Many of your symptoms, many of us on here will have experienced and they are really frieghtening an un-pleasant.... Be assured your not going to die and this is anxiety to are experiencing
I would go to your gp and may arrange an ecg heart tracker, so you can put your mind at ease that there is nothing wrong in this area
I hop you are able to get your anxiety under control soon.... your gp should also be able to help you with arranging therapy or medication which ever will help you

[spaced]

:welcome: hi and welcome to NMP:)
you are not on your own with feeling the way you do i had an eating disorder when i was young. now your syptoms sound like anxiety your eating disorder was probaly due to some form of anxiety too so now your starting to deal with that the symptoms of anxiety are showing in a different form i just want you to know you are not alone:hugs:

[velvet_diamonds]

Thank you everyone for your replies. You've made me feel better already. Even just being reassured a bit that these symptoms arent life threatening helps a lot :)

My GP didn't seem to want to know about the eating disorder thing because I said I'd started dealing with it and my BMI was on the lower side of normal as opposed to it making me dangerously underweight. I ended up in A&E a few months ago too with strange heart symptoms which I now think must have been anxiety related. When I eventually saw them after waiting 4 hours my anxiety symptoms had pretty much subsided and although I told them about how I'd had an ED etc they didn't check my heart/blood pressure. They only tested my reflexes and when I asked about how they could refer me to a psychologist/cognitive behavioural therapist for it all they said 'go private' because I wasn't an urgent case!

I think I might switch GP practices and ask about the ECG machines and referal to put my mind at rest. Thank you for suggesting that.

I also get social anxiety which I never had before. I blacked out giving a presentation before Christmas and I no longer feel I can look people in the eye and feel inferior to whoever I'm talking to. It's awful but its great to finally know that Im not going mad and there are thousands of other people out there in the same horrible boat!

Mel x

[Nechtan]

Hi Mel,

That is very wise. Too many people just accept it when their GPs don't want to know- it is very much a lottery who you get. You should thought either ask for another GP or if that gets you no further forward then change practices- I would only do that as a last resort though.

I hope you get some help. All the best

Nechtan