Struggling

[Note0523]

Hi, I’m new to this but feel as though I have no where else to go. I’ve been struggling with anorexia nervosa and bulimia for the past 10 years with ups and downs and hospital admissions. I am now at a healthy weight (just) but am struggling with food and body image more than ever. Exercising a lot, making myself sick, then starving myself. I have tried to maintain a reasonably healthy weight to hide what’s really going on from everyone around me. But It now seems harder to get help when at a healthy BMI which is making it really difficult to see any specialists.

I also suffer with depression, anxiety and PTSD. I’m on multiple medications for this and worried that it is stopping me from losing weight. Do I stop taking them? I just don’t know where to go from here. What do I tackle first? Does anyone else have multiple mental health issues alongside there ED?

[crazycrossstitcher]

A lot of what you describe goes hand in hand with anorexia - depression, anxiety etc - and I do suggest you go to your GP and have a referral back into the ED system - if you are making yourself sick this can have serious health implications - and is very damaging to your body. You also clearly still have issues around food and body image that need addressing to enable you to recover. ABC have a good helpline - so do ring/email and talk to them - but please do seek help - from experience (and I'm not judging you - this is from long years of anorexia) its so easy to see medication as the reason for not gaining or losing weight - but at the end of the day its often a great excuse for not tackling a problem.

[Note0523 in reply to crazycrossstitcher]

Thank you for your reply. The nearest ED specialist centre is 3 bus journeys away which makes it really difficult to get too for appointments, especially when suffering with severe anxiety, bus journeys aren’t very fun! So I’m not sure what my other options would be. I’ve booked an appointment with my GP at the end of this week so will go from there. Although I feel like I’m running out of things to try

[crazycrossstitcher in reply to Note0523]

Know the feeling - have you thought of community transport - I used it and it was really good (I too have anxiety problems and hate public transport) - good luck with your GP - do keep that appointment - also try the ABC helpline - or drop them an email asking for a call back.