Eating disorders-IBS connection
#168338 - 04/08/05 12:49 PM
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Suze
Reged: 02/24/05
Posts: 30
Loc: Virginia
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I did a search on this and didn't find much, so I'm interested in what any of you have to say...I'm wondering how many of us IBSers ever had an eating disorder. I'm asking because I did, a long time ago, and I'm wondering if there's any connection between anorexia, bulimia and IBS. Like, maybe we screwed up our insides??? Or is that ludicrous???? Maybe the connection is that we tend to be pretty intense and wired, and that contributes to both IBS and eating disorders...
I think I was bulimic and possibly borderline anorexic. This was more than 20 years ago...I rarely even think about it any more, but I keep wondering why I have IBS!!?  And why IBS seems so much more prevalent in women than in men...as are eating disorders.
Anybody have any ideas or know of any research on this? Or have experiences you want to share?
Thanks in advance for your insights!! 
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I've thought about this too before. I was bulimic for awhile. Luckily though, my boyfriend caught on to what I was doing before too long and he got me through it.  I still want to know what causes IBS. Meaning, why do so many people have it now, and mainly women???
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I battled a type anorexia as a teen (VERY few calories coupled with intense exercising) following painful incident I never talked about, coupled with intense pressure to be perfect all the time. I also had bad IBS spells at the time. The pain in my tummy made it quite easy to ignore my appetite - heck, there wasn't one to ignore much of the time.
Fast forward 15 years and what do you know but the old demon tried to rear its ugly head in my life again. It took very loving commited family to help me see it for what it was. This time I got great counsel and worked through a lot of issues in my life, but what REALLY kicked it off and made it so "easy" for me to go down that path again was chronic pain ... from IBS issues and also female issues that I am still getting resolved.
So what I'm saying is that hurting all the time, not having much of an appetite, and always having to worry about whether what you eat will upset your stomach IN MY THEORY can lead a person who is already emotionally unstable easily down the path of anorexia. Almost like the hate of self plus the fear of food equals a dangerous combination.
Make sense??? Not exactly scientific.  This is a very private issue and hard for some of us here to talk about but my understanding is that many of us have fought this battle in one form or another. The question is what came first, the chicken or the egg...I'd say it's a little of both, then a vicious cycle has begun because one is only making the other worse and harder to overcome.
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Take care,
Michelle
...the greatest of these is LOVE. (I Cor 13)
Edited by ecmmbm (04/08/05 01:29 PM)
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I was diagnosed as anorectic for years. I was literally afraid to eat. 79 lbs. was my lowest weight. Am I a healthy weight now? YES!!! I'm 5'6" and 114 lbs. I have to eat A LOT to maintain that weight. And when I'm in a D phase, I worry, because well it's nothing for fifteen or twenty pounds to just vanish. Eating hurt. Passing/digesting/processing food was painful. Therefore, I did not eat much, or not at all, and only the things that were safe, i.e. rice cakes, plain rice, applesauce, carrots, squash, no-chicken soup, mushrooms, zucchini, and too many really brown bananas to count (I like them when they are considered inedible by most).
Is there a connection between IBS and eating disorders? I cannot answer that. But to alot of the connections between the irritants (IF, wheat, alchol, coffee, fat, red meat, and dairy) made a lot of sense with my D, C, and bloating/gas. Even the smell of coffee gives me D. Seriously. Am I obsessive re: input? Yes. Am I worried about my weight? Not anymore, unless it gets too low. Do I think a lot of anorectics I met in treatment have IBS. Yes.
We made lists initially, in treatment, of foods we were exempt from (we were allowed to in that specific treatment program) and that is when the IBS was noticed by the nursing/M.D. in treatment. A lot of the anorexics and bulimics too had a lot of the same items they excluded and they were IBS triggors. We discussed the symptoms. So, that's my humble answer.
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when i was 15 i was very depressed and indirectly began anorexic ways. when i felt a little better [age 16] and started eating differently [more] thats when i noticed my bowel problems. since i had been very thin, fat was something i payed attention too. when i became bloated, i saw it as fat. needless to say i did what i could to keep the "fat" off but it only made the bloating and C worse. i saw a DR and then many DRs who were all suprisingly stumped. i went in for the different tests and still nothing could be determind. after one test i was even told my whole GI tract was clear which only made the issue seem more hopeless b/c i didnt understand why i had to be this way. my last/final DR suggested/diagnosed me with IBS and gave me a laxative to take to "relieve the pain"--is what he said. since he never told me to discontinue them i became very dependant upon them as my only means of relief. i visited this same DR who even told me to increase the laxative-amount. it got very very bad, for 6 months i suffered this until after my graduation. i met my current b/f who pulled me out of my sadness which in-turn lightened up on the IBS. since my body felt like it was working, i discarded the laxatives and stopped worrying about the eating. i definately agree that IBS and EDs are connected and i still go in waves with my patterns. i even get really paranoid that my IBS-SAFE habits will seem like eating-disorder ways and that i will be judged. but i know everyone here understands and is doing the same thing as me. so then i feel better
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VEGAN ASHLEY~IBS/C
www.myspace.com/dutchflowers
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Yes, there have been threads on this in the past(did you make your search include all posts, or just this months?). There are several of us on the board who have had eating disorders. Personally, I'm positive mine caused my IBS. I was anorexic, then bulimic(didn't keep barely anything down), and when I decided to finally get better and start eating normal, that's exactly when the IBS hit  I still relapse periodicly.
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IBS-C
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I've never had a clinically diagnosed eating disorder, but I am significantly overweight and would prefer not to be, so I can't really say my relationship with food has been totally healthy.
If you believe in the idea of an "insult to the gut" triggering IBS, then I think an eating disorder would qualify. It may not be as immediately or massively insulting as an intestinal bug or a massive dose of antibiotics, but it is more likely to be continued over a long period of time. It's sort of like a train wreck in slow motion.
As for the men/women issue, it's not entirely clear that more women than men have IBS. It's probably true and may have to do with hormones and/or a different sensitivity in men, but apparently in some Eastern countries (India, Japan), men are more likely to seek medical help for IBS than women.
If you do a Google search on "ibs women men india", you'll see some interesting articles about gender differences in IBS.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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I just posted on this exact subject in response to soretummymom.
My story is the same. Anrexic at 13-weighed 80 pounds at my lowest. Then ended up being bilemic. I had a stressful divorce and was living 3000 miles away from everyone I know-dropped a ton of weight again and exercised all the time. I was 110 but was working out so very tiny.
When I finally worked the issues and the female issues (I also have PMDD) I got better, but whammy the IBS hit me worse than ever and has been chronic ever since.
I am not sure what the physical part would be - but I know then mental part of IBS/celiac in a highly driven person trying to be perfect, like me, probably didn't help.
Mary
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It only takes a few committed people to change the world!
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IBS is often caused or triggered off by what is called an "insult to the gut". Now this can be an infection, an injury, surgery, stress...or an eating disorder!
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How perfectly eloquently explicated: "an insult to the gut."
Everything makes sense. There are things that we are consciously aware of that insult a sensitive gut, and unconscious things too. There is the physical and then the other dimensions. Wow. That's brilliant.
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in Heather's "The First Year-IBS". I haven't seen the phrase in a lot of other IBS stuff, so I kind of think Heather coined it.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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I've just recovered in the last year from anorexia and slight bulimia. The thing is, I developed IBS around the same time I started with the ED and my IBS was almost non-existant when I wasn't eating anything - makes sense, right?
Too bad I don't wish to starve myself anymore... although when the IBS gets pretty bad, it's tempting.
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Elizabeth
all those years it wasn't IBS - it was celiac!
send me an email: liz@dopple.net
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I still get panicked when the bloating gets really bad - ya know, when your tummy isn't hard yet, but it's still pretty bloated? I get freaked out that it's fat and then a few hours later, when it's OBVIOUS that it was just bloating, I'm fine.
Stupid EDs!
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Elizabeth
all those years it wasn't IBS - it was celiac!
send me an email: liz@dopple.net
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I think it's a pretty commonly accepted theory.
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I've read the theory in other places, I just haven't seen the exact phrase too often. I guess I thought Heather coined it because it seems too clever to have come out of a medical research paper.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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I think that's the main reason I have IBS-C... I abused laxatives for close to 3 years, I have been anorexic since 17 and I purged for a bit... now I'm recovering at 21. My colon will most definitely have to be removed in my lifetime according to my dr., and I'll have to take zelnorm forever, so yes I think their is a HUGE connection between the 2. Atleast, there is for me. I guess it depends on the individual's case.
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Beacon1961
#168859 - 04/11/05 08:20 AM
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Sheri01
Reged: 04/19/04
Posts: 1731
Loc: New Jersey
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Unrelated to this thread, BUT a couple of us South Jerseyers are having alittle get together (about three of us so far), and you live in the area! Check out the thread on the "IBS Get together board", I will bump the post for you, originally posted by *Melissa*. Feel free to email me or her about it!
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-Sheri
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because of the laxative use? I had an eating disorder for years and I never heard of removing the colon to help the IBS. But I didn't abuse laxatives. Please say more on this!
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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I also suffered from severe anorexia and a bit of bulimia thrown in, for about 18 years!! Majority of my life. My weight plummeted down to 69 pounds (I'm 5'5 1/2") and most of my adult life was spent weighing about 80 pounds.
While I have recovered from the eating disorder (at last) the consequences remain for a life time? How totally unfair. For so long I wasn't able to eat yummy foods because of the ED and now, when I want to finally eat chocolate cake, milk shakes, pizza, my IBS won't let me. So, my life will go without ever having enjoyed the joy of these scrumptious foods. NOT FAIR.
While I know I cannot change the past, I still beat myself up for having probably caused my present pain and symptoms. My doctor told me it would be temporary, until my body got used to having food in my system again. But that was over 3 years ago! I think the pain and gas and constipation and bloat... I think they will be with me until I am no longer on this planet.
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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Mary
#168869 - 04/11/05 09:00 AM
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Augie
Reged: 10/27/04
Posts: 5807
Loc: Illinois
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As you know, I am also IBS-C, have high gluten antibodies, and now you know I also suffered from an eating disorder.
I am wondering if you feel there is a connection between the eating disorder and the high gluten antibodies? I know the IBS is probably due to my ED as it was a very tramatic "insult to the gut" (stupid me). But do you thing our gluten intolerance could somehow be connected to the Eating disorder as well?
Did you have a biopsy that showed flattened villi? Or just the blood tests? Very curious on your thoughts about this. I am thinking maybe my eating disorder has caused the high antibodies, and maybe I really do NOT need to be GF. That my body has just screwed up my blood work somehow.
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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They all believe that I am "making this IBS stuff" up in order to remain focused on food and not eating what they eat (meat, mashed potatoes with milk and gravy, fried foods, fattening desserts, etc).
They will never accept the fact that I am over my eating disorder because they see that I still avoid butter and all the other foods that I once shunned when I had my Eating Disorder. It is not fair. And to be honest, I feel sort of cheated that I don't get the credit for overcoming such a difficult and severe condition. It saddens me that my family still judges me and is so misconstrued about the truth. I will to my grave with the label of the "eating disordered" family member which is not fair and not true.
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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PS
#168873 - 04/11/05 09:12 AM
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Augie
Reged: 10/27/04
Posts: 5807
Loc: Illinois
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My mom I think does believe me, as she has seen the weight come on. But I think she somehow believes that I deserve the pain I now feel everyday because she still feels I chose to have the eating disorder. That is another misconception. None of us chose that life. We fell into it.
I even had one GI doc who to this day believes that all of my GI complaints are made up in order to remain food focused. Needless to say, I fired him.
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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hey augie--
i just saw this and thought to immediately reply! i know just how you feel!! i went to my OB/GYN doc a few days ago and when explaining my IBS trouble and distress she actually recommended me to a social worker in the pschiatric dept.of my medical facility for further treatment for depression and my apparent eating disorder i felt so sad b/c that is really the reason why i never talk about this--b/c its always misunderstood as anorexia. even when i explain my vegan principles its STILL wrong to them! anyways, i wanted you to know you wont go to your grave with that label b/c its obvious to me that thats how the world is starting to think. *HUGS* little bear
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VEGAN ASHLEY~IBS/C
www.myspace.com/dutchflowers
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