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Bulimia Nervosa - What Happens

Bulimia can develop after a person has followed a very restrictive diet. Binging may also be triggered by a stressful event, when food gives you a sense of comfort. Feeling guilty and ashamed of binging can cause you to purge to avoid weight gain. This starts the cycle of binging and purging that becomes a habit.

As bulimia develops, you may not eat at the beginning of the day, but later you may binge to comfort yourself, especially at the end of a stressful day.

Vomiting causes the body to release endorphins-natural chemicals that make you feel good.1 Eventually you may make yourself vomit even if you have not overeaten so that you can feel good. Soon, you lose control over the binge-purge cycle. Repeated vomiting, fasting, exercising too much, or misusing laxatives, diuretics, ipecac syrup, or enemas will eventually cause serious, long-term health problems.

After bulimia becomes a pattern, it is very difficult to return to normal eating without help. Unhealthy eating behaviors can continue for many years before a person seeks treatment.

If not treated, bulimia can lead to serious, long-term health problems. It is common for people to hide the condition from others for years. By the time others discover the disorder, many people with bulimia already have serious problems. These range from mild to severe, depending on the type of purging behaviors and how long they have continued.5 Health problems caused by bulimia include:

Overuse of medicine (such as ipecac syrup) to cause vomiting can lead to diarrhea, weakness, low blood pressure, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. A person can die from prolonged overuse of these medicines.

Other mental health problems often occur along with bulimia, which may make treatment take longer or make bulimia more difficult to treat.4 These conditions include:

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WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: October 04, 2007
This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.
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