Bulimic, thirst, Gatorade.

Hi. I'm bulimic. I know it's not healthy or good in any way, shape, or form so please don't try and lecture me on that. Every time after a binge/purge "episode" if you will, I am soooooooooooo thirsty! I know it's probably dehyrdation from vomiting so much. I drink tons and tons of water, but my thirst is insatiable. I was so thirsty, I walked a mile to the gas station to get Gatorade, Diet Dr. Pepper, and a grapefruit juice because I was SO THIRSTY! Do you think the electrolytes in Gatorade will help me at all? Anything else I can do to satiate my thirst? (Besides not purging altogether. Trust me, I'm working on that so so so hard.) Thanks for any input.

I'm not lecturing, but at the same time, offering advice on ways to stop your thirst after purging is like offering an anorexia sufferer advice on ways to limit the side effects of starvation.

If you're thirsty, drink something. Other than that you already know you need to work on the cause, not the effect.

Good luck :)

I understand you mean well and by no means was that a lecture. But at the same time, I am worried about my health (OBVIOUSLY! lol) and I don't want to get chronically dehydrated or whatever. I was just wondering if Gatorade could help me...

Ok, I see your point. I just didn't want to get into that dangerous grey area...

Gatorade will help rehydrate you. As for rebalancing your electrolytes - possibly, but I'm not sure how long it takes or what exactly Gatorade contains. Our body's electrolytes include dissolved sodium, calcium and potassium.

One of the dangers of purging is that you can disrupt your electrolytes so severely to cause heart arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) or heart attack during the binge/purge episode, which obviously means the danger exists before you rehydrate yourself.

ETA: I've been through bulimia myself and found the following website immensely useful: http://www.bulimiahelp.org/

I have had chest pain and felt dizzy. Wasn't sure what was going on. It's really scary, but it's an addiction.

It's hard, but it is not an addiction that you can't recover from. If you are actively trying to recover and what you are doing isn't working for you, try something else. This is not a disorder you can simply give up on, or it will steal your life from you.

Some good places to start, if you haven't already...

• look at Inpatient/Outpatient help, or regular appointments with a doctor, psychologist or nutritionist. You should ideally have a treatment team to support you
• tell someone - friend, boyfriend, school counsellor, parents. It really helped me when I told my boyfriend and best friend, because then they would check in with me how I was doing, and I could bounce recovery ideas off them
• Create a meal plan or have a nutritionist make one for you. To begin with, eat at set times whether you are hungry or not. Your meal plan should be sufficient for maintenance - dieting will just continue the binge-purge-restriction cycle
• Keep a recovery journal
• Stop compensating after a binge
• Make a coping list
• Make a list of binge triggers and alternative coping solutions
• Find ways to deal with the other stresses in your life

IF YOUR WORRIED ABOUT YOUR HEALTH, GO TO A DOCTOR. BUT I THINK ITS AN ABUSE OF THE PEOPLE HERE TO ASK ADVICE ABOUT HOW BEST TO MANAGE YOUR HEALTH WHILST CONTINUING YOUR ADDICTION.

its like an alcoholic turning up an an AA group where the rule is that you come sober and saying, 'lads whats the best way to offset cirrhosis'

if you have no intentions of getting well dont ask for help here

wow. that was a little off-color wasn't it?

meryl: i think you're offering up great advice and information for the OP to begin some small steps in the right direction.

fidget: the OP has admitted to needing help, and perhaps the kind way meryl is going about addressing the OP's original question is what the OP needed to gain a bit of loving comfort, support, and confidence in herself to seek out that help.

just my 2 cents.. i expect i'll get a bit of a berating from fidget myself..

you're entitled to your opinion. but equally im entitled to mine.

"its like an alcoholic turning up an an AA group where the rule is that you come sober and saying, 'lads whats the best way to offset cirrhosis'"

fidget-

As a twenty year active and successfully sober member of AA, I'm butting in here and making a point that there are absolutely NO rules in AA which state that active drinkers are not welcome to meetings. Alternatively, they are welcome with open arms and they have a DESIRE to stop drinking....

The OP has the SAME desire to stop her bulimia addiction. That's all she needs, with support from anyone who's been there and can offer advice, which meryl so kindly offered....

you're post is correct. i cant argue with it. and i apologise for my incorrect post about AA.

but i still feel very strongly about the op's original post. her desire to quit purging was not the topic of the post - it was a 'by the way....' i think its wrong to offer any one any advice or information about purging, other that its wrong and you need to get help

i think there is a possibility that it'll sound "oh yeah, it makes me really thirsty too - its grand". i know meryl didnt give that info and i respect her posts. but i think the op being blazée about it, is sending a serious msg that she's not actively trying to change

"you're entitled to your opinion. but equally im entitled to mine."

too right you are, fidget. and I respect a lot of what I've seen you write on these forums.

"but i still feel very strongly about the op's original post. her desire to quit purging was not the topic of the post - it was a 'by the way....' i think its wrong to offer any one any advice or information about purging, other that its wrong and you need to get help"

this, however, kind of reminds me of the abstinence-only sex education the former U.S. White House administration was pushing...

this is so dangerous vomiting causes low potassium which can stop the heart . also sodium imbalance as you lose all your body salts when you vomit . diet drinks are no good to quench first , if its caffine based this will dehydrate you even more , water is best . please seek professional help this is serious h x

forgive my ignorance but what was the sex only abstinance thing about?

I do agree with fidget that I should have been more careful to point out that this site, to avoid triggering other users, should only be used by those in active recovery from their eating disorder. And of course, those who don't have an ED to begin with!

gatorade is helpful. i was vomitting for most of the night (had a bug) and my doc said today to drink gatorade to rebalance my electrolytes. you should eat a banana to get your potassium up too.

To all: I told my best friend who was so worried, he told my sister, who told my mom. So the word is out, and I'm getting help. I will see a doctor next week. I'm not allowed to be alone. I hope I can get better.

Original Post by fidget84:

forgive my ignorance but what was the sex only abstinance thing about?

hey fidget- just another ridiculous bush-ism from george's unfortunate 8 years in office.

i was being a smart-ass.  I'm sorry. :/

ETA: cottagecheeselover: it's great to hear that you're getting some help now :)  ..i hope with the help of the loved ones around you, you're able to really conquer this :) 

good luck!