For those who have been diagnosed with anorexia

I am curious as to how you were diagnosed. Did you realize you were sick and ask to see a doctor or did a family or friend make you go to one?

I was not technically diagnosed with anorexia, but EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified). I was at UCSF because I was not getting my period. I didn't know that I had an eating disorder, so I didn't see any correlation between my period and my dieting. They had been running test after test for nearly a year, but no one really sat down with me to talk about my calorie intake. I weighed 133, but I was eating 1,000 calories. Basically, years of dieting had run my metabolism into the ground, so I was only eating 1,000 calories to maintain. 

I was trying to lose weight, which required near starvation. The day I went, by the time of my 3:00 p.m. appointment, I had eaten: literally 2 forkfuls of rice, a piece of dark chocolate. I knew it was sort of wrong, but I just pushed my conflicted feelings away. When they finally thought to ask, "How many calories are you eating?" I burst out into tears. 

The eating disorder team at UCSF was able to infer from my reaction that I had a problem. They gave me a meal plan and that was that.

My Dad realized what was going on before I did. When I was at 88 lbs, he dragged me to a youth psychiatrist. My food intake per day was along the lines of what tealpenguin just wrote .. I was horrible. What made me eat again was a combination of therapy and my Dad gently forcing me. Hard to explain how he did that, but my recovery is really thanks to him. Well, recovery is relative. I've been at a healthy weight for years now (the anorexia was 6-7 years ago), but the thought patterns from back then still pop up every now and then.

I will not go into how many calories I ate because that is irrelevant. "Restrictive" as an intake is not always down to calories nor do you have to be underweight to be sick. "Restrictive" could be cutting out a whole food group (or multiple). It could be eating simply too few calories for your needs to a point you lose a lot of weight rapidly even if you're not at a reaaaallly low intake. You could be eating well but exercising too much. And again you do not have to be underweight to be anorexic in behaviours or eating disordered generally.

I realised I was very sick after seeing myself in a mirror trying on dresses, after ruining some outings with my family, and after words of concern and seeing photos of myself. I spoke to my (ex) boyfriend. He also voiced his concern and agreed to go with me to my GP but I was the one who wanted to go; he was support, not the one who told me to go. My GP confirmed it and sent me for assessments.

If you are really really worried about yourself, then just go to your GP, and write down ALL your concerning symptoms. Do you restrict? Do you purge in any way (exercise, laxatives, diuretics or vomiting)? Do you overeat? Have you lost your period? Have you lost a lot of weight very quickly in a short space of time? Have you cut out certain kinds of vital foods or food groups? Does food and eating make you upset, or anxious? Do you have an irrational fear of gaining weight? There's a lot more to consider, and this might help: Something Fishy Eating Disorder Questionnaire

You can print your results off, too, and that whole website is very helpful.

Do not put it off if you are concerned about anything, or if your family is concerned.

I was dx very early and about 14 years ago. My mom was concerned because I had dropped a lot of weight on a restrictive diet. She took me to my pediatrition at the time and I was not yet underweight but was dx with anorexia and was put into treatment op. Fast forward years later and had many ups and downs where my weight did get very low,many ip,hospital,etc. Now back recovering op.

I know many here want to have a label put on their disorder and to me it means little. Regardless if you have ednos,anorexia,coe,bulimia,disorder eating it can still destroy your life and health. If you are asking this ? I am assuming you are struggling in one way or another. Please correct me if I am wrong. Please take control of your life now and don't wait for someone to save you. Ask for help or if able find it within to better yourself.

I realized I could not go on living how I was. It went just way too far and I realized I didn't want to die. So I told someone and then I quickly got into treatment. It was a terrible time.

If you are struggling in anyway, I strongly suggest you talk to somebody.

the doctors never told me i was anorexic, no one ever came right out and told me that i have a problem.  My parents started to notice my changed eating habbits before i did though.  They tried forcing random cakes and junk into me which only made it worse.  I was only living with my ed for a few months before I realized what was going on.  I wanted to change and i tried hard because i didnt want the consequences and i didnt want to have people make ahuge deal over it.  I was embarrassed.  I was glad when my friend's mom((my friend had recently recovered herself)) called my mom after seeing me and told her flat out that i needed to go to the doctors and i needed to get better.  This was the kick in the butt my mom needed.  I went to doctors, therepists, etc. and i started upping my cals and i have been steadily gaining since. 

I suggest that if you feel like you or someone you know has an eating disorder, anorexia is obviously what your presume, then you should talk to someone you trust, and go to the doctor.  It is a life threatening thing and should not be played around with.  Good luck !

My best friend convinced me to send in a self-assessment form to an ED clinic. I did, and was immediately accepted as an inpatient. I was pretty surprised as I had thought I would be too fat to be accepted... and they thought I was so sick I skipped the waiting list. Seeking help for my ED was the best thing I ever did, and one of the hardest. Recovery is worth fighting for; help is worth seeking.