Acid reflux :(

So I've been experiencing some acid reflux and I've heard it's common to people with eating disorders. I was wondering if anybody here has experienced it and if it went away?

It's horrible and the worst time it happened, my throat ruptured a little bit and there were tiny streaks of blood coming out. Sorry to be gross! I just hope it doesn't stay forever - I want all of ED to be out of my system, you know?

Also, I was wondering if it only occurs to people who are/have been bulimic? One thing led to another in my ED and somehow bulimia (but not really binging) became a phase...

Hi Mandy, I'm sorry to hear you've been suffering with acid reflux, I know how awful it is! Firstly I would talk to your doctor to make sure you havent done some serious damage, the blood doesn't sound good at all.

Mine began when I started recovery and my I'd obviously messed up my body so virtually every food made me have indigestion and often heartburn. It's always worse at night as I have to eat and lie down to go to sleep pretty soon after. I noticed it calmed down a lot when I reached a healthier weight, but after I relapsed and started re-feeding again, it returned almost immediately. I guess the stomach just takes time to adjust to food if it's been damaged. I've never been bulimic but I would think that it's more likely to happen to people who suffer from bulimia. Just keep on the road to recovery and hopefully yours too will pass :)

your body will readjust after a time, try and keep yourself upright after eating, if you bend over it's gonan make it worse

Yikes, I never had bulemia but I did/do still suffer from reflux in refeeding - i have been prescibed some thing by my GP which has helped a lot, so perhaps try talking to your Dr :)

Mandy you could try taking slippery elm...or marshmallow root...both can be helpful. Also DGL tablets --you can get all these at your local health food shop.  In addition Digestive enzymes might help you out quite a bit.  Good luck lovey....oh also try raising  your pillow at night!

I've had acid reflux most of my life, no eating disorders involved.  It affects lots of people.  Even if it turns out to have been caused or aggravated by the bulimia, there's nothing about having acid reflux that screams, "ED!"  Seeing your doctor could really help.

Your doctor may recommend that you be "scoped." It's an out-patient procedure where they feed a very small camera down your throat and down into your stomach so they can have a good look at your stomach and esophagus.  This also helps rule out an ulcer as the cause of your symptoms.

(The technical word is gastroscopy. They sedate you a little bit and spray a local anaesthetic into your throat to make it all easier on you.)

There are a number of medications available to help acid reflux, whatever the original cause.  You may need something long term, or just something to calm things down and give your body a chance to heal.

Raising your pillow is a great suggestion.  If you can manage it, it can help to raise the entire head of your bed up on low blocks.  Avoid medications like aspirin or ibuprofen, and foods/drinks containing caffeine, as they can make things worse.

I remember how awful it was to have untreated acid reflux.  I sure hope you find the same relief I did.  Good luck. 

hey there!

i have like, kind of acid reflux crossed with indigestion...its pretty uncomfortable at the best of times. my throat has never ruptured though... that doesnt sound good. you should see a doctor, i think, as there are ways to handle/control it.

i have also heard it is common in ED sufferers. and no, its not only bulimics coz i have anorexia but have never once purged, never ever. though i guess it might be more common for bulimics, especially the reflux part as opposed to indigestion.

i recommend seeing a doctor, coz as i said there are ways to manage it and make it less uncomfortable. good luck!

thanks for all the help girls! :)

I'm hoping it'll go away...I find that it tends to happen if I eat oilier foods and I'm more prone to it when I'm really tired. 

vicgirl - i've never heard of slippery elm/mashmallow root. they sound interesting so I might check em out! You reminded me that I actually have these tablets called Combizym and they basically contain the enzymes lipase, protease and amylase to aid digestion, so I'll look for them! Thanks :) but how exactly does raising the pillow help apart from when I'm lying in bed?

amh042 - wow i didn't realise acid reflux is so common. it makes me feel a little better than it can go away, so thanks for that little piece of relief

h_m_h - i'm not entirely sure it's bulimia that induced the acid reflux as I'm not actually bulimic. I had this 'bulimia phase' in my anorexia because one thing led to another when i was trying to recover :S the reflux seems to be under better control now though and i haven't experienced anymore rupturing in my throat, thank god! thanks for the luck tho, I'm hoping it'll just pass eventually..

ohhhk, i see. well, i still think the best thing would be to visit your doctor and just check in with him, make sure everythings ok and get medicine.

glad its under better control now, im sure eventually it'll all work out :)

x

thanks h_m_h! (cute profile pic btw! :P) how are you doing with the acid reflux/indigestion? it sucks but I hope you're not suffering too much from it! <3

thanks, mandyloves! haha i was pretty bored one holidays...as you can tell. all my mates were overseas :(

im doing ok, it is more indigestion than anything and its pretty uncomfortable but lately has been less and less frequent. much less frequent than during severe restriction which is good.

how about yours?