Posts by suzidee

Hi there,

there are plenty of people on here who are in their thirties and forties (myself included), however I certainly wouldn't refer to us as the 'olderwomen' !! I don't think we're that old :)

For many people ED is a lifelong battle with many ups and downs, but there are great examples on here of people recovering at any age

xx

Hi there,

It sounds like it could be a sleep disorder called sleep paralysis. Google it. It's not a very well understood disorder but it seems that a person becomes conscious during Rapid Eye Movement sleep.

In this sleep phase the body is paralysed (including all the secondary breathing muscles), when a person becomes conscious during this sleep phase they experience total paralysis and the feeling of suffocating. You can't suffocate, your body does not need as much oxygen whilst paralysed as when you are awake and moving about, however the feeling of paralysis and suffocation is indeed terrifying.

In addition due to being in a dream state a person is capable of hallucinations which involve all sensory perception (visual, auditory, touch, etc.)

I have suffered with sleep paralysis for years and have experienced some extremely vivid and terrifying hallucinations.

To avoid sleep paralysis, do not sleep lying on your back. For some reson this is the position that most sufferers experience sleep paralysis in. Try and get in the habit of spending the whole night sleeping on your front or side. I usually sleep with one or both knees bent to try and stop myself from rolling onto my back whilst asleep.

Also follow a healthy sleep routine. Sleep the same hours each night and try to get a decent amount of sleep (7 hours+ per night). Sleep disturbance and sleeping at odd times of the day exacerbates sleep disorders.

The tips for trying to come out of a sleep paralysis phase are the following:

Try to move you fingers and/or your tongue. This can cause paralysis to begin to recede (though it has never worked for me).

Move your eyes back and forth rapidly, this can cause you to fall back into normal REM sleep.

If you have a bed fellow and they see that your eyes are open, if they speak to you or touch you very gently, this will definately wake you up.

If you are the adventurous type you may want to research lucid dreaming. With a bit of practice and skill an episode of sleep paralysis can be turned into a lucid dream in which you have control. This will sound very weird but this is how I achieve it. Close your eyes and get out of bed (with your eyes closed you don't feel like you are paralysed). Open your eyes and check whether you are still stuck in bed or whether you are stood up (hence now in a lucid dream). It usually takes me a few attempts to achieve this state. Once I can look around at myself still in bed I'm in a lucid dream, I'm in control of the hallucination and I can do anything that I like. This state usually resolves back into normal dreaming.

If you are stuck in sleep paralysis, just try to remain calm. Episodes of sleep paralysis typically last for 1-2 minutes. Though mine are a bit out of the ordinary, they can last up to 15 minutes.

Finally, immediately following an episode I would strongly recommend getting out of bed and getting a drink or splashing your face with water. If you fall straight back to sleep it will probably keep occuring through the night.

Phew. Sorry for the essay. I know how frightening sleep paralysis can be so wanted to give you a run down.

Finally, if the episodes are very frequent and really causing you issues then your medical care provider can put you on medication (tranquilisers I think) but this is a drastic measure and I rather think that your doctor would want to send you to a specialist first to conduct sleep studies.

Hi there,

I'm glad to hear that you are embracing recovery.

You might actually find yourself craving fast food and sweets/crisps (candy/chips if you're in the US) during recovery even if you weren't a fan before ED. This is what I have found. I've never been a fan of sweet/rich foods in the past, more a savoury fan but during throughout recovery I have had strong cravings for chocolate and icecream. I think it's the body's way of trying to take in essential fats and high calories that it has missed out on during starvation.

Anything in moderation is fine. If these are the foods that you enjoy, then have some. Do be aware that some fast foods are addictive, so perhaps avoid having them every day. They are a good way of getting high calories intakes needed for recovery and if you do enjoy them then also a good way of learning how to treat yourself and a good challenge for developing a healthy relationship with food and feeding yourself.

There are other calorie dense foods that you should also eat during recovery as they are very good for you and contain the essential vitamins and minerals that you need including peanut butter, avocado, sweet potato, nuts, fruit juice, dried fruit, banana, full fat yoghurt, milk, coconut milk, granola mixes / muesli. You can also drink protein shakes / ensure. Cook foods in plenty of olive oil. Don't eat low fat anything and don't eat foods that are low in calorie and high in bulk as you'll be making the job of getting the calories in hard on yourself.

Good luck!

Love Suzi xx

This is awesome news! You must be so relieved :)

Yes I think these are good scores, certainly nothing to cause concern.

I'm really pleased for you.

Love Suzi xx

Thanks for all this info. I have been reading this thread as it is very interesting.

I have osteopenia and am currently taking Calcium/Vit D supplements only. I have also increased the amount of calcium in my diet and amount of food in general as I am recovering from an ED. I'm hoping that my next scan shows that this is enough to halt the deterioration.

I am 30 years old by the way.

I did have one thing to add. I had an unpleasant side-effect from taking 1500mg/400IU calcium carbonate and vitamin D3 supplements. I'm waiting to see my doctor about continuing treatment or not. I experienced moderate joint pain in my hands and feet, quite bad on getting up in the morning (enough to make me limp and not be able to squeeze shower gel out of the bottle) and lessened through the day. I initially thought that it was early-onset arthritis due to anorexia but when I stopped taking the calcium tablets it almost completely disappeared over a few days.

I read that calcium levels in the blood are very sensitive to small changes and it is possible to have too much calcium in the blood using supplements which can lead to calcium deposits building up in the joints causing pain and inflammation. I don't know if this is what happened to me. I will update when I have seen my doctor.

I've reverted to taking Vitamin D supplements only in the meantime.

Hi Mrs Wilson's Cat,

I hope the scan went alright for you. Congratulations for working up the courage to do this.

I haven't been around for a while, but read this post and had to add my support albeit rather belated.

I had the same problem. The technician sent me away with my results (osteopenia in spine and hips) without any medical briefing or advice and I had to wait to see my doctor. That was rather upsetting. However at a bmi of about 18.3 I am on treatment for osteopenia (calciuma and vitamin D). Otherwise I am running and walking. If my results don't improve I am considering joining a gym and getting a trainer who can show me what weight training I can do.

Good luck xx

Thanks guys.

123itsmeheehee: Our situations are similar. I am sorry to hear that you have had to recover on your own. Good for you for showing such strength. You're absolutely right.

Thanks Vamoose, you're right! I think I am alot better at giving out advice than applying it to myself.

Sstnkyfeet: Thanks for your concern. I am taking it seriously. I am seen regularly by my doctor and am waiting to start therapy.

Well my Mum hasn't started joining any dots yet, in fact I got her first inappropriate comment yesterday. I phoned her to see how she was getting on, I just happened to be baking a cheesecake at the same time. She asked me what was in my recipe and said "Ooh that is very fattening. You should send that to your sister." ... Ha ha ha, sometimes you just have to laugh!

I have had a total mixture of both positive and negative comments when I am / have been underweight. I have encountered probably an equal number of people saying that I am too thin / ill looking  and praising how thin I am and wanting to know what my diet/exercise habits are in order to be so small. One thing is for sure, being underweight does seem to induce people to comment one way or the other!

I was at a hen party last year in which one of the older women (in front of both of her healthy daughters) started saying how thin I was and how nice I looked, was I dancer, bla bla bla and then afterwards one of her daughters and other women who were there kept calling themselves fat and saying they wished they could be small like me. It made me really sad as they are all beautiful healthy women and they didn't know that I am struggling with ED and have physical and mental health problems because of it.

Neither positive nor negative comments are helpful for me in recovery except to highlight that there is something noticeable about my physique, which is most likely an unhealthy/abnormal thing.

Sorry to hear that you are suffering :(

If you have been restricting your food intake (which I am assuming you have since you are underweight) then you may have lost some of the bacteria in your gut that aids digestion causing everything to slow down. You can get acidopholus capsules over the counter at a chemist. These are more effective than the yoghurts/drinks as more of the bacteria survive the passage through your stomach.

Otherwise are you eating a balanced diet with the right amount of fibre (not too little and not too much)? Logging your foods on CC is a quick way to assess your levels, though I woudn't get too obsessive about trying to get everything just right (feeding into orthorexic tendencies).

The only other thing I can think of is adding oils to your food (olive or caster oils) and walking which you already do regularly.

Hope you find a solution.

xx

Ciana: I am 30 years old and I have to admit to being quite afraid of eating what someone under aged 25 could definately eat and maintain on, I'm scared that I have damaged my metabolism and that it will be slowing down with age anyway. You're right and your advice is exactly what I would give and I know that the only way to repair my metabolism is to eat more but *sigh* damn this is hard.

I have done damage. I have lost muscle, I have low blood pressure, a low white count, low vitamin D and osteopenia. I am so damned ambivalent about recovery. I'm trying to take it steady as when I've gone all out in the recent past it has resulted in relapse.

Thanks for your support. I am getting there :)