Could purging have caused all this?... and has anyone had anything like this happen to them... long but please help!

Ok so here is what happened... I had to sing at a wedding Saturday and I wanted to look good for it and I have struggled with bulimia in the past and I had been recovering and doing well but I started purging again like a week before the wedding. (yes i know its bad and i am trying to recover, please dont delete this)  On Saturday I hadn't eaten anything I just had a couple of glasses of gingerale right before I sang.  Then at the wedding reception I had 3 glasses of wine on an empty stomach (I'm on Lorazepam and I'm not supposed to drink any alcohol with it but I forgot.)

Anyways, at the reception I was dancing and then I sat back down at the table and started feeling really dizzy. I had to go to the bathroom and I was so dizzy I couldnt walk on my own and my bf said he could tell something was wrong and he walked me out and when I came out of the bathroom I was even more dizzy and he had me sit down and he kept asking what was wrong and I kept saying I'm just really dizzy.. then I think he left, not sure what happened then, next thing I remember I was lying face down on the floor puking and shaking and my bf called 911 and I don't remember much after that.. I only remember throwing up the one time but my bf tells me I kept throwing up and at one point he said I was throwing up so much and breathing so erratically he wasn't sure if I was going to keep breathing.

Anyways, we got to the emergency room, I was throwing up for a while and shaking and breathing really hard and fast. I think they said I was hyperventalating.  My blood pressure was low, idr remember exactly what i was, my potassium was 2.7 which they tell me was extremely low and they say I was dehydrated.  They gave me something in an iv to stop the vomiting and they gave me tons of potassium then they sent me home.

I called my doctor for an appointment tho I'm not exactly sure what happened.  My bf thinks it a reaction to mixing the alcohol and the lorazepam or he thinks it is alcohol poisoning.  I thought that too but after talking to my mom who is a nurse, she says that dehydration and alcohol should have made my potassium level go up, and she says that what happened Saturday night was because of the purging and that drinking the alcohol might have saved my life.  Just wondering, cause Idk what happened or why and I know there are people that have dealt with bulimia on this site... do you think that is what caused it?  Has anything like this ever happened to anyone?  

No I didnt tell them in the ER about my purging, but I will tell my doctor.. I need to see him for a follow up blood test.. and no they didnt tell me in the ER what caused it.  I did forget to mention one very important thing.. though I started purging earlier in the week I hadn't done it at all I'm almost positive since Wednesday night.  Then I ate a ton of food Thursday and Friday and kept it all down.  So.. I know that purging does lower your potassium and messes up your electrolytes and everything but for how long?  I mean would something I did Wednesday night still effect me Saturday?

I really think it was the combo of drinking and lorazepam.  I recently just stopped taking it to sleep but was told by my doctor and my ex who is in the pharma industry that it is very very very bad to drink when you take it.  I never drank on it because of how instant they were.

Feel better.

NO IT WAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR ALCOHOL AND LORAZEPAM.

This is exactly the reason purging is so dangerous. this was due to hypokalaemia. low potassium levels. this is exactly the move that could have killed you. this is what people talk about when they say one purge can kill. normal potassium levels start at a min of 3.7

you need help. if you are on meds and told to stay off alcohol. THEN STAY OFF ALCOHOL

you bloody well could have killed yourself, if your boyfriend wasnt there. i am furious writing this. i remember when i was an inpatient and one of the girls i was in with died from hypokalaemia. she was a day patient and had relapsed. it doesnt take a life time of purging - just once can kill you

i hope it scared the crap out of you

What fidget said was harsh but absolutely true.  This is your wake up call.  Wake up!!  Please do not try to blame this on some booze and Lorazepam.  You need help.  Serious help.

When you went to the hospital did you disclose to them your problems with purging?

I doubt anyone who posted is a doctor. So, they are only typing what they think they know. They might be right, they might not. You got two different answers. Id rely on a real doctor's visit with a REAL doctor to get my answers

double post

wrong fooled by faith.

just graduated final med and now an intern. and yes as it happens i know exactly what im talking about. iv been seeing blood results and symptoms like this for the last 3 years in hospital rotations

fidget you obviously know what you're talking about but I'm not really sure why you're furious?

OP, it was almost certainly caused by your bulimia. alcohol and meds don't cause low potassium, purging does. and it can cause some odd symptoms, I once passed out with very low levels and came to having awful chest pain and dizziness. also watch out for muscle cramps. and if you're still struggling with the purging I'd advise getting a prescription for potassium tablets. I had an IV infusion to get my levels over 4.0 awhile back and within 2 weeks they were below 2.5 again cause I wasn't able to control my behaviours. obviously cutting out the purging is the only real way to help in the long run but for the moment stay safe.

drinking does cause a loss of potassium. potassium and sodium. thats why people get drunk and cannot function well.

im sure its a combination of everything. im not a doctor but ive researched a whole lot being a recovering alcoholic.

They didn't tell you why in the ER or at the doctor?  I don't know why that happened to you, but mixing alcohol and psychiatric drugs is a really bad idea.  Even if that didn't cause your problem, probably don't do that again.  I would think lorazepam might be especially bad to mix because they are both depressants and would intensify the depressant effects

*sigh*

Fidget is a doctor. And she's the only one talking sense. As per *bleep*ing usual.

 

to The OP. purging CAN kill you after just once incident of it. Electrolyte imbalance does that, then causes heart arrythmias. This is what can kill you. Please listen to fidgets advice. Shes the most qualified on this board, and i dont throw around the word 'qualified' easily.

It was the purging combined with dehydration that probably caused your extreme dizziness.  The uncontrolled vomiting could have been a result of the three glasses of wine on an empty stomach that was already weakened from a week of purging. 

I don't have bulimia BUT I do have a digestive disorder that can cause me to have diarrhea and vomit uncontrollably when it is flaring up.  During my last flare up I had some serious problems with my heart rhythm/dizziness after a day of vomiting and not being able to rehydrate myself properly.  I had to get my electrolytes back in balance quickly in order to help restore a normal rhythm.  If you were purging you could have not only caused yourself to have an electrolyte imbalance, since you didn't drink anything, but you could have depleted your body of potassium which is one of the most important minerals for your heart.    

hi ya, if im honest everything you have said ive been there. ive been taken into a and e several times because of my own stupidity. its hard because as much as people tell you how bad something is, its to hard to stop. I was glad to hear that you are trying to stop purging. thats a start. everyone relapses. you just had a bad experience. hopefully this is enough to make you refrain from doing it again. :)

No I didnt tell them in the ER about my purging, but I will tell my doctor.. I need to see him for a follow up blood test.. and no they didnt tell me in the ER what caused it.  I did forget to mention one very important thing.. though I started purging earlier in the week I hadn't done it at all I'm almost positive since Wednesday night.  Then I ate a ton of food Thursday and Friday and kept it all down.  So.. I know that purging does lower your potassium and messes up your electrolytes and everything but for how long?  I mean would something I did Wednesday night still effect me Saturday? 

What Fidget said sounds right-on.  And I think the reason she's so angry is because physicians are all about preserving life.  And your relapse is destroying your life.  Believe it or not, most doctors have a personal investment in people taking care of themselves.  And you have not been taking care of yourself.

My instinct is telling me that you need more than just trying to do this by yourself.  You need a doctor's assistance and a support group.  Maybe even an inpatient program.  When you tell your doctor about your bulimia I wouldn't be surprised if s/he recommends an inpatient program.

Good luck and more power to YOU!

And a side note here...Everyone...If you ever have to go into an ER, tell the doctors everything that you've been doing. Otherwise, they can't diagnose you!