Anorexia Nervosa Treatments

Treatment Options For Bulimia Nervosa

Inside a person with bulimia is a very sad individual. Most bulimics already know that they have a problem, and they can't stop the behavior because they feel totally helpless to do so. Constant binge eating and purging has ruined their teeth and worn away the lining of the esophagus. Abuse of laxatives has also caused irreparable damage to the rectum. There is a very real danger of either the esophagus or the rectum splitting and bleeding out; when this happens, the patient could die before the ambulance has a chance to arrive on the scene. A bulimic, like those with anorexia nervosa, is in a form of denial, although it is not the same kind of denial an anorexic would have. Hopelessness and despair is what drives a bulimic's denial. They feel that they will never be able to live a normal life and all time will be for the bulimic is one long, endless path of binge eating and purging. By the time a bulimic reaches thirty, he/she is so far into the mentality of being bulimic that the acts of binging and purging have become as second nature as breathing.

Because of these pervasive feelings of hopelessness, shame and self-disgust, few bulimics self-refer for treatment. It's most likely a concerned physician, friend, or family members who provide the necessary support system that helps instill hope in the suffering bulimic that there is a way out. Reluctantly, but with some trace of hope, the bulimic breaks the silence and consents to intensive treatment.

For treatment to be successful, it is imperative that the bulimic be hospitalized in a special unit staffed by physicians, nurses and mental health professionals who are skilled and experienced in treating eating disorders. Treatment consists of nutritional counseling, medical care for co-existing physical problems such as electrolyte imbalance and erosion of dental enamel, nursing care that monitors the patient's vital signs for any evidence of adverse reactions to medications that may be prescribed, and mental health care for intensive individual and group therapy to assist the bulimic in overcoming shame and guilt, increasing self-esteem and gaining life coping skills to prevent relapse. If psychiatric evaluation reveals the presence of co-morbid disorders such as depression and/or anxiety, these conditions will be simultaneously treated.

An essential part of in-patient treatment is the close supervision of the patient's eating behavior. Meals are carefully planned, and the patient's consumption of the meals is visibly monitored by staff members. After meals, the bulimic is closely watched to prevent purging by self-induced vomiting. Clearly, this type of treatment is not punitive or overly-intrusive in nature; it is based upon sincere compassion and belief that the binge-purge cycle must be interrupted by any means necessary. Until this has been accomplished, all other forms of treatment will be useless. Successful cessation of purging is a success a bulimic desperately needs.

It's been said that medical treatment is only as good as an insurance company will pay for. Thus, the average hospital stay for a bulimic is four to six weeks. Not a preferable 90-day hospitalization, but certainly better than no hospitalization at all. Once the patient is discharged, his/her treatment plan has been largely accomplished; eating behavior has returned to acceptable, healthy practices, purging has been eliminated, and mental health therapy has provided the patient with great strides in improving self-esteem, reducing or even eliminating co-morbid depression or anxiety, and most importantly, the patient has hope that the bulimia will go into full remission.

Relapse prevention and follow-up outpatient medical and mental health care is important for a bulimic's continued recovery. If the illness is discovered at this early stage, there is still plenty of hope that the bulimic will survive and have a future without the binge and purge cycle.

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