Why does purging cause bloating

The integumentary system includes your hair, skin, and nails. In turn, your hair can become dry and frizzy. You may even experience hair loss. Dry skin and nails are also a long-term side effect of bulimia.

Your skin may become rough and scaly, while your nails turn brittle. Learn 10 facts about bulimia to clear up any misconceptions you may have about this dangerous eating disorder.

Bulimia nervosa is a potentially life-threatening eating disorder. Read about the symptoms and treatment options. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. The Effects of Bulimia on Your Body. Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, Ph. Share on Pinterest. Central nervous system mental and emotional health. Digestive system. Circulatory system. When you restrict, diet, starve yourself your body starts to cannibalize itself to get energy. It borrows energy from your organ tissue, muscle tissue, bone mass… your organs and even your brain can shrink in size.

Your muscle mass can waste away from starvation and your stomach is also a muscular organ. So to be able to have normal digestion you need a lot of fuel to reverse the damage malnutrition has done to your digestive system. Loss of digestive enzymes and healthy gut bacteria.

Next, restriction causes your body to lose digestive enzymes and also it decreases the production of healthy gut bacteria. For example, it is very common that when you stop eating foods with gluten or lactose then later when you introduce them back into your diet you can start to experience very uncomfortable symptoms. Also, restriction, and especially behaviors like self-induced vomiting, taking laxatives, cause some serious damage to your gut microbiome. Those behaviors irritate your stomach lining and destroy healthy gut bacteria.

Here you may experience symptoms like acid reflux, stomach ache, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation. And to start building up healthy gut bacteria and also to start producing the digestive enzymes you actually need to start including various foods back into your diet and also to eat more food in general so the digestion has the necessary fuel to heal itself. Disturbances in appetite regulating hormones. Also, the restriction will affect your appetite regulating hormones, your hunger and satiety hormones ghrelin, and leptin.

Your hunger hormones will go out of whack when you are starving. Basically, your hunger and fullness cues seem to be all over the place and not reliable. Because our normal hunger and fullness cues are so messed up. They can feel physically filled to the brim but mentally still feel so hungry.

This happens because your gut sends the signal to your brain of being physically full, but the nervous system still sends a signal that there is a need for more food to restore the complete energy balance. And this is why extreme hunger is normal in recovery and why responding to your mental hunger is necessary.

It takes a lot of food to overcome malnourishment. Like restoring muscle tissue, your organs, and your brain, it restores your bone mass, it restores your normal metabolism and heals your hormones and so many things.

It all requires so much energy. You need WAY more food than a normal healthy individual because your body has so much more work to do, your entire body and its systems to restore and recover. And this is why your number one job in recovery is to eat and to rest to give the body an optimal chance to restore itself as quickly as possible.

And also, eating disorder behaviors like purging, taking laxatives, depletes your body from essential nutrients, and contributes to developing deficiencies. And so many vitamins and minerals are required for healthy digestion but if eating disorder is causing your body to deplete them or not absorb them properly then it just adds to the digestion issues.

Other signs of binge eating can include:. Many people link their binge eating habits to feelings of shame. When the binge is over, the person may feel disgusted with themselves or be ashamed of their behavior.

They may also be afraid that they will gain weight, which could make them feel the need to purge. Purging is when a person tries to get rid of the extra calories they consumed while binging. Shame or a distorted body image can prompt the need to purge as well as the physical feelings of discomfort from having eaten so much. People purge in different ways. Some people induce vomiting by stimulating their gag reflex. Others may abuse laxatives or diuretics. Some people may also starve themselves after a binge as an attempt to compensate for it.

Bulimia is a serious eating disorder and mental health condition. The physical symptoms of bulimia can cause potentially life-threatening complications. It is vital for anyone who has an unhealthy relationship with food to see a healthcare professional. A qualified doctor will need to address any symptoms or other issues that stem from bulimia. They may recommend treatments or refer a person to specialists to treat any other complications.

Although it will take time, treating bulimia is crucial to allow the body to heal. It is vital to understand that there is no shame in having an eating disorder and that help is available.

Undereating can negatively impact health and wellbeing. Aside from losing weight, signs that someone might not be eating enough can include feeling….

A nervous stomach usually refers to stomach problems that are caused by stress and anxiety. Despite having some of the same symptoms as some chronic…. Bulimia nervosa is a mental health condition and an eating disorder. These include:. Although bulimia does not usually result in unhealthy and significant weight loss, refeeding is still sometimes a necessary part of patient recovery.

Bear in mind, refeeding is typically used in those recovering from anorexia nervosa as this condition often causes severe weight loss and malnutrition. Refeeding refers to a form of treatment that attempts to restore a healthy body weight.

This form of treatment attempts to rectify the effects of unhealthy eating habits and malnutrition and the impact this has on cognitive functioning and overall health.

For example, the patient may begin with an intake of to calories per day, or less, depending on their current state, with this advancing by roughly calories every three days or so, some experts may view this as an aggressive form of refeeding and recommend that calorie increase is more gradual. Refeeding should only be done under medical supervision i. In the case of bulimia, a meal-based approach is often favoured as it is associated with fewer health risks and the patient may not struggle with the concept of eating as much as someone with anorexia nervosa.

Some patients may require both a meal and a tube-based method. Those with severe malnutrition may eat normally, or as much as they are capable of, during the day, and have a tube at night. The overall idea and goal of refeeding is to help individuals to normalise their eating behaviour.

Refeeding syndrome may develop when a severely malnourished person begins to up their intake of nutrition i. It is defined as a shift in electrolytes and fluids that may occur in those who are significantly malnourished and are receiving artificial refeeding whether this is done enterally through the digestive system or parenterally through infusions or injections into a vein or muscle. These shifts in the body are potentially fatal According to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence NICE 15 , the risk factors associated with refeeding syndrome include one or more of the below:.

Alternatively, the risk factors include having two or more of the below conditions:. Not all patients who have one or more of the aforementioned risk factors will develop refeeding syndrome. However, should a patient be at risk, it is vital that they are medically monitored by a team of experienced health care professionals in order to prevent any fatal complications.

Patients who have a high risk of developing refeeding syndrome are chronically undernourished patients, as well as those who have had little to no food energy intake in the previous ten days Patients with bulimia who fast, or abstain from food after bingeing may be at risk of this.

We have briefly touched on the aim of refeeding and why it is conducted. To further understand the process of refeeding, it is beneficial to be aware of the effect that this form of treatment has on the body. Refeeding syndrome is more commonly seen in those with anorexia nervosa, as these patients are more commonly in a state of malnourishment than to those with bulimia who often have a normal weight.

The below information briefly describes the processes involved in the development of refeeding syndrome. The shift in fluids and electrolytes that occurs during refeeding are a result of metabolic and hormonal changes that may cause severe clinical complications.

The symptoms of refeeding syndrome are a result of the imbalance of electrolytes which alter function of potassium, magnesium and phosphorus:. Refeeding syndrome is a complex condition that may also lead to abnormal balances of sodium and fluids in the body, changes in fat metabolism and glucose, hypokalaemia potassium deficiency , hypophosphatemia low levels of phosphorus , thiamine deficiency vitamin B1 deficiency , and hypomagnesaemia 14 low levels of magnesium.

When the body is starved for a long period of time it will be in a state of catabolism, this refers to the breakdown of nutrients for energy.